mocosocoBirds

One effect of tropical storm Lee was to flood the Rockaway River in Denville again turning McCarter Park across from St. Clare’s Hospital into a lake. It was impassable from Wednesday through the weekend. Today a venture was made into the grassy muck and…the shorebirds were there! It was a similar composition of species as pre-Lee but with a high count for the season in Morris County of 8 Pectoral Sandpipers.

1 Greater Yellowlegs
5 Lesser Yellowlegs
15 Semipalmated Sandpiper
2 Least Sandpiper
8 Pectoral Sandpiper
70 Ring-billed Gull
2 Canada Goose
6 Mallard

Submitted by Jonathan Klizas

From Tim Vogel:

Update – St. Clare’s fields, Denville – Monday 9/5 – 5pm

All birds were spooked and difficult to approach – don’t know why
5 Pectoral Sandpipers
2 Greater Yellowlegs
40+ peeps (mostly semi; a few least)
6 Killdeer
80 Ring bills
1 Green Heron
As I was leaving several cars arrived with females, looking to practice maybe soccer. I don’t know if they stayed. It’s pretty ripe and the field hasn’t been mowed for awhile.

Tim
Denville

Ten Common Nighthawks were acrobatic over the soldier’s huts area of Jockey Hollow in Harding Township between 6-7:00 this evening. A large swarm of Dragonflies was probably the main attraction.

The two Pectoral Sandpipers found at McCarter Park in Denville yesterday became three this morning. Semipalmated Sandpiper numbers dropped to 17, Semipalmated Plovers to 1. 15 Killdeer remain.

Submitted by Jonathan Klizas

To add to Tim Vogel’s earlier post, the fields at McCarter Park in Denville (the name given on Google Maps, “St Clare’s Hospital flooded fields” in Tim’s earlier post, Google coordinates – 40.89266,-74.47068) 2 Pectoral Sandpipers flew in to join the shorebird group at noon while I was there. The Semipalmated Plover count was augmented to 3. The birds can be difficult to view as they creep and crawl in the grass.

Here are the updated totals:
15 Killdeer
3 Semipalmated Plover
3 Lesser Yellowlegs
35 Semipalmated Sandpipers
7 Least Sandpipers
2 Pectoral Sandpipers
85 Mallards
30 Ring-billed Gulls

Submitted by Jonathan Klizas

From Tim Vogel:

Thursday 9/1- dusk
2 Common Nighthawk – St. Clare’s Hospital, Denville
Cooper’s Hawk

Friday 9/2 – dusk
7 Common Nighthawks – St. Clare’s Hospital

Saturday 9/3
Tourne – Sparrow fields
1 Raven flyby
2 Bobolinks

Tourne – Beaver pond
2 Great Egrets
Green Herons +
Wood Ducks +
1 Red headed Woodpecker

St Clare’s Hospital flooded fields
15 Killdeer
1 Semipalmated Plover
3 Lesser Yellowlegs
35 Semipalmated Sandpipers
7 Least Sanpipers

A Yellow-bellied Flycatcher was in the Patriots Path area of Washington Valley in Morris Township this morning (approximate Google coordinates 40.800759,-74.517768). Other than a few American Redstarts migration was light.

At Roerhrich’s Roots (a.k.a. Roehrich’s Tree Nursery, approx. 40.793685,-74.536908) along Mendham Road in Morris Township was a singing White-eyed Vireo. This represents the third location in this section of the township for this species in 2011. Roehrich’s is billed as “A conservation nursery of (the) Morris County soil conservation district”. Unfortunately the mcscd.org web site seems to be defunct. The place was birdy with 25+ Am. Goldfinches, 5 No. Flickers, 5 Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, American Redstarts, 20+ Cedar Waxwings and other expected locals.

Submitted by Jonathan Klizas