mocosocoBirds

From Tom Smith: I managed to get a photo of the Yellow-breasted Chat on Washington Valley Road this morning (photo above). My brother and I both agreed that there were times that it sounded like there were two of them singing/calling – I don’t know if that was the case, or whether it was an illusion. There was a Brown Thrasher in the vicinity that was mimicking chat sounds, so that should be taken into account.

Editor’s note: Tom is precise with his description. When the Yellow-breasted Chat (YBCH) was first heard on May 30, I thought a Brown Thrasher was doing a spot on imitation of a YBCH – and it was! Then I heard what was unmistakably a YBCH…or so I thought.

Currently there are two Yellow-breasted Chats in Morris County: one at Great Swamp NWR (see post) and the subject of the current post at the Patriots Path section of Washington Valley Rd. in Morris Twp. in the west section of the field west of Ranney Hill Rd.

The Yellow-breasted Chat was on Pleasant Plains Road yesterday, June 1, as shown by Dave Emma’s photograph above. From Dave: “He wasn’t very cooperative, and wouldn’t come down from the tree. He was right along side the second speed bump as previously reported. Willow Flycatchers, Yellow Warblers, and one Great Crested Flycatcher were all in the field as well.”

This morning, a Yellow-breasted Chat was found near the south gate entrance of Pleasant Plains Road along with a White-eyed Vireo (Simon Lane). We will assume this is the same Chat seen further up the road in previous days. Inexplicably, the gate was still closed at 7:00 a.m. It was on an automatic open at 6:00 since early spring.

An Acadian Flycatcher was found on the Morris County side of White Bridge along it’s namesake White Bridge Road this morning (S. Lane).

Dave Emma also has a photograph of a Cerulean Warbler (see photo below) on Waterloo Valley Road, Mt. Olive Township from May 21. It was at the same location as reported on May 12. It was missed on a misty May 19. Dave reports hearing two Cerulean Warblers on the road on May 27, so nesting may be occurring.

This morning, a Yellow-breasted Chat was on the west side of the meadow in the Washington Valley Rd. section of Patriot’s Path in Morris Township. This is the second Yellow-breasted Chat reported in Morris County in the past few weeks. A White-eyed Vireo was observed at the Whitehead Rd. section of Patriot’s Path, a location in which this species spent the spring and early summer of 2011. Other typical species in the area are Blue-winged and Yellow Warblers, American Redstart, Common Yellowthroat, Veery, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Cedar Waxwings, Willow Flycatcher, Field Sparrow, etc.

The Blue Grosbeak of the Sparrow Fields

The Blue Grosbeak (BLGR) found yesterday by Tim Vogel continued today at the Tourne Sparrow Fields on Old Boonton Road, Denville Township. A map of the Tourne County Park is here. After passing the wooded area on the path to the Rockaway River, the BLGR is in the first field on your left. The BLGR favors a Black Cherry next to the bat house (as does the resident pair of Eastern Bluebirds). Occasionally, it flies to a tree across the field.

For Glenn Mahler, his sighting today of the Blue Grosbeak represents number 272 on his Morris County life list of bird species. Congratulations, Glenn. This is the highest known mark in Morris County history.

Flycatchers

Least and Acadian Flycatchers were observed this morning on the Ogden Mine RR Trail of Mahlon Dickerson Reservation. (Mike Almendinger, Jonathan Klizas, Simon Lane).

Both Willow and Alder Flycatchers were heard at the overlook on Pleasant Plains Road, Great Swamp NWR (S. Lane).

Field Notes

From Leslie Webster:
Newly noted in Loantaka Brook Reservation this morning: a Willow Flycatcher at Kitchell Pond. The warbler population seems to have settled into the usual summer residents: Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, and lots of Yellow Warblers. I heard a Worm Eating Warbler in the park, during one of our recent rain-soaked days, but it was not in evidence this morning.