Digiscoping photographer Kevin Bolton took this shot of a Long-billed Dowitcher at DeKorte late last week. 

    More on Long-billed Dowitchers here.

    Birder Tom Smith got this shot the Wilson's Phalarope near the Meadowlands Environment Center on Sunday. It was seen Saturday as well. (Thanks, Tom!)

   Earlier Wilson's Phalarope posts here and here.

   Photographer Dave Rotondi took this shot of a Sora at DeKorte on Sunday. Soras have been seen daily for the past week, including today, along the Marsh Discovery Trail.

   More on Soras here.

    Thanks to Diane Brown for sending along this shot of a Wilson's Phalarope at DeKorte Park late this a.m.!

   Birder Rob Fanning reports a Wilson Phalarope at DeKorte in the Kingsland Impoundment (Shorebird Pool) under the elevated boardwalk by the Visitor Center. (Thanks, Rob!)

   More on Wilson's Phalaropes here.

   If you get a photo, please e-mail it jim.wright@njmeadowlands.gov.

   Rob reports that the phalarope was very close in from the elevated boardwalk when he left at 11:50.

   Rob adds: "I also saw 2 DUNLIN (my first this fall) and 2 Stilt Sandpiper, as well as great views of an Im. Sora. Great up-close looks at shorebirds! Good stuff…"

   Birder Neil Maruca was at DeKorte Saturday morning. He fiied this report:

   DeKorte's Marsh Discovery trail once again hosted cooperative and readily  seen Soras, Definitely, DeKorte is the place to be if it's a bird of interest for you.

   Water levels have been lowered in the Kingland impoundments near the environmental center, leaving short mudflat "beaches" at the edge of the phrags. For the last few days birders have been finding  Soras working those newly exposed flats.

   Other sightings: Caspian Terns, Peregrine, Black Bellied Plover, Pectoral  Sandpiper. Blue and Green Winged teal, shovelers, pintails, gadwalls, 120+ Greater Yellowlegs, 120+ Snowy's, 525 DC Cormorants… the area is just  incredibly "birdy" right now.

   What can you say about a day that began with this sunrise a la mud and a pair of Peregrines rising from the marsh?

   We had great morning walk at DeKorte this morning, featuring two dozen birders who heard only yesterday that the Meadowlands Commission and Bergen Audubon were going to have a bird walk.

   We wanted  everyone to see the splendors of DeKorte's tidal pool when water levels are low and birds levels are high.

 Highlights include multiple great looks at those (usually) secretive Soras, two Caspian Terns fishing near us, a juvie Redtail so close we had to move back to focus our telephoto lenses, plus those Peregrines zipping around the marsh and terrorizing lesser birds.

   Thanks to all who attended and everyone we caught upwith along the way during the 90-minute walk.

    Click "Continue reading for Redtail, Caspian Tern, Flicker and Great Egret shots from this morning's walk.

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   Birder John Workman reports:

   While the celebrity Wheatear appears to have hauled its "whit oers" out on last night's favorable winds, there were plenty of consolation prizes. 
Highlights (for me at least) from this morning include:
 
  Sora (2), easily seen;  one repeatedly chasing the usually dominant  Semi-palmated Sandpipers off the mud flats.   A  second Sora then walked out of the reeds and entered the water (!) to  surface-feed next to the Yellowlegs.  Which was interesting, for sure.  
 
 14 species of shorebirds, including Pectoral, Western, Stilt, and the continuing youngster American Golden-Plover (pictured above).
 
  Caspian Tern (2), one of which bolted down — while  on-the-fly, and with supreme effort — a large, freshly caught  squamiger.  All while acrobatically avoiding a cheeky Ring-billed  Gull in hot pursuit.
 
Earlier in the morning, near the AmVets Carrillon:
 
 Boblink flyovers with at least one Dickcissel, which gave that short call which sounds like electronic flatulence.  
 
 Peregrine Falcon flyby with a small passerine in its talons.
 
In short, a few great hours on a mid-September morning.   

   The NJ Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society are pleased to announce a 7 a.m. bird walk at DeKorte Park on Saturday, Sept. 19.  

    The water levels in the Shorebird are very low, and we have been getting incredible birds (like the Glossy Ibis among egrets, above) that we would love to share – though we fear the celebrated Northern Wheatear has hit the avian highway.   

   Click "Continue reading…" for details.

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     We did a loop with birder Rob Fanning around the Marsh Discovery Trail yesterday evening and saw more than two dozen species, including these two Black-crowned Night Herons hanging out with yellowlegs. (Thanks, Rob!)

    We are posting here to give you an idea of the shorebirds that have been around. Rob did not see two of his target birds, the imm. Glossy Ibis and the Golden Plover — although they had been here most of the day.

   We did not think to look for the Wheatear as we had already had great looks and we were losing our light.

   Click "Continue reading to see Rob's full report.

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