Get out your binoculars — and send us your Meadowlands Big Year totals as of August 31!

The goal is to see as many different bird species as possible in the 14 towns of the Meadowlands District over the course of 2013 — and also to have fun birding.

To ensure a level playing field, all birds must be seen in areas open to the public, or on guided walks or banding events in such places as Harrier Meadow or the back of the Kingsland Landfill.

The idea is to promote birding in the Meadowlands, and to give area birders a competition that does not require as much travel (and gasoline consumption) as, say, a New Jersey Big Year.

To make this as fair as possible, we  have two divisions: Meadowlands residents and non-Meadowlands residents.

More details follow. Continue reading →

Edith Wallace asks:

Where have all the birders gone?

Mike Britt writes:

Mark French and I hit Kearny Marsh from 5:58-9:03AM. Highlights were: 5 WOOD DUCK, 15+ GREAT BLUE HERON, 64+ GREAT EGRET, 8 SNOWY EGRET,  3 GREEN HERON, 20 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT HERON, 2 COMMON GALLINULE (an adult with a 75% grown chick), 5 CASPIAN TERNS (they were feeding in the large mixed feeding group of waders, gulls, and terns – they eventually headed toward DeKorte – probably to roost), and flyover BOBOLINK. (Thanks, Mike!)

Despite distant occasional rumbles of thunder and a brief light rain, we had a nice turnout for our “Back to Football” walk at DeKorte Park  — 25 participants, and nearly 40 species of birds.

Prize-winning Highlights included Eagle, Cardinal, Falcon, Giant (Great) Egret and Giant (Great) Blue Heron.

Other highlights included Stilt Sandpiper and a few warbler species.

We will post the full list later this week.