Mike Newhouse and others saw the Wilson’s Phalarope this afternoon, and Ray Duffy and Chris Takacs saw the Sora.

We have created a crude map to help folks find the birds.  Where the map says “.33 mile” is where you stand looking out from the Shorewalk.  The Big O is the vicinity of where the birds are being seen… The visitors parking lot just after the guard booth is between the “.25 mile” and the “.33 mile.”

Best to bring a scope…

Two Kingfishers and a Coop were seen around 5 today.

Our next free guided walk with Bergen County Audubon is on Tuesday, Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to noon, and it’s a terrific Tuesday two-fer — a walk in Harrier Meadow, plus a bird-banding demonstration there by NJMC Naturalist Mike Newhouse.

Harrier Meadow — where we recently saw that wing-tagged Great Egret — is usually closed to the public, and Mike’s bird-banding demos are always the best. Mike banded the mystery warbler pictured earlier this month  — the same day we saw the tagged egret.

Details — and ID of mystery warbler — follow. Continue reading →

Marc Chelemer posts:

Chris Takacs’ find Thursday of a Stilt Sandpiper and a Sora at DeKorte’s Shorebird Pool brought me back to that location.  [Not only did I see the Phalarope, but] the Stilt Sandpiper was present in beautiful fresh plumage, especially the bright rufous primaries…visible even in the limited light. The voracious bird occasionally lifted its head enough out of the water to show the droopy bill.  After at least four misses of this species at Forsythe and even more misses elsewhere, it was nice to see this First-of-Year species.   (Thanks Marc and Chris!)