From Mike Hiotis:
Hello Jon,
At the Bernardsville Quarry I had 4 Redheads (1 drake,3 hens) with Pied-billed Grebe, Hooded Merg., Mallards, 350+/- C. Geese and 80 Ring-billed Gulls. No ‘little’ Geese for me….
In the farm field on the west side of the Lamington Rd./ Black River Rd. intersection 12 Meadowlarks were put in air by a Harrier working the field. The same scenario I had a few weeks ago with another birder.
Mike Hiotis
Martinsville NJ
From John J. Collins:
I saw and heard a COMMON RAVEN over my house in Raritan Borough this morning. I then went to Lord Stirling Park where I took a walk along the Passaic River. Upon leaving the parking lot I saw and heard two COMMON RAVENS fly south east out of the Great Swamp NWR. A flock of WILD TURKEYS were really gobbling up a storm there as well. At the “tower” I saw the RED-HEADED WOODPECKER, 3 BROWN CREEPERS, and heard WOOD DUCKS call from up river. Twice during my walk I heard PILEATED WOODPECKER call.
From Tim Vogel:
Lake Parsippany Jan. 9, 2012
62 Gadwalls – a good number
1 Common Merganser
1 Ruddy Duck
20 RB Gulls
1 Herring Gull
Canada Geese +
Tim Vogel
Denville
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Indian Lake, Denville, Jan. 8, 2012
Jeff Ellerbusch had 8 Lesser Scaup, 15 Ring-necked Ducks, 11 Bufflehead, 12 Hooded Mergansers, and 2 Common Mergansers as well as 8 Herring Gulls, one Great Balck-backed Gull and Ring-billed Gulls, Mute Swans, Canada Geese and Mallards. What should also be noted is the presence of a Trumpeter Swan of “unnatural” origin, meaning it was born in captivity. This is assumed to be one of the wandering Bernardsville Trumpeters. There is another Trumpeter Swan frequently seen in the Great Swamp off of Long Hill Road. Another Trumpeter was seen last spring at Lake Parsippany, a swan you could walk up to and basically shake it’s wing. Since it is in the same general area, the Indian Lake swan may be that individual. These are not wild birds and are not countable as such. Get used to seeing them in Morris and Somerset counties. We will probably have to deal with this family for years to come.
Trumpeter Swan at Indian Lake, Denville, Jan. 8, 2012 – Photo by Jeff Ellerbusch
Please excuse the January-related typo in the previous post regarding the Chipping Sparrow. The date should read Jan. 8. 2012, not 2011.
Jonathan Klizas
Jeff Ellerbusch reports a Chipping Sparrow with 60 Dark-eyed Juncos at the western most entrance to the Basking Ridge VA Hospital. In a typically frigid January this might raise an eyebrow. For instance, in 2011, only one Chipping Sparrow north of I-195 (at Spruce Run) was reported to the eBird database in January. With the mild weather this area has experienced since the October 2011 Nor’easter it does not seem that unusual.
Chris Duffek reports a lone juvenile Snow Goose with 100 Canada Geese on Hillsborough Road, Hillsborough. The location is here.
Also, Frank Sencher, Jr. reports a Greater White-fronted Goose on Beekman Lane in Hillsborough this morning, probably the Duke Island Park individual.
Snow Goose Photos by Chris Duffek, Jan. 8, 2012
A Cackling Goose (with a slightly longer-than-typical bill), originally found by Jeff Ellerbusch, has been present for at least two days at the Bernardsville Quarry off of Mine Brook Rd. Those who have seen this individual remark at how tiny it is, even for a Cackling. Other species present are American Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck, Wood Duck, Am Black Ducks, Mallards, Green-winged Teal, Canada Geese, Ring-billed Gulls and Common Raven. Most species leave the area at sunrise and return later in the afternoon.
Photo by Jeff Ellerbusch, Jan. 6, 2012
Yesterday’s post mentioned that Lesser Black-backed Gulls are hard to find in Morris County. After Tom Halliwell’s find at Lake Musconetcong and Mike Hiotis’s below, the tide is changing (or people are looking).
From Mike Hiotis:
Jonathan,
After reading your post I was in Hacketstown today and stopped by the west end of Budd Lake for some good views of hundreds of gulls with many streaming in from the south. I scoped 2 adult Lesser backs and 4 Greater Black-backed adults flew in. The majority of the birds were Herring/Ring-billed. This was about 2:30 but I had to leave even though many more gulls were arriving. I think you are right Jon and a white-winged gull may be plucked out of this group!
Mike Hiotis
From Tom Halliwell:
This afternoon (Saturday) at 4:10 there were hundreds of gulls on the ice on Lake Musconetcong in the area behind the theater in Netcong. Bearing in mind Jon’s LBBG on Budd Lake yesterday, I stopped and scoped the mass. A nice surprise was an (the?) adult LBBG right in the middle.
All the best,
Tom Halliwell
Budd Lake in Mt. Olive Township, Morris County is frozen. This afternoon, Friday, there were approximately 600 gulls on the ice, most towards the middle of the lake. One group of 80 Ring-billed Gulls and 30 Herring Gulls were towards the south end of the lake and easily viewable from the beach. With them was an adult Lesser Black-backed Gull. While neighboring counties, Warren, Hunterdon and to a lesser extent Somerset are rich in Lesser Black-backed Gulls during the appropriate seasons, Morris gets few. 2011 saw only two sightings the entire year, one in February at Lake Musconetcong and the other at Budd Lake in March (2011 Morris Birds). Most of the gulls were distant and difficult to view although the number of Herring Gulls was impressive, close to 150. Great Black-backed Gulls seemed to be absent. A more thorough search is needed to determine whether any white-winged gulls are present. Pictures of the Lesser Black-backed Gull are at the end of this post.
Out-of-County Note: Hunterdon’s Common Chaffinch was NOT seen at all today, Friday, despite vigilant birders staying the entire day.
Other local sightings:
Common Goldeneyes were reported in both Morris and Somerset Counties this week: 2 drakes were seen at Lake Hopatcong (Jefferson Township) on Jan. 2 by Valerie Nixon and two were seen on the Raritan River from River Rd. across from Duke Island Park by Frank Sencher Jr., on Jan. 5.
10 Horned Larks are in the field along Schoolhouse Rd. in Franklin Township. The Sandhill Cranes and Greater White-fronted Geese have been reported this week. A new state record for Cackling Geese was set on Jan. 2 where Jeff Ellerbusch found 33 at Duke Island Park.
A Common Raven continues towards the eastern end of White Bridge Road in the Great Swamp N.W.R. Two eagles (one adult; one immature) were seen on Pleasant Plains Road on Thursday, Jan. 5.
Here are some Lesser Black-backed photos taken at Budd Lake this afternooon.
Left-to-right: Lesser Black-backed, Ring-billed and Herring Gulls
Herring Gull in front; Lesser Black-backed Gull behind, stretching its wings.
mocosocoBirds 