Monthly Archives: March 2011

Bird Report 032211: Laurel Hill

Ray Duffy reports:

"I visited Laurel HIll this evening before sunset but left before the usual woodcock display time.  I found my first-of-the-year-for-the-Meadowlands Great Egret as two were perched on trees black-crowned night-herons roost in near the entrance of the park. 

"I got my FOY  osprey flew along Laurel Hill around 7pm and glided off.  I was surprised he flew so near the raven nest and didn't pick up an escort."

(Thanks, Ray!)

Kearny Marsh Bald Eagle

Ron Shields writes: Copy (2) of IMG_4284

"Quite a surprise for such a dismal day!

"Photographed at the Kearny Marsh around 4 p.m. Monday."

(Thanks, Ron!)

NJMC staff also had excellent looks at an adult  Bald Eagle over Mill Creek Point on Tuesday morning. 

Monk Parakeet Update

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We dropped in on our Monk Parakeet pals in Ridgefield last week, and they are as boisterous as ever.

They appear to be using both the railroad bridge and the manmade nesting poles for housing — the special nesting structures were built last spring to provide housing while the  bridge underwent repairs.

We counted at least 20, and there are no doubt many more.

Directions to the Monk Parakeet colony are on the left-hand side of the blog.

Horned Grebe Update: Still at DeKorte

IMG_7097 We saw the Horned Grebe at 4:15 this afternoon — lighting was dismal, but it was paddling around Teal Pool as usual.

The grebe has now been at DeKorte for more than a week. The higher tide, the greater the chance it could be almost anywhere in Teal Pool.

When we saw it today, it was near shore at the end of the peninsula in the Lyndhurst Nature Reserve.

Sunday’s Laurel Hill Walk: The Full List

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We had a great "First Day of Spring" walk at Laurel Hill on Sunday, with plenty of folks looking for some fresh air and nice looks at a nice assortment of birds.

IMG_7028-1We had barely taken out our spotting scopes when we were treated to nice looks at a Common Raven (left) and, a bit more distant, two first-of-the-year Ospreys.

We also had some nice looks at Great Cormorants on the Swing Bridge. In the photo above, one takes exception to a neighbor's proximity.

One disappointment: One of us had a distant large river mammal in the scope, but it was too far away to identify. We got a report of a River Otter that was hit by a vehicle in the Meadowlands last week — maybe this guy was one of the survivors.

Thanks to all who attended.

Full list follows, thanks to Julie McCall! (Some of us went to Mill Creek Point at the end of the official walk; Julie included those sightings as well.)

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