White Ibis, Speedwell Lake, Morristown, NJ, Oct. 25, 2017 (photo by Chuck Hantis)

(Click on the photo for a larger image.)

The White Ibis of Speedwell Lake, Morristown continues as of late this afternoon, Oct. 25. The previous post about this Morris rarity is here.

Yesterday, Chris Thomas saw the Ibis fly from the lake in a southeasterly direction at approximately 5:40 PM. Lake Pocahontas, another section of the Whippany River is close-by in that direction, making a potentially suitable evening roost site.

This afternoon, Chuck Hantis saw the White Ibis in the far western section of Speedwell Lake. At 4:30, he saw it fly in a westerly direction further up the Whippany River. Lots of riverine nooks and crannies exist that the Ibis can hide in.

Here is a screenshot of an eBird-generated range map of current White Ibis sightings along the Atlantic coast. The northernmost pinpoint is Morristown’s White Ibis. As one can see, the next closest is Cape May and the Delmarva peninsula.

Thanks to Chuck Hantis for his photos from today. Click on the photos for larger images.

White Ibis, Speedwell Lake, Morristown, NJ, Oct. 25, 2017 (photo by Chuck Hantis)

White Ibis, Speedwell Lake, Morristown, NJ, Oct. 25, 2017 (photo by Chuck Hantis)

White Ibis, Speedwell Lake, Morristown, NJ, Oct. 25, 2017 (photo by Chuck Hantis)

White Ibis, Speedwell Lake, Morristown, NJ, Oct. 25, 2017 (photo by Chuck Hantis)

A report of a Northern Shrike at the Great Swamp NWR appeared on eBird yesterday, Oct. 24. The bird was apparently seen in the afternoon but not since. There are photographic reports of Northern Shrikes from Connecticut on Oct. 22 and Massachusettes, Oct. 23-24. The species has been absent in the Morris area since 2012.

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.

Finis