Halloween and the end of Daylight Savings Time are quickly approaching. The first Fox Sparrows of the season in all of New Jersey except for one report from Gloucester County (according to the eBird database) were seen at Negri-Nepote Native Grassland Preserve (Jeff Ellerbusch) and Bamboo Brook (Jonathan Klizas, David Bernstein) on Wednesday Oct. 21.
[Editor’s Note: Bamboo Brook Outdoor Education Center has a mailing address of Far Hills, Somerset Co. but the park actually lies in Morris County and is administered by the Morris County Park Commission. eBird checklists will list the hotspot correctly in Morris.]
Somerset County’s first Say’s Phoebe was last seen and photographed on Monday, Oct. 19 (Donna Schulman). Many thanks to Jacob Socolar for finding and documenting this rarity on Oct. 18.
Celestial Happenings
If you are up and about before dawn tomorrow morning, look to the east and view the planetary trio of Venus (brightest), Jupiter (next-brightest) and Mars. The Three Planets will be visible as a trio until October 29. The next planetary trio appears in January, 2021! Read the EarthSky.org article about this event, here.
A Clay-colored Sparrow was found at Bamboo Brook in Chester Twp., on the morning of Wednesday, Oct. 21 (Bill Lynch). It was near the gate for the deer exclosure but not relocated since.
An immature Red-headed Woodpecker was found at Bamboo Brook today. Alan Boyd’s photo is below.
Red-headed Woodpecker, Bamboo Brook, NJ, Oct. 23, 2015 (photo by Alan Boyd)
Along with the continuing Red-headed Woodpeckers (RHWO) at Glenhurst Meadows, Long Hill Wetlands and Troy Meadows, two RHWO are also at Lord Stirling Park (Jason Denesevich). Vicki Schwartz found another RHWO at Ann Van Middlesworth Park, Hillsborough Twp. on Oct. 20.
Photos
Rusty Blackbird, Glenhurst Meadows, NJ, Oct. 22, 2015 (photo by Jason Denesevich)
American Wigeon, Lake Hopatcong, NJ, Oct. 22, 2015 (photo by Mitch Van Beekum)
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.
Finis
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