mocosocoBirds

No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn. – Hal Borland (1900-1978)

Red-eared Slider, Loantaka Brook Reservation, NJ, Mar. 11, 2014 (photo by Jonathan Klizas).

Above: A Red-eared Slider hauls out on the ice while enjoying 60+ F degree temperatures.

From Bobby Skrabal:
There was an Eastern Phoebe singing at Duke Island Park this morning. I also saw the Canvasback, a Red-breasted Merganser, and 2 Bald Eagles there. Later on I saw a Wilson’s Snipe at Finderne Wetlands.
[Editor’s note: Both the Eastern Phoebe and the Wilson’s Snipe are firsts of the year for mocosocoBirds.]

Jeff Ellerbusch biked the Delaware and Raritan Canal Towpath for a 10-mile round trip covering the southern end of Somerset County just north of Landing Lane nearly all the way to South Bound Brook. The reward was 116 Common Goldeneye, yet another Somerset County record for this species in 2014. 28 Tree Swallows were tallied, the first of the year in the mocosocoBirds region. Also present were the usual Redheads (4 drakes), Ring-necked Ducks (101), Greater Scaup (8), Lesser Scaup (2), Bufflehead (33), Hooded Merganser (14), Common Merganser (31), Red-breastd Merganser (7), Canada Geese, Wood Ducks, Mallards and Am. Black Ducks.

From Julie Buechner:
Birds are beginning to return to the Boonton Reservoir as it has started to thaw. And what a difference one day can make. I stopped by yesterday to see how much ice had melted. The inlet was flowing and there were a few birds present, 4 Common Mergansers and 1 Hooded Merganser. Today I returned and not only was there no longer any snow on the pedestrian bridge, but those numbers jumped to 44 Common Mergansers, 3 Hooded Mergansers, 15 Ring-necked Ducks, and some Canada Geese. In addition, there was a Double-crested Cormorant perched by the shoreline.
[Editor’s Note: This is the first Double-crested Cormorant report from 2014 in Morris and Somerset counties.]

A Cackling Goose was a flyover on Route 22 in Bridgewater (Mike Britt).

American Woodcock peented in the snow-covered field at the old Moody Farm (Patriots Path) at 7:19 p.m. in Washington Valley, Morris Township (J. Klizas).

The Morris lakes remain frozen but it is getting deeper into March and ducks have to move. Two Bridges in Lincoln Park has more species diversity than any other Morris location at the current time. This is where the Pompton River joins the Passaic River and is the convergence of the county borders for Morris, Essex and Passaic. North of the Passaic and west of the Pompton is Morris County. Most of the ducks mentioned below were on the Pompton River with a few others by the bridges where the Pompton merges in to the Passaic. As ducks will do, close approach was impossible and the waterfowl slowly drifted upriver.

Gadwall – 1
Mallard – 11
Green-winged Teal – 4
Redhead – 6
Ring-necked Duck – 60
Lesser Scaup – 1
Bufflehead – 23
Common Goldeneye – 16
Hooded Merganser – 8
Common Merganser – 3
Red-breasted Merganser – 2
Pied-billed Grebe – 1
Chris Thomas adds Wood Duck to the species list later in the day.

The Red-necked Grebe spent day no. 16 at Clyde Potts Reservoir as eBirded by David Bernstein.

From Ted Chase, Franklin Twp. March 8:
Yesterday, …I walked the Delaware and Raritan Canal Towpath along the Raritan River, up as far as where the bridge should cross from DeMott Lane (but since Hurricane Irene does not). Ducks seen, from the mouth of Mile Run up (and this at least in the Somerset/Middlesex shared stretch of the Raritan):

Mallard – 206, almost all in the canal, mainly around a house where I suspect they were fed
Am. Black Duck – 11. Interesting was an apparent pair, drake Mallard – duck Black Duck; also one probably hybrid paired with a female Mallard.
Redhead – 2
Greater Scaup – 15
Lesser Scaup – 2 drakes, I didn’t try to pick out whether females were Lesser
Ring-necked Duck – 71
Common Goldeneye – 91. These and the Ring-necks were mostly up-river from the bend.
Bufflehead – 8 (maybe more, spending most of their time under water. Eight more downstream from the Landing Lane Bridge.)
Common Merganser – 16
Red-breasted Merganser – 2, + 2 downstream from the Landing Lane bridge [Editor’s note: south of Landing Lane is Middlesex County. Somerset County begins roughly where the apartment tower is on the left walking from Landing Lane north along the Towpath]
Hooded Merganser – 5, three in the canal
Mute Swan – 1
Canada Geese – I recorded 20, but I’m sure there were more – all in the canal

And for those seeking Red-winged Blackbirds, I had 7 males in one tree, a few songs.
Ted Chase
Franklin Twp

(Sandhill Cranes, Franklin Twp., Mar. 5, 2014, photo by Jeff Ellerbusch)

The Sandhill Cranes of Franklin Twp. were reported today for the first time since January 31 (Jeff Ellerbusch). The cranes were in the corn stubble at Randolph Road this afternoon. These are hardy birds indeed. They were not at this location later in the afternoon.

