Northern Wheatear still on Transco Trail.

  Had an amazing afternoon looking at awesome birds — including, on the Marsh Discovery Trail, a Least Bittern, three Soras, immature Glossy Ibis, all sorts of sandpipers, and a few Black-crowned Night Herons. (Did not see the Golden Plover, but others did see some Semi-Palmated Plovers.

   Fellow birders were telling us how many life birds they got this afternoon.

   Then there was the above view, a convocation of egrets and gulls not to be believed as the Sun started to set. It was like being the middle of a dream

     Northern Wheatear is still along the Transco Trail, usually on the right side, often along the rocks of the Saw Mill Impoundment. Little guy is chowing down on crickets.

   We are having a great Patagonia Picnic Table Effect. As more solid come down to see the Wheatear, we are getting more eyes on the impoundment just as water levels have been significant lowered.  

   As a result, we have seen Soras, a Golden Plover, an immature Glossy Ibis, Caspian Terns,  Pintails, etc. — in addition to more than 100 Snowy Egrets, more than 70 Great Egrets  (below)and other assorted birds.  Sora and Ibis seen within the hour  — along with Black- and Yellow-crowned Night Herons and frequent Ospreys.

   If you are planning to go to DeKorte and want the status and most recent location of the Wheatear (if it is still there, fingers crossed) or the Golden Plover, call Jim Wright on his cellphone until 5 p.m.. 201-785-6604. Send Jim an e-mail here.  If you do go and walk along the embankment in search of the Wheatear, be careful — there are a lot of groundhog holes and bad footing.

   To see Ray Duffy's video of the DeKorte Wheatear, click here. (It's kind of cool — thanks, Ray.)

   For directions to the park, click on the “About Us” section of our Web site, www.njmeadowlands.gov

   Or download the pdf here…Download To DeKorte Park

   Hugh Carola of the Hackensack Riverkeeper was nice enough to pass along the list of species seen at all the sites at the Meadowlands Festival of Birding this past weekend. (Thanks, Hugh!)

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