Monthly Archives: May 2010

Mourning Warbler at DeKorte

   John Workman reports: "Late this afternoon (Sunday) I found a singing male adult (gorgeous) Mourning Warbler on the Kingsland Overlook trail, just half way up the hill from where the blue entrance sign to the trail is.  

   "This is close to and right above the first parking lot.  The bird was, in fact, in the area of the trail closest to the security entrance booth.  This is a shady section of the trail. 

   "Going up the trail, it's the area before you get to the wooden benches with nature plaque and the installed chrome pipes that serve as 'telescopes' for kids to look through."  (Thanks, John!)

   More on Mourning Warblers here.    

Bird Report: DeKorte 052410

   Julie McCall reports: "Helped out with a Beginner's Birding Class offered by Bergen County Audubon (BCAS) at DeKorte Park in the Meadowlands yesterday. 
   Although it was a small group,  we still had some good birding.  (More info — plus full species list for DeKorte and Disposal Road — follows.)
   (Thanks, Julie!)

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Upcoming NJMC Nature Events

Every Tuesday and Thursday at noon
Marsh Discovery Trail Walk, DeKorte Park

These free 90-minute guided walks take visitors out on the Marsh Discovery Trail, which has been closed because of major storm damage. We’ll look for shorebirds, waterfowl, dragonflies and other natural wonders. Bring binoculars, sunblock. The walk is run by the N.J. Meadowlands Commission. Bad weather cancels. The walks will continue until repairs on this boardwalk begin. To rsvp, contact Jim Wright of the NJMC at jim.wright@njmeadowlands.gov or 201-460-2002.

Sunday, June 6, 10 a.m.
Kearny Marsh Clean-up with NJMC and BCAS

As part of National Trail Day Weekend, we are sponsoring a two-hour clean-up at the Kearny Marsh.  We will clean the trails by foot, and the marsh by canoe. We’ll meet at the northeast corner of the Gunnel Oval off Schuyler Avenue  at 10 a.m. (directions are on meadowblog.net in the left-hand column), or you can also meet us at the visitors’ parking lot at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst at 9:40 a.m. and we can carpool. We’ll supply trash bags and water, but bring your own weed clippers and work gloves. We’ll also supply canoes, paddles and life vests. The clean-up is sponsored by the N.J. Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society. Check meadowblog.net for last-minute updates and weather advisories. To rsvp, contact Don Torino of the BCAS at greatauk4@aol.com or 201-636-4022.

Sunday, June 13, 10 a.m.
Special DeKorte Plant Walk with NJMC and BCAS

Join us for a two-hour plant walk of DeKorte with botanist Edith Wallace. We will be looking for the plants that attract birds and butterflies, and which ones would work in your home gardens. We’ll keep an eye out for birds and butterflies, too. We’ll meet in the visitors’ parking lot at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst. The walk is run by the N.J. Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society. Check meadowblog.net for last-minute updates and weather advisories. To rsvp, contact Don Torino of the BCAS at greatauk4@aol.com or 201-636-4022.

Tuesday, June 15, 10 a.m.
Third-Tuesday-of-the-Month Bird Walk with NJMC and BCAS

This free two-hour guided nature walk will take us to the birding hotspots at DeKorte – we’ll look for shorebirds along the Shorebird Pool’s Marsh Discovery Trail and in the other tidal impoundments. We’ll meet us in the visitors’ parking lot at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst. The walk is run by the N.J. Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society. Check meadowblog.net for last-minute updates and weather advisories. To rsvp, contact Don Torino of the BCAS at greatauk4@aol.com or 201-636-4022.

Saturday, June 19, 8:30 a.m.
Father’s Day Weekend Canoe Paddle

What better way to celebrate Father’s Day Weekend than a three-hour guided paddle in Saw Mill Creek Wildlife Management Area, a wonderful wetlands oasis just off the Hackensack River? Each canoe will hold up to three people, and it is preferred that at least one person in each canoe have some experience. Meet at Laurel Hill County Park Boat Launch. Registration fee is $15 per person. Ages 10 and up. Preregistration is required and space is limited. Check meadowblog.net for last-minute updates and weather advisories. Contact: Gaby Bennett-Meany at 201-460-4640 or download registration form here.

