Black-crowned Stealth-Heron in Parsippany
Black-crowned Night-Heron, Parsippany, NJ, Apr. 5, 2015 (photo by Jonathan Klizas)
The secretive Black-crowned Night-Heron in the photo above reappeared this morning in Parsippany. Mysterious Island at Jefferson Road Pond continues to attract Night-Herons. This is known, thanks to Julie Buechner’s regular observance of the pond since 2013. How long the Night-Herons have favored this location is anyone’s guess. Yellow-crowned Night-Herons have appeared here the previous two years. A juvenile Great Cormorant spent part of the autumn of 2013 here.
The pond is near Boonton Reservoir and Lake Parsippany and lies next to the Sheraton Parsippany Hotel. It is bordered by I-80 to the north, I-287 to the west, a corporate parking lot to the east, a busy Jefferson Road to the south and is encircled by a frequently used paved walking path. The area is a typical suburban corporate park. The pond is strewn with trash. Yet, the Night-Herons come year after year. The eBird Hotspot link for the pond is here.
2 Blue-winged Teal finally appeared at Melanie Lane Wetlands this morning. Otherwise, the same birds that are here recently remain: 25-35 Green-winged Teal, 2 Northern Pintail, 3 Northern Shovelers, 5-6 Gadwall, 4 Wood Ducks, 12+ Wilson’s Snipe and 2 Killdeer, Canada Geese and Mallards. The usual large swallow flights here have yet to materialize.
Blue-winged Teal are also at Great Swamp NWR (Friends Blind) and Finderne Wetlands.
Boonton Reservoir
3 Red-necked Grebes and 11 Horned Grebes were found in the afternoon by Mike Wolfe (reported via eBird) at Boonton Reservoir. Varying numbers of Common Loons are at the reservoir but there are at least 13.
Boonton Reservoir’s island is filled with Great Blue Herons and Double-crested Cormorant nesting activity. Interestingly, an immature Bald Eagle, perched at the highest point of the east end of the island and within a few feet of several nests, did not disturb the Herons and Cormorants at all.
Lake Parsippany
Common Loon, Lake Parsippany, NJ, Apr. 5, 2015 (photo by Chuck Hantis)
Waterfowl are thinning at Lake Parsippany. 8 Common Loons continue with single Pied-billed and Horned Grebes as of this morning. 116 Common Mergansers is the lowest count since the lake thawed. A handful of Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Ducks Ruddy Ducks and Hooded Mergansers complete the duck picture.
Horned Grebe, Lake Parsippany, NJ, Apr. 5, 2015 (photo by Chuck Hantis)
Pied-billed Grebe, Lake Parsippany, NJ, Apr. 5, 2015 (photo by Chuck Hantis)
Other Field Notes
Louisiana Waterthush has reached Morris County. 1-2 were heard along the Lamington River on Black River Rd. in Long Valley this morning (Ken Hart).
3 Great Egrets were seen in the wetlands off of Green Pond Rd. (Tom Gorman).
General news: Northern Flickers are abundant, Pine and Palm Warblers are slowly coming into the area. Dark-eyed Juncos are singing everywhere.
Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s BirdCast has migration forecasts including one for the midwest and northeast. The link for that website is here. Of special interest are the sections labeled Beginning to Arrive, Arriving, Peaking and Departing.
Fox Sparrow, Troy Meadows, NJ, Apr. 5, 2015 (photo by Jonathan Klizas )
There are many reports this time of year, too many to include in a daily newsletter. For further details and to see what people are seeing in the mocosocoBirds region, see eBirdChecklists viewed via eBird’s Region Explorer. Use the following links:
The eBird Hotspot Primer is here and can also be accessed via the Hotspot menu item on the mocosocoBirds.com website.
@mocosocoBirds at Twitter is another communications stream. Instant field reports and links of interest are tweeted throughout the day. The latest tweets appear on the sidebar of this page. One can follow mocosocoBirds at Twitter or link to @mocosocoBirds.
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