Chris Takacs reports that last Sunday around 7 a.m. he had more than 200 Snowy and Great Egrets at DeKorte Park.  Most of the birds were in the Marsh Discovery Trail impoundments.

We are getting to the time of year when the Harbor Herons congregate here.

24 Northern Shoveler
11 Great Blue Heron
143 Great Egret
74 Snowy  Egret
1 Green Heron
8 Black-crowned Night-Heron

Next Tuesday night, Sept. 11, a few folks are planning an informal, unofficial gathering in the Visitors Parking Lot at DeKorte to look at the Twin Beams of Light in Lower Manhattan.

Mike Maddaloni, who specializes in sunset shots (see above), writes:

"Thursday night I stayed a bit after dark, chatting with a few other photogs, and lo and behold I saw a sliver of light in the sky.

"We waited until it got darker, and sure enough they were testing the beams; they seemed a bit duller than usual so I'm holding out till Tuesday for a proper shoot. But I was able to test it last night, and with the still water from the parking area, its a GREAT spot, reflection in the water, the turnpike really doesn't do much damage to the shot.

"The only thing is the weather. Thursday night was VERY clear so the beams were reaching to space! But if it's hazy/cloudy (like it's predicted to be), we might not even see them from DeKorte, which happened to me last year.

"Either way, I'm looking forward to gathering with whoever wants for as
long as we're permitted Tuesday night."  (Thanks, Mike!)

We now have tallies through August for the folks involved in the Meadowlands Big Year competition.

Congrats to all for competing. We hope you are having fun close to home, and we hope you are seeing new species again now that the fall migration is in full swing.

If you're name's not on the list, please e-mail Jim Wright at jim.wright (at) njmeadowlands.gov. It's not too late to participate!

The leader board as of August 31 follows below (just to heighten the suspense).  Also posting the standings as of June 30 below…

1. Chris Takacs:  174  (lives in district; counting birds within district boundaries, not district towns)
2. Mike Newhouse 173 (NJMC naturalist, setting a target number for competitors)
3. Ray Duffy:  158 (lives in district)  
4. Julie McCall: 142 species  (lives in district)
5. Doug Morel: 141 (out of district)
6. Ramon Gomez 143 (out of district)
7. Jim Wright: 131 (NJMC staff)
8. Dennis Cheeseman: 128  (out of district)
9. Roy Woodford: 119 (out of district)
10.Rob Fanning: 112 (out of district)
11. Lillian Rivera: 109 (out of district)
     

The leader board as of July 31

      1. Chris Takacs:  165  (lives in district; counting birds within district boundaries, not district towns)
       2. Mike Newhouse 164 (NJMC naturalist, setting a target number for competitors)
       3. Ray Duffy:  149 (lives in district) 
       4. Julie McCall: 137 species  (lives in district)
       5. Doug Morel: 137 (out of district)
       6. Ramon Gomez 136 (out of district)
       7. Jim Wright: 125 (NJMC staff)
       8. Roy Woodford: 113 (out of district)
       9. Dennis Cheeseman: 126  (out of district)
      10.Rob Fanning: 105 (out of district)
      11. Lillian Rivera: 102 (out of district)

The NJMC's Katy Weidel writes that a new paddle map of the Hackensack River estuary is now posted at River Barge Park in Carlstadt and at Laurel Hill County Park in Secaucus.

It's a great resourse for anyone paddling on the river. 

We'll try to get a pdf of the map and make it available for download on the blog.