Tuesday's Teaser, photographed during a guided walk at Harrier Meadow last month, was toughie because of the angle, but then again attempted bird IDs often involve bad angles and fleeting glimpses.
To all who said "Song Sparrow," congrats. Above, another (better) view. Thanks to all who responded.
Looking for a great way to beat the “Black Friday” day-after-Thanksgiving shopping crush?
Visit the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission’s DeKorte Park for a free “Green Friday” guided nature walk and talk beginning at 10 a.m. outside the Meadowlands Environment Center.
The Nov. 26 event, sponsored by the NJMC and the Bergen County Audubon Society, will feature a walk on DeKorte Park’s Marsh Discovery Trail and other nearby trails, followed by a bring-your-own-lunch talk and slide show featuring some of the amazing critters that live in the Meadowlands.
The walk runs from 10 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. The brown-bag lunch is from noon to 1 p.m. in the Meadowlands Environment Center’s Visitor Center, which offers great views of DeKorte Park’s Shorebird Pool and the Manhattan skyline.
For more information, contact Jim Wright at jim.wright@njmeadowlands.gov or 201-460-2002, or go the NJMC nature blog, www.meadowblog.net.
Some 200 Green-winged Teal, a Peregrine Falcon and great looks a Golden-crowned Kinglet were among the highlights of the Third-Tuesday walk at Mill Creek Marsh in Secaucus.
The two-hour walk, sponsored by the Meadowlands Commission and Bergen County Audubon Society, drew 10 of us hearty souls who didn't mind braving some raw November weather to do some birding and enjoy this beautiful marsh.
Full list and two pix follows.
Ron Shields sez: "I've attached a few images from Mill Creek that include a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and a plover (lower right) from Saturday."
Always tough to tell from photos, but we thought it's an American Golden Plover — but Ron's initial pick appears right — Black-bellied. (Thanks, Ron!)
Our next free walk is tomorrow (Tuesday) morning at Mill Creek Marsh, a former Phragmites marsh in Secaucus that the Meadowlands Commission remediated more than a decade ago.
The park offers comfortable walking trails, some nice views of Manhattan and lots of birds.
The walk is sponsored by the N.J. Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society.
Details follow.
A quick walk along the Marsh Discovery Trail this afteroon yielded a Great Blue Heron, a Great Egret, A Redtail, a Northern Harrier, 40+ Ruddies, 8 Bufflehead, a Black Duck, several Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, and a Northern Flicker.
If you've been to DeKorte in late afternoon these days, you've noticed some really high tides — higher than predicted — and low tides that aren't low at all.
NJMC Naturalist Brett Bragin 
provided the above graphic, and wrote: "There were coastal flood warnings posted for last night's high tide. See the predicted vs. actual tides measured at The Battery [above]."
This afternoon, a few parts of the Discovery Trail (see photo at right) were under water. If not for the floating boardwalk, far more of the trail would have been inaccessible.
Link to claculating the tides at DeKorte is here. High tides were around 3 a.m. and 3 p.m. today. They are an hour later each day, with low tide in the middle.
Ron Shields saw this fish in the Kearny Marsh and wondered what it is.
NJMC Naturalist Brett Bragin supplied the answer:
"That looks like a gizzard shad to me. I recall catching a few adult gizzard shad in Kearny FW marsh in 1987 or 1988.
"As usual, it is hard to do a positive ID from just a photograph."
Rest of post follows.