Morris Loons

Boonton Reservoir has 35 Common Loons, at least 10 Horned Grebes and at least 1 Red-necked Grebe. Half of the birds were viewed from the north end; half from the south where visibility was poor. 40 Common Loons were viewed from only the north end of the reservoir yesterday.

Two Bald Eagles, one adult and one immature, stood sentry over the island although the nesting Great Blue Herons and Double-crested Cormorants in residence seemed not to notice.

Lake Parsippany is down to 12 Common Loons and a diminishing number of waterfowl.

Lake Musconetcong has 2 Common Loons, 5 Horned Grebes, 4 Red-breasted Mergansers and a Bonaparte’s Gull today (Alan Boyd).

(Bonaparte’s Gull, Lake Musconetcong, NJ, Apr. 9, 2015 – photo by Alan Boyd)

Blue-winged Teal, Blue-gray Gnatcatcher at Fish Tract in Florham Park

Cedar Waxwing, Florham Park, NJ, Apr. 9, 2015 (photo by Jonathan Klizas)

(Click on the photo for a larger image.)

The Fish Tract in Florham Park is a low-lying section functioning as a flood plain of the Passaic River. It is a neighbor to private land owned by the East Orange Water Company.

The Fish Tract has intriguing habitat but is not an easy place in which to get around. No trails exist. It is supposedly public land bought by the borough of Florham Park. A crossbow wielding hunter told this writer last autumn that certain areas are private. There was no argument on this individual’s part.

It is a “you-are-on-your-own” location, but one with attractive habitat and interesting birds. It is usually flooded in the spring. If you do go, use stealth and try to stay in the woods to view any water birds. Otherwise, they will flush easily.

Late this afternoon, the following birds were in attendance: 6 Blue-winged Teal in three pairs of males and females, 2 Northern Pintails, 42 Green-winged Teal, 2 Killdeer and 16 Wilson’s Snipe. The mocosocoBirds region’s first Blue-gray Gnatcatcher of 2015 was travelling the understory. A flock of 18 Cedar Waxwings were near the parking area before flying off. 250+ Red-winged Blackbirds, almost all females, were feeding on the wet grounds and water’s edge. At least 5 Rusty Blackbirds were in their company.

Blue-winged Teal are in various places at present. Besides the 6 in Florham Park, Melanie Lane Wetlands has 2; Mike Newlon had 5 at the Great Swamp NWR today; 2 were found yesterday in Long Valley and 3 continue at Finderne Wetlands.

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 local eBirdChecklists viewed via eBird’s Region Explorer. Use the following links:

• Morris County
• Somerset County

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.

Finis