Jamie Glydon reports a Long-tailed Duck (LTDU) at Lake Parsippany this morning.
The LTDU was not relocated at noon but could still be at the lake. Also present were Common Mergansers (90), Hooded Mergansers, Gadwall, Ruddy Ducks, Lesser Scaup and Mallards as well as Canada Geese, Ring-billed, Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls and Mute Swans.
Submitted by Jonathan Klizas
From Tom Halliwell:
Hi Jon,
On the Great Swamp-Watchung Ridges count today (Saturday) Sean Sime and Andy Lamy found a Wilson’s Warbler at the Chatham Sewage Treatment ponds. Coming from Chatham you pull into the parking lot for the tennis center on Passaic Avenue just after crossing Route 24. Drive all the way in and park. The ponds will be in front of you on the other side of a fence. You’ll see a long “wall” of bamboo on the left in which the bird spent much of the time. It tended to work the opposite side of the bamboo because that is where the sun is in the early morning. That means the sun is coming directly at you making observation doubly difficult. You can’t go around to the opposite side because of the barbed-wire fence. Most looks were very brief.
All the best,
Tom Halliwell
Great Swamp/Watchung Ridges Christmas Bird Count – 2011
Here are some highlights from the team working the Great Swamp in the Pleasant Plains Rd./Management area as reported by Jeff Ellerbusch and Simon Lane.
9296 Snow Goose.
“Very impressive movement, especially towards the evening when vast majority of birds were seen- roughly 6,500 seen between 3:30pm-4:45pm. Groups ranged from 50-600 birds with the average group consisting 300 birds.”
Other waterbirds:
7500 Canada Geese, Wood Duck, Gadwall, American Wigeon, American Black Duck, Mallard, Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck and Hooded Merganser, Pied-billed Grebe, American Coot.
Other species:
Bald Eagle, Northern Harriers, Sharp-shinned, Red-shouldered and Red-tailed Hawks.
3 Red-headed Woodpeckers.
Winter Wren and Marsh Wren.
160 Rusty Blackbirds.
Purple Finch.
Common Raven.
63 species for this team alone.
————————–
Another team had the Cackling Goose at Briant Park in Summit. This is the same individual seen the previous Sunday, December 11. The goose has a damaged left wing but seems to be holding up despite this.
J. Klizas
From John J. Collins:
5 Sandhill Cranes present now (2:28 pm) in corn stubble field off Weston Canal Rd. just east of Zaraphath in Franklin Township.
Note: The Cranes flew at 3:10 p.m. They were seen earlier on
nearby Randolph Rd. by Jeff Ellerbusch. – J. Klizas
5 Sandhill Cranes were seen in the vicinity of Randolph Rd. in Somerset County this afternoon. At 15:30 they were seen flying from the northern end of Randolph Road towards Schoolhouse Rd./Weston Canal Rd. At 16:10 they were seen in the corn stubble close to the road opposite 100 Randolph Rd. After a brief time the group of 5 flushed in the same direction as mentioned previously.
Jeff Ellerbusch reports 2 Cackling Geese, Killdeer and a continuing Red-headed Woodpecker this afternoon at North Branch Park in Bridgewater.
On Jersey Birds, John J. Collins reports from Duke Island Park that the Greater White-fronted Goose was observed in the Raritan River this afternoon.
Submitted by Jonathan Klizas
From Alan Boyd:
Hi Jon,
Lake Musconetcong:
40-50 Hooded Mergansers
50+ Common Mergansers
1 Ruddy Duck
12 Gadwall
25-30 Buffleheads
1 female scaup sp.
Budd Lake had 1 Common Loon.
From John J. Collins:
The Greater White-fronted Goose is present at Duke Island Park (as of 12:42 PM) and visible from Old York Rd. The park itself is closed due to flooding of the Raritan River.
The Ross’s Goose was not seen today at Duke Island Park in Bridgewater Township. Other than 7 Canada Geese by the pond next to the parking lot there wasn’t a goose in the park at 9:45a.m. and again at 3 p.m. Where do they go? Well, some may have journeyed up the road to North Branch Park on Milltown Rd. in Bridgetwater. 800 Canada Geese were there with one obvious Cackling Goose as well as 180+ Ring-billed Gulls.
Schoolhouse Road in Franklin Township had at least 2000 Canada Geese at 4:00 p.m. Among them was the Greater White-fronted Goose originally found by Jeff Ellerbusch on December 1 and seen almost daily since then. This is a different individual than the one that was at Duke Island Park until recently. As Jeff states in a comment to yesterday’s Ross’s Goose posting: “The GWFG that has been hanging out at Schoolhouse Rd since Dec 1st is differently marked than the Duke Island Park bird. These two areas are not far at all as the goose flies, but there is no evidence yet that the Duke Island bird uses this field…not sure where that bird goes when not at Duke Island.”
Submitted by Jonathan Klizas
From Tim Vogel:
Saturday 12/3 – Tourne Sparrow Fields
Nothing to report – area is devoid of birds since snow storm.
Sunday 12/4 – Cedar Lake, Denville (lake has been lowered for wall repair)
3 Bald Eagles (2 ad, 1 imma)
Hoooded Mergs 12
RN Ducks 15
Buffleheads 35
Monday 12/5 – Lk. Parsippany
Common Loon 1
Ruddy Duck 6
Common Mergs 8
Monday 12/5 – Loantaka Brook Reservation
GW Teal 9
Gadwall 7
– Tim Vogel
—————
From Jonathan Klizas:
!2/3 – Split Rock Reservoir
190 Ruddy Ducks (down from 300 a few weeks ago)
10 Common Mergansers
2 Bufflehead
12/3 – Mt. Hope Lake
The Redheads were not seen.
145 Ruddy Ducks
40 Gadwall
65 Am. Coot
1 Am. Wigeon
2 Pied-billed Grebes
Only 12 Mute Swans
3 Common Mergansers
Bald Eagle
12/4 – Lake Valhalla
14 Ring-necked Ducks
25 Bufflehead
44 Ruddy Ducks
12/4 – Taylortown Reservoir
4 Mute Swan
2 Lesser Scaup
2 Bufflehead
32 Hooded Merganser
The north end of Boonton Reservoir has not had any waterfowl activity so far this season.
– Jonathan Klizas
From John J. Collins:
I saw the Greater White-fronted Goose this afternoon at 2:36 PM in Franklin Township in the field bordered by Schoolhouse and Randolph Roads. The bird was asleep and surrounded by about 250 Canada Geese. Also present in the same field were 8 Killdeer. (No sign of the previously reported Sandhill Cranes in the area though.)
————–
Jeff Ellerbusch, Simon Lane, Jonathan Klizas, and Jimmy Lee had both the Greater White-fronted and juvenile Brant at Schoolhouse Rd. at 3:30 p.m.
Later at 4:40, Jeff reports that ~1500 Canada Geese have moved in to Schoolhouse including 2 Cackling Geese.
————–
As of 3 p.m. the handsome Ross’s Goose was at the same area along Old York Rd. at Duke Island Park as it was found by Rick Wright this morning.
Submitted by Jonathan Klizas
mocosocoBirds 