From John J. Collins:
I just saw 6 White-crowned Sparrows at Orchard Rd. in Hillsborough. They were in the hedges just at the edge of the south side of the road about 150 feet west of the intersection with Chamberlain Dr. This is the fourth winter I have seen White-crowneds at this location! 5 were adults and 1 an immature.
The Greater White-fronted Goose of Bridgewater was at rest at the front lawn of Duke Island park this afternoon with the usual 600+ Canada Geese.
What struck this observer’s eye was one of the weirdest Geese witnessed this year. It looks like a Canada Goose grabbed by the neck and dipped in bleach. Since the body of this goose resembles the color of a certain wall-repair paste maybe it can be called…the Spackling Goose.
Jamie Glydon had an interesting experience this evening. He passed Budd Lake towards dusk, too dark to identify the gulls. He then drove up to Clark Drive in Mount Olive Township to see the Redhead pond. Even though it was dark, he had an “enlightening” moment. He was able to see three of the Redheads by lamplight.
Note: Yesterday’s Iceland and Lesser Black-backed Gulls at Homestead Road in Hillsborough were not seen today.
Submitted by Jonathan Klizas
Frank Sencher, Jr. found 3 Iceland Gulls of varying ages at the pig farm location on Homestead Rd. in Hillsborough Township (look for the thousands of Starlings). Also present are at least 2 Lesser Black-backed Gulls as well as Herring, Great Black-backed and numerous Ring-billed Gulls.
The Opie Rd. shorebird season in Neshanic Station has officially started. A Wilson’s Snipe was found today by Frank. Jeff Ellerbusch later adds 3 Killdeer and 50+ Horned Lark. 2000+ geese were put up by a Bald Eagle before they could be searched through.
On Studdiford Drive, Jeff found a Cackling Goose along with an adult blue Snow Goose and had 5 flyover Horned Larks.
From Jody Hey:
Jonathan – spent a couple of nice wintry hours in Glenhurst meadows this morning
Canada Goose (overhead) 50+
Wood Duck 12+
Mallard 5+
Turkey Vulture 5+
Northern Harrier
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Mourning Dove 10+
Red-bellied Woodpecker 15+
Downy Woodpecker 6+
Northern Flicker 2
Blue Jay 50+
American Crow
Black-capped Chickadee 5+
Tufted Titmouse 4
White-breasted Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Eastern Bluebird 3
Yellow-rumped Warbler 5+
American Tree Sparrow 5+
Field Sparrow 5+
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Swamp Sparrow 2
White-throated Sparrow 5+
Dark-eyed Junco 15+
Northern Cardinal 4
Rusty Blackbird
Jody
Photos by Jody Hey
The Redheads originally found last Sunday, Jan. 15, continue at the ponds at Clark Drive in Mt. Olive Township. Directions are as follows: From Rt 46 in Budd Lake, take International Drive North and turn left on Clark Drive. There are two ponds: one at the corner which is completely frozen, and the second further along Clark Drive which has a puddle-sized opening remaining. This is where the Redheads were today. Alan Boyd had 4 yesterday. There were 5 in the pond today: 2 drakes and 3 hens. Except for the group shot, the photos below are barely cropped if at all. The ducks were so close that digiscoping filled the frame of the picture.
Most lakes in Morris County are frozen (Lake Musconetcong had more ice fishermen and hockey players on it today than gulls) so these Redheads are a real treat at this time. Mt. Hope Lake has a sliver of water open which was populated by 51 Mute Swans and a few Ring-billed and Herring Gulls. Budd Lake has been frozen for some time. The number of gulls present today (~100) was a fraction of what it was a few days ago. Only Herring and Ring-billed Gulls were there. Lake Parsippany has a small section of water open…but no birds.
In Lord Stirling Park, there are six Woodpecker species relatively easy to see along the trail from Fisherman’s Access parking lot at White Bridge on the Somerset County side of the Passaic River to the East Observation Tower. Only Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is absent. Approximately 6 Red-headed Woodpeckers were seen in this area on the Great Swamp CBC on December 17, 2011. A few, at least, are still around usually seen in the Great Swamp management area across the river.
