mocosocoBirds

There was nothing new on the few lakes of Morris County that were visited today. Mt. Hope Lake in Rockaway Township was the most productive by far with 234 Ring-necked Ducks, most of them in the distant northeast corner of the lake.
Here is the Mt. Hope list:
Mute Swan – 7
Gadwall – 22
Am. Wigeon – 10
Mallard – 23
No. Shoveler – 8
No. Pintail – 1
Ring-necked Duck – 234
Lesser Scaup – 3
Bufflehead – 4
Hooded Merganser – 7
Ruddy Duck – 90
Bald Eagle – 1
Am. Coot – 16

Lake Parsipanny had 18 Hooded Mergansers, 14 Common Mergansers and 2 Ruddy Ducks as well as Ring-billed Gulls and a Herring Gull.

At Melanie Lane Wetlands, Jamie Glydon saw 4 Gadwall, 2 Am. Black Ducks, 9 Mallards, 3 No. Shovelers, 12 No. Pintail, 8 Green-winged teal, 2 Bufflehead, 4 Hooded Mergansers and 7 Ruddy Ducks.

At Florham Park Fields Jamie added a Northern Harrier and an American Kestrel.

Morris County’s favorite (and only) Red-throated Loon continues at Budd Lake, Mt. Olive Township. It was seen at the north end of the lake this afternoon, floating towards the abandoned “Boat House” tavern and boat launch. In the past week the Loon has been observed in practically every section of the lake. At least one of the Greater Scaup is still present with the Lesser Scaup. Common Mergansers and at least one Hooded Merganser were present with the many Canada Geese and Gulls. A single skein of 60 Snow Geese (not an easy species to find in Morris Co.) flew south over the lake, calling continuously.

Red-throated Loon, Budd Lake, NJ, Dec. 2, 2012 (Photo by Jonathan Klizas)

Lake Musconetcong had 94 Hooded Mergansers, high count for 2012 in Morris County. Hundreds of American Crows were flying eastward in the late afternooon.

Mt. Hope Lake has had a dramatic drop in Ruddy Duck numbers: 97 today, where there were 650 one week ago. 168 Ring-necked Ducks were the dominant species today. 71 American Coot represents the high count for 2012 in Morris County. Small groups of Gadwall, American Wigeon, Am. Black Duck, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead and Hooded Merganser were also on the lake. One of the two resident Bald Eagles roosted in a tree near the nest.
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Winter Wrens have been more noticeable this autumn. eBird numbers back up this observation. In November of 2011, 91 listings of Winter Wren occurred in New Jersey; in November 2012: 234 listings. Some of this can be attributed to increased reporting on eBird…but not that much.

Jeff Ellerbusch found 4 separate Winter Wrens in the Great Swamp this afternoon: 3 at the Friends Blind at the Wildlife Observation Center on Long Hill Road, Harding Township and another at the overlook on Pleasant Plains Road. A Marsh Wren and 6 Common Redpolls were also at the Friends Blind. An American Woodcock was observed at the overlook.

Jockey Hollow National Historic Park reopened last week after being shut down for weeks because of heavy damage brought on by the winds of Hurricane Sandy on October 29, 2012. The accompanying gallery of photos is a small sampling of what Mt. Kemble at Jockey Hollow in Harding Township and woodlands in neighboring Morris, Mendham and Bernards Townships experienced as a result of the winds of Sandy. Of course, the pictures give only the slightest glimpse of what power this storm had and what damage it wreaked. If you do not see the gallery below in the email post, click on the subject heading Images of Jockey Hollow to visit the mocosocoBirds.com web site.

Click on an image below to start the gallery slide show.

The Red-throated Loon, found by Tom Halliwell on Nov. 23, continues at Budd Lake. Jeff Ellerbusch put the other species on the lake in finer focus this afternoon. The Scaup raft, which has also been present all week, contains two Greater Scaup to accompany the 16 Lesser Scaup. 6 Red-breasted Mergansers are in the lake as well as 20 Common Mergansers. The gull numbers are increasing. Jeff counted 113 Herring Gulls which continued to arrive as he was there. Budd Lake is a favorite winter roosting spot for gulls. It has been a reliable location hosting Lesser Black-backed Gulls in Morris County the past few years. Through diligent and regular searching, a white-winged gull seems an inevitability at Budd Lake in the future.

Jeff’s totals are as follows:
5 Snow Geese
300 Canada Geese
4 Mute Swans
2 Mallards
1 Ring-necked Duck
16 Lesser Scaup
2 Greater Scaup
2 Bufflehead
20 Common Mergansers
6 Red-breasted Mergansers
4 Ruddy Ducks
1 Red-throated Loon
90 Ring-billed Gulls
113 Herring Gulls
3 Great Black-backed Gulls
1 American Coot

Red-throated Loon, Budd Lake, NJ, Nov. 29, 2012 (Photo by Jeff Ellerbusch)

Greater Scaup, Budd Lake, NJ, Nov. 29, 2012 (Photo by Jeff Ellerbusch)

Red-breasted Mergansers, Budd Lake, NJ, Nov. 29, 2012 (Photo by Jeff Ellerbusch)

From Harvey Tomlinson:

Hey Jonathan,
Had a Shrike (assumed Northern) from the overlook at the Swamp late yesterday afternoon [Nov. 28 – editor]. Mike Hiotis came by but we never saw it again after my initial sighting. It seemed to have been flushed from the phrags at the base of the old Heron nesting trees and flew to the back north corner.
– Harvey