Excellent Birding at DeKorte, 8/6/16

 

 

 

 

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~A juvenile LEAST BITTERN hunting at DeKorte Park, 8/6/16. I can’t get enough of this bird! ~

Birding in Orange County has been a little bit slow all week, so Kyle, Linda, Maria, and I piled into my Volkswagen Golf and headed south to Richard W. DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst, New Jersey. We all seemed to be in the same mood, ready spend the morning at a spot that has no shortage of birds and also offers up great photo opportunities. We were not disappointed and had 41 species for the outing. LEAST BITTERNS were high on the priority list – we were hoping to get Kyle his lifer, which we achieved through a fly-by very early on. We saw several LEBI while were there, and we spent some quality time viewing and photographing one young bird that was in nice light and wasn’t too far away.

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~These Semipalmated Sandpipers are sharp looking to me. Look how white this bird is in spite of foraging in the mud all day long! DeKorte Park, 8/6/16.~

Other highlights included a nice look at a couple of male Ruddy Ducks in breeding plumage, and a young, large, (probably a female) Peregrine Falcon that absolutely ripped onto the scene and took what appeared to be a Forster’s Tern. Those PEFAs are killing machines and are fascinating to watch in action. For shorebirds, we had what I suspect are the expected species – Least Sandpipers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Spotted Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitchers, Greater Yellowlegs, and Lesser Yellowlegs. Other good birds included three Black-crowned Night-herons, a couple of Osprey, two Great Black-backed Gulls, and several Snowy Egrets. It was an excellent morning of birding in great company!

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~Beautiful Bird. A male Ruddy Duck at DeKorte Park, 8/6/16.~
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~An acrobatic Forster’s Tern hunting at DeKorte Park, 8/6/16.~
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~One of my favorites! I’ve been wanting to get some photos of these guys in OC, but it hasn’t panned out just yet. Black-crowned Night-heron at DeKorte Park, 8/6/16.~
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~A young Forster’s Tern cruising overhead at DeKorte Park, 8/6/16. I’m not sure if other folks find this plumage as attractive as I do, but I think this is a good looking bird.

4 thoughts on “Excellent Birding at DeKorte, 8/6/16”

  1. I am never ceased to be amazed at your aerial photos and your shot of the Forster’s Tern is as amazing as any I’ve seen. Sounds like a fabulous day for all! John

    1. Thanks John! Who even knew they got so twisted around in the air like that? It was a fun day with some really good birds. Matt

  2. Congratulations, I’ve been down twice and have only had the briefest of glimpses of the Least Bittern in flight, my new nemesis bird. I agree about the coloration on the young terns, just beautiful!
    Great photos, as usual!!!!

    1. Thanks Deb! I think DeKorte is my new summer spot – too many good birds! You should go back for the LEBI for a better look! Matt

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