Meetings and Field Trips
Please join us for the upcoming meetings and field trips. For field trips, please dress appropriately, and bring water, snacks, sunscreen, and bug spray. We usually eat out after the trip, but you may bring lunch.
A document listing all of our programs and field trips since 2016 can be downloaded here.
All Dates and Programs are Subject to Change.
The meeting will be at the Barnegat Branch of the Ocean County Library, 112 Burr St., Barnegat, NJ 08005.
The meeting will start at 7PM, with doors open at 6:30 for mingling.
This is the second of two Ocean County Clean Communities cleanups. SOBG was awarded a $500 grant by the Ocean County Adopt-A-Natural Land Site Program to help preserve the natural environment. This money will be used to help fund the SOBG’s annual scholarship. Val Henken is the Administrator. The program requires two clean-up dates per year with 10 participants each.
We will meet at 1254 Cattus Island Blvd. in Toms River. Please sign in and pick up gloves, a grabbber, and a garbage bag before you head to the trails with guides. All participants of this and the March 22 cleanup will be eligible for merchandise giveaways generously donated by the Jetty Rock Foundation. The rain date is April 6.
We will look for spring migrants in Estell Manor Park (Atlantic County Park System), searching for early spring migrants that are difficult to find in Ocean County, such as Prothonotary Warbler, Yellow-throated Warbler, and Worm-eating Warbler.
Expect about 3 hours, but you can leave at any time. Pack a lunch if you choose.
If the birds are active, we can explore another nearby location further.
If you arrive late, you can call Jason Nargiz to try to catch up with us.
PLACE: Atlantic County Park at Estell Manor, 109 NJ-50, Mays Landing, NJ 08330
See you there!
We will visit Manasquan WMA to look for spring migrants, hoping for a good warbler flight. This typically is the peak time for spring warbler and other migrants. Meet at the Manasquan WMA parking lot at 719 Ridge Rd in Brick. There are no bathrooms here, so take it easy on the morning coffee and prepare accordingly.
For details, call Jason Nargiz.
Today we will search for late spring migrants at the Cedar Bonnet Island portion of Forsythe NWR in Stafford Township. Ever since this property opened to the public, it has become a migrant hotspot. After we finish at Cedar Bonnet, for those who wish to continue further, we have the option of going to nearby Manahawkin WMA to search further.
There are no bathroom facilities at CBI. One option is stopping beforehand at the Manahawkin Shop-rite on Rte 72, 5 miles before CBI.
Meet at the CBI parking lot on Rte. 72 at 8AM. For details, call Jason.
Rain date if needed is Sunday May 18.
Every year the National Audubon Society conducts this count, and the local count of the 15-mile diameter circle centered on Tuckerton is organized by the Southern Ocean Birding Group (SOBG). The CBC is the longest running citizen science project in North America – this will be the 126th annual count. The purpose is to identify bird species that are present, and the data are subsequently used for conservation activities and other research.
This will be a fun event and both new and experienced birders can help out. Participants will be organized into groups and look for birds from dawn to dusk.
Morry Kapitan will be organizing the teams and assigning count sectors in advance of the count and emailing out any count materials. More details will follow once I know who will be participating. If you can’t attend for the whole day, that is fine as some sectors are only birded for half of the day. Your choices are all day, morning or afternoon.
We usually meet at the Dynasty Diner in Tuckerton for lunch. If you want to skip lunch that is okay. Also, we usually meet to discuss and finalize the count numbers at around 5pm, if we can set it up.
Please let Morry (mlkapitan@me.com) know if you can attend and for which portions of the day.