Yellow-throated Warbler at Glenhurst Meadows

Yellow-throated Warbler, Glenhurst Meadows, NJ, Oct. 21, 2016 (documentation photo by Jason Denesevich)

(Click on the photo for a larger image.)

The photo above is for documentation purposes only. The finder and photographer, Jason Denesevich, did his best to get a visual record of a distant subject in poor light – but what a subject!

This is the only October 2016 record of this species northeast of Delaware in the North American continent other than a lone record of one on Seal Island off the Nova Scotia coast on Oct. 7 according to the eBird database. The previous last known sighting in New Jersey for 2016 was Sept. 25 in Mercer County.

That rates an impressive wow factor for this sighting!

Below is a screen shot of the eBird range map for Yellow-throated Warbler using the time parameter of October, 2016:

Yellow-throated Warbler – October 2016 (eBird range map)

(Click on the photo for a larger image.)

Orange-crowned Warbler at Lord Stirling Park

Orange-crowned Warbler, Lord Stirling Park, NJ, Oct. 20, 2016 (photo by Jason Denesevich).

If not for the Yellow-throated Warbler found today at Glenhurst Meadows, the Orange-crowned Warbler found and photographed yesterday, Oct. 20, by Jason Denesevich at Lord Stirling Park would get top billing in today’s post. In any case, bravo to Jason for two superb sightings in Somerset County two days in a row.

The Orange-crowned Warbler was in the field near Esox Pond. This is the only record of this species in Morris or Somerset Counties in 2016.

The Orange-crowned Warbler was not relocated today but Ben Barkley, staff naturalist at the park, located a tantalizing wren which he felt fit the description of a Sedge Wren. The skulking bird was not seen or heard again leaving it shy of an indisputable identification and is listed in the eBird database as Wren sp. with comments.

Lesser Black-backed Gull at Lake Hopatcong

Lesser Black-backed Gull, Lake Hopatcong, NJ, Oct. 20, 2016 (photo by Alan Boyd)

Alan Boyd found the first Lesser Black-backed Gull of the autumn-winter season in Morris County yesterday, Oct. 21. The gull was on the dock of the Jefferson House restaurant at Nolans Point, Lake Hopatcong.

Other birds

The birds featured in the previous post from Oct. 19 have not been seen since (see that post here). This includes the Eurasian Wigeon and Brant at Lake Musconetcong and the Great Cormorant at Jefferson Road Pond, Parsippany.

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.

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

@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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