mocosocoBirds

From Jeff Ellerbusch:
 
Took a walk around Glenhurst this evening, first time since the weekend before last. Some new arrivals for there were nice but the wind was just brutal!
 
Highlights
 
– Green-winged Teal- 45
– Wood Duck- 85+
– Great Egret- 1
– Harrier- 1
– Sharpie- 1
– Kestrel- 3+
– Killdeer- 6
– Snipe- 18+
– Phoebe- 4-5
– Fish Crow- 15, they seem to be everywhere now
– Barn Swallow- 3+
– Tree Swallow- 15
– Carolina Wren- 1
– Blue-gray Gnatcatcher- 2-3, two heard an hour after one was seen, different areas.
– Brown Thrasher- 1
– Palm Warbler- 11
– Yellow-rumped- 15
– Field Sparrow- 6
– Savannah Sparrow- 1
– Swamp Sparrow- 2
– Rusty Blackbird- 20
 
Jeff

From Jeff Ellerbusch:

Bufflehead Rd Ponds, Bridgewater Township – 6:25am.
The female Common Goldeneye and 3 Drake Ruddies are still there since the 29th, Barn Swallow since the 31st.

– Wood Duck- 3
– Ring-necked Duck- 22
– Common Goldeneye- 1 Fem
– Ruddy Duck- 3 males
– Pied-billed Grebe- 1
– G B Heron- 2
– Herring Gull- 1
– Phoebe- 1
– Fish Crow- 7
– Tree Swallow- 5, way down from 40+ on the 31st
– Barn Swallow- 1
– Red-winged Blackbird- 1,500+

Finderne Wetland
I ran across this large field in early March which caught my eye while driving on Finderne Ave, have since visited it a handfull of times. In March the field resembled more a lake than a field and connected seamlessly with the overflowing Raritan. It has since turned back into a field though in spots is reasonably marshy. Before this morning I have not gone in, haven’t had the time and wasn’t sure if it was private, and only viewed it from a raised lot where I park. Today I decided to walk in and realized not only is it public but it looks to be very, very promising. There is a path that runs along most of the perimeter and is easy to walk. Nearly all of the field is bordered by the Raritan, there are also a few small ponds and marshy areas, and the field itself looks very nice…would love to see it in prime sparrow season. There are three signs spaced evenly along the loop each with the title Finderne Wetland Mitigation Project… so for now lets call it Finderne Wetlands. Also this is really close to the Bufflehead Rd Ponds, maybe a little over a mile.

– Cackling Goose “Richardson”- 1, with 75 or so Canadas on a Soccer field which is on the property and to the far right. The soccer goal posts are visible as soon as you step foot in the field.
– Wood Duck- 1
– G-winged Teal- 75
– No. Pintail- 5
– Hooded Merg- 6
– Common Merg- 1 male
– D-c Cormorant- 2-3
– G B Heron- 2
– Great Egret- 1
– Kestrel- 1 female
– Killdeer- 1
– Snipe- 2
– Herring Gull- 7
– Kingfisher- 2
– Phoebe- 1
– Fish Crow- 9
– Tree Swallow- 5
– Chickadee Sp.- 2, looked very good for Carolina, so good that i’m hesitant to even call them intergrades. Played a quick burst of Carolina song and they went nuts, started to sing and give there gargle notes… farthest north i’ve seen them.
– Am. Tree Sparrow- 3
– Savannah Sparrow- 2
– Rusty Blackbird- 2 males
– Eastern Meadowlark – 5+

Google Maps:

Finderne Wetlands- 40.554032,-74.590194
Where I’ve been Parking- 40.556204,-74.585967
Cackling Goose- 40.556599,-74.595172

Jeff

The Bufflehead Road ponds are at these Google map coordinates: 40.553624,-74.566762
This place will never be associated with natural beauty by anyone with a sensitive aesthetic. There is a county transfer station and a water company facility amongst other businesses. Pick-up trucks, SUV’s with county and official looking insignias on the side as well as dump trucks and other work vehicles travel the narrow road. But water holes are few in Somerset County and a birder does what a birder has to do. Jeff Ellerbusch discovered these little pockets of bird life. They could prove to be productive over time.

Jeff, Joe Pescatore and myself visited these ponds, again, this afternoon. A Red-breasted Merganser hen was found by me but flew to the east within minutes. One Barn Swallow represents the first of the season for Somerset County that we know of.

Canada Goose – 2
Ring-necked Duck – 17
Common Goldeneye – 1
Red-breasted Merganser – 1
Ruddy Duck – 3
Great Blue Heron – 1
Killdeer – 1
Fish Crow – 1
Northern Rough-winged Swallow – 4
Tree Swallow – 20
Barn Swallow – 1

Submitted by Jonathan Klizas

From Jeff Ellerbusch – Thursday morning.

Bufflehead Rd. ponds, Bridgewater township:
Ruddy Duck
1 Co. Goldeneye
15 Hooded Merganser
25 Ring-necked Ducks
1 Pied-billed Grebe
40+ Tree Swallows

Other:
Great Egret at Duke’s Parkway east, Hillsborough.
2 White-crowned Sparrows continue at the powerline cut on Beekman Lane, Hillsborough.
2-3 Eastern Meadowlarks in a field in Bridgewater.

Jeff Ellerbusch reports that 7 Sandhill Cranes flew over his house in Warren Township. Jeff’s description:

“The 7 Sandhills flew over, coming from the south, at around 5:15, circled 3 or so times, and drifted west. Insane!”

The direction they would have been heading is west along Route 78 from the vicinity of King George Road in Warren Township towards Hunterdon County.