Redheads at Clark Drive, Mt. Olive Township, NJ, Jan. 22, 2012 (Photos by J.K.)
Hi Jonathan,
Today there were four Redheads (two male, two female) at the pond at 350 Clark Drive in the International Trade Center. Same directions as in my post of 1/16 when we had the shoveler there.
The Musconetcong River behind the Stanhope Firehouse had three ruddy ducks, as well as ten ring-necked ducks, three hooded mergs and a coot. This spot usually has open water after Lake
Musconetcong freezes and can have a lot of waterfowl at times.
Alan Boyd
Flanders
An adult Lesser Black-backed Gull was at the southwestern end of the completely frozen Budd Lake this afternoon in Mt. Olive Township. This is probably the same individual seen at the lake on January 6, 2012. Even more impressive were the 800 Herring Gulls present on the ice. Whether this amount is a Morris County record is yet to be determined. 50 Ring-billed Gulls and 1 Great Black-backed Gull complete the gull totals. At one point all of the gulls lifted off the ice at once and spent a few minutes swirling over the frozen lake before settling down closer to the south end by the beach. There were no white-winged gulls observed on the lake today.
Lake Parsippany is frozen except for a tiny puddle near the middle. 180 Ring-billed Gulls, 10 Herring Gulls and an adult Great Black-backed Gull were there with three lingering Mute Swans.
According to eBird, Jim Mulvey relocated the indestructible Wilson’s Warbler in Chatham today. A Wilson’s Warbler this late into the winter must be unprecedented for the northeast let alone New Jersey. This warbler was discovered on December 17 during the Great Swamp CBC.
Lesser Black-backed Gull with 100s of Herring Gulls at Budd Lake, NJ, Jan. 19, 2012
A portion of the 800 Herring Gulls and other Gull sp. at Budd Lake, Jan. 19, 2012
Photos by J. Klizas
From Alan Boyd:
Hi Jonathan,
This afternoon about 1:00 the shrike was moving around the field behind the first cedars on the right when you come in off Powerville Rd. It was very active, moving between the deciduous trees near the ballfield and the xmas tree grove way out by the main road. It was covering a lot of ground.
Alan Boyd
Flanders
Jeff Ellerbusch reports 34 Common Goldeneye, 28 Bufflehead, 22 Common Mergansers, 1 Lesser Scaup, and 4 Pied-billed Grebe seen while biking the D&R Towpath between Landing Lane and the I-287 bridge the evening of January 18. All the waterfowl are in Somerset waters starting from a few hundred yards up river from Landing Lane.
Also interesting was a completly yellow-billed, female Common Goldeneye, which was structurally perfect for Common Goldeneye, unfortunately.
The Greater White-fronted Goose (GWFG) at Duke Island Park is nearing the end of its eighth week in the area. It was seen this afternoon in the pond with approximately 650 Canada Geese. The GWFG was originally found by Mike Newlon on November 27, 2011 and has been seen at Duke Island Park, Duke Farms, the Raritan River from both the Bridgewater and Hillsborough sides, and along Beekman Lane in Hillsborough. This implies all of these sightings are of the same individual. A second GWFG was seen occasionally in December at Schoolhouse Road in Franklin Township in the Sandhill Crane vicinity and another (?) on one occasion at North Branch Park in Bridgewater. How many GWFG have actually been in the area is anyone’s guess. In 2012, the Somerset County GWFG is added to the others observed by many at Assiscong Marsh in Hunterdon and Overpeck Park in Bergen and the single observations in Middlesex and Monmouth Counties.
Canada Geese are ridiculously abundant in the South Branch area of Branchburg and Hillsborough Townships at the current time. While traveling from Opie Road in Neshanic to Duke Island Park in Bridgewater there were 100s into the 1000s of Canada Geese seen in the South Branch of the Raritan in the area of River Road leading to the Studdiford Bridge. Along with this, another 2000+ Canada Geese were in the air near the convergence of the North and South Branches of the Raritan at Old York Road. The geese were drifting south. North Branch Park was not visited today and one can only wonder how many Geese would have been added to the total from there.
Greater White-fronted Goose at the pond at Duke Island Park, Jan. 18, 2012 (photo by J. Klizas).
mocosocoBirds 