Tundra Swan, Lake Hopatcong, Feb. 22, 2016 (photo by Alan Boyd)
3 Tundra Swans are south of the Brady Rd. bridge at Lake Hopatcong and 2 Common Goldeneye along with 125 Common Mergansers were seen near Nolans Point on Feb. 22. (Alan Boyd).
2 Common Goldeneye were at the north end of Boonton Reservoir, Feb. 21. A Redhead drake was seen at Clyde Potts Reservoir, Feb. 20.
After a disappearance of approximately one month, Sandhill Cranes are being seen at the Zaraphath corn fields on the Pillar of Fire property off of Weston Canal Road in Franklin Township (many observers). The number of cranes ranges from three to nine.
Grackle and Blackbird flocks are slowly growing in number; Common Mergansers will be evident on the Morris lakes once the ice melts in the next few weeks. American Woodcock are slowly returning to their usual areas. All-in-all, this winter gets marked as an uneventful bird season so far in Morris and Somerset Counties.
Bald Eagles are on eggs at Duke Farms, as are probably many of the nesting eagles in the area.
Jim Wright authored a free e-book about the eagles, available from the Duke Farms Blog.
The link for the Duke Farms Eagle Nest cam is here.
Eastern Chipmunks were out in relative force this past weekend. Not usually seen in February in the foothills of the Highlands, a fair number were seen out and about in Boonton and Montville Townships this past weekend. So much for being in a state of torpor with the mild winter this area has experienced.
Eastern Chipmunk, Boonton Reservoir, NJ, Feb. 21, 2016 (photo by Jonathan Klizas)
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.
The mocosocoBirds Facebook page is located here and also posts timely information not found on the mocosocoBirds web site.
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