Eurasian Wigeon (in center), Lk. Musconetcong, NJ, Oct. 19, 2016 (documentation photo by Alan Boyd)

A Eurasian Wigeon was found at Lake Musconetcong by Alan Boyd today. The handsome drake kept company with American Wigeons and Gadwall (see photo above). The ducks frequently lifted off the water, endlessly circling before landing and then repeating the process. The Eurasian Wigeon was easily detected in flight by its reddish head coloration. The ducks are visible from the Koclas Drive area.

This is the first Eurasian Wigeon in Morris County since 2010 at Mt. Hope Lake. This is the fifth occurrence of this species at Lake Musconetcong since the 1990s and the first since 1998.

While searching for the Eurasian Wigeon, and successfully finding it, Ray Duffy spotted a Brant which is a relatively rare species for Morris County.

Brant, Lk. Musconetcong, NJ, Oct. 19, 2016 (photo by Jonathan Klizas)

Rob Fanning found a Great Cormorant at Jefferson Road Pond, Parsippany today. The cormorant remained at the north end of the pond late into the afternoon. This is the second time a Great Cormorant has shown up at this remarkable location since 2013.

Great and Double-crested Cormorants, Parsippany, NJ, Oct. 19, 2016 (photo by Jonathan Klizas)

View local eBird checklists in the mocosocoBirds region 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.

The mocosocoBirds Facebook page is located here and also posts timely information not found on the mocosocoBirds web site.

Finis