A light and increasingly steady rain did not deter 11 birders led by yours truly on a New Jersey Audubon All Things Birds trip to Mahlon Dickerson Reservation and Weldon Brook WMA today.
The Ogden Mine Railroad Trail had Least and Acadian Flycatchers, Scarlet Tanagers, American Redstarts and the usual thrushes and vireos.
A side trip to Weldon Brook WMA, actually in Sussex County, was highlighted by a Yellow-breasted Chat – a very skulking Chat that called incessantly, but offered only fleeting views as it hopped behind a cover of young trees and bushes.
A recording of the call of the Yellow-breasted Chat made on June 23 (and which was heard for 30-45 minutes today) is here.
Below are photos of the same Yellow-breasted Chat taken earlier in the week from the same location:
(Yellow-breasted Chat, Weldon Brook WMA, June 23, 2015 – photo by Jonathan Klizas).
Good looks at Chestnut-sided Warblers, Prairie Warblers and numerous Indigo Buntings were also had along the power line at Weldon Brook WMA.
Back at Mahlon Dickerson, Saffin Rock Rill was quieter than hoped for but all participants were enthralled watching a pair of American Redstart parents feeding their youngsters at an eye-level nest.
A rainy walk on the Pine Swamp Trail produced another 2 Acadian Flycatchers before all decided to call it a day.
A calendar of All Things Birds events is found here.
View local eBird checklists in the mocosocoBirds region 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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