Also, there is a report of three Sandhill Cranes from a cornfield in Hillsborough Twp. near the Millstone River. No details of the location although it is assumed to be along the Millstone River Road, a.k.a. CR 533. This report came within an hour of the Franklin Twp. report leaving one to wonder if these are the same three cranes from Franklin Twp. or the three other cranes from the original group of six that visited Franklin Twp. from November through January.

The Somerset County portion of the Raritan River was well covered today. 3 Red-breasted Mergansers (RBME) and 1 Greater Scaup were reported from Duke Island Park (Bobby Skrabal). 2 other RBMEs were seen further east on the Raritan River (John J. Collins). At the Weston Canal Road section (Bound Brook) of the D&R Canal Towpath, Jeff Ellerbusch found 19 Ring-necked Ducks, 10 Bufflehead, 1 Common Goldeneye, 14 Common Mergansers, 3 Red-breasted Mergansers and a Pied-billed Grebe.

The slow climb out of winter will bring temperatures near seasonable levels this weekend. What is seasonable? The average daily high temperature for this time in March in Morris and Somerset Counties is 50 degrees Fahrenheit. We have a long way to go before the lakes thaw and the snow disappears.

At 5:45 p.m. on March 3, a huge flock of Common Grackles and Red-winged Blackbirds was seen in Hanover Township between Black Meadows and Troy Meadows (Chuck Hantis). Male Red-winged Blackbirds are staking territories regardless of the icy conditions.

The Canvasback hen of Duke Island Park continues as of March 3 (Bobby Skrabal) and March 4. The hen and other species are in the area of the dam at the western end of the bike trail.

Ducks seen on the Raritan River in Hillsborough Township this week include, Wood Duck, American Wigeon, Ring-necked Duck, Greater Scaup and Common, Hooded and Red-breasted Mergansers.

The duck count compiled March 4 by Jeff Ellerbusch at the Delaware and Raritan Canal Towpath, Franklin Twp. is as follows:
Canada Goose – 56
Mute Swan – 1
Wood Duck – 3
American Black Duck – 68
Mallard – 279
Northern Pintail – 1
Green-winged Teal – 2
Ring-necked Duck – 149
Greater Scaup – 11
Lesser Scaup – 3
Bufflehead – 31
Common Goldeneye – 78 (probable Somerset Co. record)
Hooded Merganser – 4
Common Merganser – 62
Red-breasted Merganser – 8 (2 drakes, 6 hens)

Jason Denesevich photographed the following Barred Owl at the Great Swamp NWR. An American Kestrel and a Merlin have spent the entire winter along Pleasant Plains Road and were viewed March 3.

Barred Owl, Great Swamp NWR, Mar. 3, 2014 (photo by Jason Desenevich)

Canvasback (Photo by Jeff Ellerbusch)

The female Canvasback continues on the Raritan River near the dam at the far west end of Duke Island Park, Bridgewater (Jeff Ellerbusch, Frank Sencher, Jr., J. Klizas). Common and Red-breasted Mergansers joined Ring-necked Ducks in the icy waters. The dam is near the western terminus of the Duke Island Park bikeway. A parking lot adjoining the bike trail makes for easy access to this part of the river. The driveway to this lot is off Old York Road. A sign for Sellars Maintenance Facility and the Somerset County Park Commission is on the corner of the road. The lot is at the end of the driveway next to the river. See this map. Turn on the satellite view and look for the dam on the river. The driveway and parking lot are northwest of the dam on the easterly side of the river.

A light-morph Rough-legged Hawk was found in a different location on the Duke Farms property in Hillsborough Twp. for the third day in a row. Today, it was seen along New Center Road, Hillsborough Twp. (Jeff Ellerbusch). Yesterday, a light-morph Rough-legged Hawk was viewed behind the Orientation Center on Duke Parkway West. Two days ago one was seen along River Road. It is likely these sightings are all of the same individual.

Rough-legged Hawk, Duke Farms, NJ, Feb. 28, 2014 (photo by Jeff Ellerbusch).

Alan Boyd made it into Troy Meadows today – not an easy task this winter. 3 Red-headed Woodpeckers were near the old trap shoot area near the end of Troy Meadows Road.

Below is a photo by Chuck Hantis of a Barred Owl taking off for the hunt, Great Swamp NWR (click on the photo for a larger image).

Barred Owl, Great Swamp NWR, NJ, Feb. 28, 2014 (photo by Chuck Hantis).

From Margo D. Beller, Morris Plains:
The last couple of days there was a yellow form male House Finch at the feeder. This is the second time I’ve seen the usually western yellow form – the first was also in Morris County, at the Freylingheusen Arboretum parking lot several years ago. This morning, as I refilled feeders at dawn, I heard a calling Raven.