The Meadowlands Blog

Park Alerts

This blog is brought to you by the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission. All photos were taken in the Meadowlands unless otherwise noted.
    Please be aware that sections of the Secaucus High School Boardwalk will be closed for a few weeks to allow for nearby marsh enhancement work. There is no access to the boardwalk from Mill Creek Point Park.

Bird Reports: July 2009

  Friday, July 10: We had a Black Skimmer again this morning at 8:45 in the Kingsland Impoundment at DeKorte. He fished the impoundment for at least 10 minutes. Also had a quick look at a tern but could not ID it -- Forster's a good guess.

    Click "Continue reading..." for more July reports.

Peregrine's Progress

   We saw this young Peregrine earlier this week on the eastbound Route 3 Bridge, looking spiffy.  His natal nest was on the westbound Route 3, so the little big guy is starting to get around.

Wild Budgie Chase?

  A colleague of ours –- a novice birder, at best -- swears she saw a yellow parakeet at DeKorte Park Wednesday evening, and that a photographer took pictures of the same.
   She says, "It is definitely not a goldfinch, but what do I know? It did have that kind of parakeet beak, a long tail & was bright yellow. Would this be a first?"
   If you are that photographer, or know of him (in his late 30s, early 40s, mid-height and thin, and wearing a red baseball cap), we sure would like to see a photo, just to confirm that our colleague isn't (completely) crazy and that she really did see an escaped parakeet.

Baby Waxwing?

   We found this little guy in a handicapped parking space in front of the NJMC administration building in DeKorte Park earlier this week.
   We moved it to the building's grounds several feet away, out of harm's way, and then let it be.
    When we checked an hour later, it was gone.
    We are thinking that this is a baby Cedar Waxwing, given the yellow on the tail feathers.
    If anyone has another idea, please let us know.
    Cedar Waxwings have been zipping around DeKorte for a while, and we photographed several adults about an hour earlier.
   Click "Continue reading" for a shot of an adult Cedar Waxwing taken earlier this week.

RIDGEFIELD: Monk Parakeet update

The Monk Parakeets continue to thrive on the bridge above the train tracks on the Hendricks Causeway in Ridgefield.Best place to see them is from Railroad Avenue.

     A recent fledgling made it all the way to the Slocum Skewes School several bocks away.

Tuesday Teaser 070709

Can you identify this bird?

   Click here for more Tuesday Teasers.

   Click "Continue reading" for the answer.

A Walk To Remember: The List

   We had at least 30 species over just less than two hours on our first summer Sunday nature walk at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst -- including Black Skimmer, Osprey (W/ fish), Peregrine Falcon (distant), and Forster's Tern.

   (For more on this walk and other summer's Meadowlands nature walks sponsored by the Meadowlands Commission and  Bergen County Audubon Society, read the next post.)

  Click "Continue Reading..."  below for a semi-complete list from Sunday. Because our 30-some group spread out, some birders saw species that others may have missed.

A Walk To Remember

   What can you say about a bird walk that begins with an Osprey catching a fish and a Black Skimmer show  (above)-- all in the first 15 minutes!

  The NJ Meadowlands Commission and Bergen Audubon wish to thank all the birders of all skill levels who participated in the holiday weekend walk.

  The Bergen Record's story on the walk is here, with a schedule of upcoming  NJMC/Bergen Audubon walks.

  Not only did we see plenty of neat birds, but we also saw a few neat butterflies, including a glimpse of one that was either a comma or a question mark.

 For now, it remains a question mark. (Which reminds us -- our next  NJMC/Bergen Audubon walk is a butterfly walk on July 19.

  We plan to post a list of all the birds seen on the July 6 walk when it's available.

  E-mail Jim Wright here is you would like to rsvp for future walks or to join our e-mail alert list for rare bird sightings and upcoming events.

Butterfly in progress

  

We saw this awesome caterpillar last week near the Carillon on Disposal Road.

   Click "Continue reading ..."  for a close-up, a shot of its host plant and what kind of butterfly (we hope) it will become one day.

Happy Independence Day

    Let freedom ring.

   AMVETS Carillon, North Arlington, earlier this week.

New Meadowlands Oral History Blog

  The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) is bringing the rich and colorful history of this region to life through its newly launched Oral History Blog, www.meadowpast.net.

    The blog, featuring recollections of longtime Meadowlands residents, is part of the NJMC’s 40th Anniversary Celebration.

   Click "Continue reading..." for more about the new blog.

Don't forget: DeKorte Walk on Sunday

   Just a reminder that the first free DeKorte Nature Walk of the summer is Sunday at 9 a.m. We meet at the butterfly garden in front of the Meadowlands Environment Center. (First building on your left as you enter DeKorte Park.)
    The walk is sponsored by the Meadowlands Commission and Bergen County Audubon. Bring binoculars, sunscreen and bug spray.
    Please rsvp with Jim Wright here.

   Click "Continue reading... " for upcoming NJMC/BCAS events.

Harbor Herons Project: Banding Update

Kate Ruskin of the N.J. Audubon Society reports:

    This year, we banded Great Egrets on South Brother Island (Bronx) and Hoffman Island (Staten Island); Glossy Ibises on Hoffman and Canarsie Pol (Jamaica Bay in Queens); and Double-crested Cormorants on Swinburne Island (Staten Island). 
    We tagged about 40 Great Egrets with both color bands and radio transmitters for some of the biggest fledglings, and about 20 Glossy Ibises with color bands.   
   We color-banded about 200 cormorants in just 2 (exhausting) days, a new record for us.  Finally, we put just metal USFWS bands on about 40 Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls. 
   I'll give you the final numbers soon once we go through all the data, but here are some pictures in the meantime:

Here's NYCA's Liz Craig with one of this year's radio-tagged GREGs.  The transmitters have an alphanumeric code on them, black letters/numbers on a white "band".  About 10 of the 40 tagged GREGs have radio transmitters, plus (hopefully!) you'll see some of the 17 radio-tagged GREGs from last year.

   Click here for earlier posts on the Harbor Heron Project.

   Click "Continue reading..." for the rest of Kate's report. Thanks, Kate!

FLYWAY GALLERY: July exhibit opens July 2

    

   The evocative work of digital media artist Maria M. Walker will be on display during July at the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission’s (NJMC) Flyway Gallery.

   The show, “Delirium,” runs from Thursday, July 2 through Thursday, July 30. A reception for the artist is scheduled for 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday, July 19.

   Click "Continue reading ..." for more information and more images.