New Jersey Audubon Society Citizen Science: YOU Can Help Track Egrets and Herons

This is a great time of year to go birding and spot charismatic egrets and herons, as they fatten-up and prepare for migration (depending on where you are) or the cold winter to come.  Below are a couple of initiatives relevant to citizens in the tri-state region. 

Great Egret Tagging

Some Great Egrets in the New York City harbor have been fashioned with yellow ID tags.  Blue, orange, and green tags represent birds tagged in Lake Huron, Ontario.

(Great Egret in NJ by Jonathan Klizas)

The goal: if you spot a great egret sporting any of these colored tags, make note of the color and alphanumeric ID written on the tag (it is the same on both tags).

The action: Send the tag color and ID information to Chip Weseloh (Canadian Wildlife Service, chip.weseloh -at- ec.gc.ca) or Susan Elbin (NYC Audubon, selbin -at- nycaudubon.org).

Harbor Heron Smartphone App

NJ Audubon just released an app for tracking the foraging locations of egrets and herons.  Visit the Harbor Heron Mappler page to learn about the app and how your observations can help local conservation and population assessment efforts.  The map below illustrates how the data are compiled.

 

(Screenshot capture July 31, 2013 of Harbor Heron Mappler data, NJ Audubon)

Interested in birds, but don’t know where to start?

• New Jersey Audubon - visit their "calendar" page for guided birding walks, boat-rides and other outdoor activities in NJ.
• New York City Audubon
• ebird - this website is a joy for those interested in tracking your personal bird sightings.
• Cornell University's Lab of Ornithology has a wonderful website with a plethora of information on bird identification and natural history.
• It is never too early to start preparing for the Christmas Bird Count, a more than 100-year tradition spanning December to January.

(Great Egret, Everglades National Park, FL. (c) 2011, L. Shappell)