WILDLIFE


Mountain Lakes duck

Mountain Lakes is home to a broad variety of wildlife who inhabit the lakes (lacustrine system), wetlands (palustrine system) and woodlands (terrestrial system).  Listed below are known animal species in each system.

The National Audubon Society maintains a Christmas Bird Count database of counts of birds in various locations.  Anyone can explore the database and find out what bird populations are in their location and what changes have occurred over the years.  If you are interested in the Boonton area, go to Current Results and use Count Code "NJBO".

Lacustrine System (Lakes as a Habitat)

Typical Animal SpeciesThreatened and Endangered Species

Birds:*
  • Double-crested cormorant
  • Green heron
  • Black-crowned night heron
  • Mute swan
  • Canada goose
  • Mallard
  • Bufflehead
  • Spotted sandpiper
  • Ring-billed gull
  • Herring gull
  • Belted kingfisher
  • Tree swallow
  • Barn swallow
Birds:
  • Great blue heron -T
  • Osprey-T
* In addition to these, a much larger number of birds have been reported seen at one time or another in Mountain Lakes.  Click here for a list.
Fish:
  • Bass:
    • largemouth bass…micropterus salmoides
    • smallmouth bass…micropterus dolomieui
  • Catfish-brown bull head…ictalurus nebulosis
  • Crappie-black crappie…pomoxis nigromaculatus
  • Minnows:
    • common shiner
    • golden shiner
    • mudminnow
  • Perch-yellow perch…perca flavescens
  • Pickerel-chain pickerel…esox niger
  • Sunfish:
    • bluegill…lepomis macrochirus
    • pumpkinseed…lepomis gibbosus
    • redbreast…lepomis auritus
    • longear…lepomis megalotis
  • Trout:
    • brown trout…salmo trutta
    • rainbow trout…salmo gairdneri
 
Reptiles and Amphibians:
  • Snapping turtle
  • Painted turtle
  • Northern water snake
  • Bullfrog
 
Mammals:
  • Muskrat
 


Palustrine System (Wetlands as a Habitat)

Typical Animal SpeciesThreatened and Endangered Species

Birds:*
  • Common yellowthroat
  • White-throated sparrow
  • Red-winged blackbird
* In addition to these, a much larger number of birds have been reported seen at one time or another in Mountain Lakes.  Click here for a list.
Reptiles and Amphibians:
  • Spring peeper
  • Chorus frog
  • Pickerel frog
  • Leopard frog
  • Wood frog
Mammals:
  • White-tailed deer
  • Muskrat


Terrestrial Forest System (Upland Forests as a Habitat)

Typical Animal SpeciesThreatened and Endangered Species

Birds:*
  • Turkey vulture
  • Sharp-shinned hawk
  • Wild turkey
  • Mourning dove
  • Screech owl
  • Ruby-throated hummingbird
  • Red-bellied woodpecker
  • Downy woodpecker
  • Hairy woodpecker
  • Northern flicker
  • Pileated woodpecker
  • Eastem pbeobe
  • Great crested flycatcher
  • Blue jay
  • American crow
  • Fish crow
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Tufted titmouse
  • White-breasted nuthatch
  • Brown creeper
  • Carolina wren
  • House wren
  • Winter wren
  • Ruby-crowned kinglet
  • Blue-gray gnatcatcher
  • Veery
  • Swainson's thrush
  • Hermit thrush
  • Wood thrush
  • American robin
  • Gray catbird
  • Northern mockingbird
  • Cedar waxwing
  • European starling
  • Red-eyed vireo
  • Northern parula
  • Yellow warbler
  • Yellow-rumped warbler
  • Black-throated green warbler
  • Blackpoll warbler
  • Black-and-white warbler
  • American redstart
  • Ovenbird
  • Scarlet tanager
  • Northern cardinal
  • Rose-breasted grosbeak
  • Rufous-sided towhee
  • Song sparrow
  • White-throated sparrow
  • Dark-eyed junco
  • Brown-headed cowbird
  • Northern oriole
  • House finch
  • Purple finch
  • American goldfinch
  • House sparrow
Birds:
  • Red-shouldered hawk -E
  • Cooper's hawk -E
* In addition to these, a much larger number of birds have been reported seen at one time or another in Mountain Lakes.  Click here for a list.
Reptiles and Amphibians:
  • Red-backed salamander
Mammals:
  • Short-tail shrew
  • Opossum
  • Woodchuck
  • Striped skunk
  • Meadow vole
  • Little brown myotis
  • White-tailed deer
  • White-footed mouse
  • Raccoon
  • Eastern mole
  • Eastern gray squirrel
  • Eastern cottontail
  • Eastern chipmunk
  • Gray fox
  • Red fox
  • Black bear
  • Bat (several species)
  • Southern flying squirrel
  • Coyote (Observed by a Mountain Lakes resident in June 1999)
  • Terrestrial forest system snakes (various non-poisonous species)


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