Sunday, June 20, 10 a.m.
Special Father’s Day Bird Walk with NJMC and BCAS
This free two-hour guided nature walk will take us to the birding hotspots at DeKorte – we’ll look for shorebirds, waterfowl, butterflies and other natural wonders.  We’ll meet in the visitors’ parking lot at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst. The walk is run by the N.J. Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society. Check meadowblog.net for last-minute updates and weather advisories. To rsvp, contact Don Torino of the BCAS at greatauk4@aol.com or 201-636-4022.

Hold the Date:

Sunday, July 25, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Butterfly Day With NJMC and BCAS

This summer, in conjunction with a brand-new (and free) Butterfly Guide to DeKorte Park, the Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society are holding a free one-day butterfly fest on Sunday, July 25 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. In addition to butterfly walks for the whole family, there’ll tables with loads of information on butterfly identification, binoculars and gardening to attract butterflies – plus contests and great door prizes. Check meadowblog.net for last-minute updates and weather advisories. To rsvp, contact Don Torino of the BCAS at greatauk4@aol.com or 201-636-4022.

Milk Snake!

    Scientists at the Meadowlands Commission's research arm, the Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute, found a nifty Eastern Milk Snake at the Riverbend Wetland Preserve in Secaucus this week.
   For more on Eastern Milk Snakes and other snakes of New Jersey, click here.
   More on MERI here.
   MERI's photo of this non-poisonous snake is on the "jump."

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Reminder: Mill Creek Marsh Park Is Open Again

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Mill Creek Marsh Park in Secaucus has reopened. The 209-acre park had been  closed since mid-March because of extensive storm damage. 
   For the public's safety, the Meadowlands Commission has put up protective fencing in areas where the footing by the trail had eroded.
   The park was once a phragmites marsh slated to become a development of 2,750 townhomes.
   In 1998, NJMC began wetlands enhancement activities at the site, including the re-establishment of tidal flows, creation of open water impoundments, grading to create low, high and upland marsh areas, and native replantings to attract a diversity of aquatic life and birds.
   It was the first wetlands enhancement project NJMC managed.  This area is important for breeding and migratory waterfowl and shorebirds.
   For a link to pix of the park before and immediately after the storm, click here.

Bird Report: Marsh Discovery Trail Walk 052010

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    Had a nice Thursday noontime Marsh Discovery Trail guided walk today. Highlights included plenty of peeps, a Dunlin (below, left foreground), two Forster's Terns, several Ospreys, egrets, yellowlegs, a Black-crowned Night Heron and Ruddy Duck males with those bright blue bills. Also seeing a lot of Red Admiral butterflies.
   Next noontime MDT walk is Tuesday.

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Ospreys Galore!

  

The Meadowlands Commission's Jim Wright wrote this column for The South Bergenite, published today.

   One Tuesday earlier this month, several large hawks put on quite a display above the Saw Mill Creek mud flats near the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission’s DeKorte Park.
  
While two of the large black-and white hawks gathered sticks and tried to build a nest high atop one of the erector-set-like stanchions for high-tension power lines, five others glided and hovered as they hunted above the mud flats’ shallow waters.
  
If there was ever a doubt that ospreys have made a comeback in the Meadowlands, the scene at DeKorte put those thoughts to rest. The ospreys are back – with a nest that brought two offspring in Kearny last year, as well as nests this year in Carlstadt (photo on the "jump") and the recent nest attempt in Lyndhurst. This spring could bring the first osprey fledglings in Bergen County in a half-century.
  
The Meadowlands has had several terrific environmental rebounds in recent years, but to me one of the most remarkable – and most visible – is the return of the osprey.

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Kearny Marsh Cleanup: June 6

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    As part of National Trail Day Weekend, the N.J. Meadowlands Commission is sponsoring a two-hour cleanup of the Kearny Marsh. 
   With the help of the Bergen County Audubon Society, the Northern New Jersey Cachers and other volunteers, we will clean and trim the marsh's trail by foot and clean the marsh by canoe. All are welcome to participate.
   The clean-up begins at the northeast corner of the Gunnel Oval off Schuyler Avenue  at 10 a.m. (directions are on meadowblog.net in the left-hand column).   The NJMC is supplying trash bags and water, but bring your own weed clippers and gloves. We’ll also provide canoes, paddles and life jackets. 

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