Daily Archives: May 19, 2016

Early Bird Gets Great Shots

Mickey Raine sent in these photos of Least Sandipers, Egrets and a Black-crowned Night Heron he took at DeKorte on Saturday just after 7 a.m.  Early morning is a great time to see many species gathered before breaking for the day. As Mickey writes: Scenes are very different at the start of the day–like it is with people or any other creatures, for most settle together at the end of the day, and do not go their own way until sometime in the morning; therefore, an hour when one can usually expect to see the greater gathering .

SandypipersSandpipers DeKorte 5.15.16Egrets DeKorte 5.15.16 Egret2 DeKorte 5.15.16Black Crowned Night Heron2 DeKorte 5.15.16 Black Crowned Night Heron DeKorte 5.15.16

Don Torino’s Life in the Meadowlands: The Osprey Man of the Meadowlands

Jimmy Macaluso

Jimmy Macaluso

The Osprey, the “fish hawk” of the Meadowlands, is one of New Jersey’s largest raptors and one that almost disappeared for good from New Jersey. According to the “Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey,”  prior to 1950, over 500 osprey nests were found along the New Jersey coastline. By 1974, only about 50 nests remained. Loss of nesting sites and widespread food contamination by persistent pesticides (mostly DDT) caused the birds’ decline in New Jersey and throughout the eastern U.S. Consequently, the osprey was listed as “endangered” by the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife in 1974.

Thanks to the outlawing of DDT, having cleaner water and the wildlife management efforts of the New Jersey DEP, we were successful in restoring Osprey to the state,  Today there are over 500 nesting pair. The Osprey is an incredible and magnificent bird that has returned to New Jersey and to our Meadowlands . Lucky for us there is a special man looking to help make sure these  birds of prey stick around for all of us to enjoy. Jim Macaluso, the Osprey Man of the Meadowlands.

Continue reading