The Meadowlands is a prime destination for foraging egrets that have colonized South Brother Isand in the east River. That fact was underscored in late July when Lorraine Novinski was taking one of her regular bird counts for the Harbor Herons survey.

Lorraine noted a Snowy Egret that had been banded on South Brother. When NYC Audubon heard of the sighting, it sent reseracher Liz Craig (above) to the site to see if she could find the banded Snowy as well.

She did not see the Snowy, but she held up a large antenna and picked up the signal from a Great Egret that had been equipped with miniature radio transmitter at South Brother Island in June. We recorded what the transmitted signal sounds like, for those who are curious. Just run your cursor over the lefthand side of the dark gray bar below.

Recording of Egret w/Transmitter Summer 2010

Sandy Sorkin saw a Sora (albeit a distant one, second from left) this morning on a Phrag island near the beginning of the Marsh Discovery Trail at DeKorte Park.

Below is a map to give you an idea of where it was. They have also been seen at Phrag's edge near the start of the trail. Your results may differ. (Orange line is the MDT, black dot is the trail entrance.)  (Thanks, Sandy!)

For this weekend's Bird Fest, the Meadowlands Commission's Brett Bragin has lowered the water level in the Shorebird Pool at DeKorte Park.

The water level is now a few inches lower than it was for Kevin Karlson Day last month and — barring any heavy rains — it should remain thereabouts through the weekend.

[We have already gotten reports of two Sora sightings this morning from the Marsh Discovery Trail.]

We should get more shorebirds overall but when it is high tide nearby, the new mudflats at the Shorebird Pool should be particularly attractive.

In case you are wondering, high tide Thursday is around 1 p.m. High tide Friday is around 2 p.m. High tide for Bird Fest is around 3 p.m.

A Digiscoping Workshop with photographer Kevin Bolton has been added to the Sunday schedule for this weekend's Meadowlands Festival of Birding.

The workshop will be held at the Mill Creek Marsh in Secaucus from 7:30 a.m. to 11 a.m.

According to Kevin, digiscoping is the joining of a compact digital camera or DSLR to a spotting scope, allowing you to turn your scope into a camera lens and take full-frame still photos and video from a distance.

You can register by calling 201-968-0808; or in person at the Hackensack Riverkeeper booth on Saturday, Sept. 11. Don’t miss it!

TIP: Bring a 2GB SD memory chip to record your workshop photos.

Check out http://jerseydigiscoping.blogspot.com/ for some of Kevin’s work.

As part of a friendly competition among DeKorte Park, the Celery Farm Natural Area in Northwestern Bergen County and a buddy vacationing in Massachusetts, we thought we'd see how species of birds each group would see during an hour on Sunday morning. The other two groups counted from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. but stayed in one place, a la "The Big Sit."

Our DeKorte group covered about a mile later in the morning — from 11 to noon — but did not go much onto the Marsh Discovery Trail.

The Celery Farm crew, known as The Hour on the Tower, tied their all-time record with 41 species. We had 31 species. Massachusetts had 30. Congrats to all. It was fun, and — as one DeKorte participant observed, you become as aware of the birds you should see but don't (like the Snowy Egret) as the ones you do see.

The DeKorte List follows (including, at the end, birds seen before or after the hour).

Continue reading →

Chris Takacs reports: "5 Raptors around Disposal Rd., DeKorte and Harrier Meadow today. Male Northern Harrier hunting the Kingsland Landfill along Disposal Rd., Kestrel and 2 Peregrines along Disposal and Harrier Meadow, Osprey at DeKorte and Red-tailed  hawk on Disposal. 55+ Bobolinks flying over the Erie Landfill near Harrier Meadow just after sunrise.

"Michael Newhouse of the Meadowlands Commission reports a White Ibis over Harrier Meadow also at sunrise." (Thanks, Chris and Mike!)

Let's hope the ibis hangs around for BirdFest this weekend.

Jeff Nicol reports: "I photographed this bird Sunday just outside of the gate to the Marsh Discovery Trail.

"When I first saw the Yellow flash into the tree, I thought Yellow Warbler, but this is not a Yellow Warbler.

"This was much larger (a bit larger than a Parakeet, which I also saw in the same area) and it had a redish-orange color on the top of its head.

The William D. McDowell Observatory in  DeKorte Park begins a new schedule of programming on wednesday night with free public access at 8 and 10 p.m. — weather permitting, of course.

Dress for the weather; with the dome open, you are basically outside.

Each evening two major objects in the night sky will be viewed, plus one or two other celestial objects or events depending on the observing conditions.

Pictured at left is the observatory's state-of-the-art telescope with a 20-inch mirror, housed beneath a retractable dome.

The telescope, one of the largest in the area, is equipped with cameras to record the stars and planets. Special filters block light pollution.

For detailed information, click here.  The full September schedule will be posted when it becomes available.

What is attached by rubber band to this journal? If you get this one, take the credit!

Answer follows.

Continue reading →

Just a reminder that the 7th annual Meadowlands Festival of Birding is this weekend.

More information is here. Article that the NJMC's Jim Wright wrote on Bird Fest is here.