Daily Archives: April 3, 2017

Tree Swallows (and their nesting boxes) are back

If you’ve come to DeKorte lately you’ve likely seen one of our favorite spring migrants flying around the impoundments. Tree Swallows are beautiful, small, magnetic blue birds that migrate to the Meadowlands by the hundreds every spring. This afternoon NJSEA staff was out on the water installing crucial nesting boxes for our esteemed visitors.

The Tree Swallow is a secondary cavity nester, which means it must have the use of dead trees to nest in, and it must have a hole that has been excavated by a primary cavity nester.  Loss of habitat and competition for nest sites from other bird species are part of the reason why we provide these vital nest boxes for these birds.

Click read more below for a complete primer on Tree Swallows

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A Day of Birding At DeKorte Park

Some 50 people came out for yesterday morning’s Bergen County Audubon Society Nature Walk at DeKorte Park and an additional 50-plus for the afternoon’s Birding for Beginners program and walk. And yes, the weather cooperated!

Birding for Beginners featured a great talk by BCAS President Don Torino on the joys of birding including tips for beginners about how to identify birds, including by shape and size, and what to look for when buying binoculars. Don also stressed that birding is for everyone; no need for neophytes to be intimidated. His passion for birding was inspiring and I highly recommend that anyone who missed the talk make plans to attend a future program.

We’ll have plenty of pics from yesterday to come, so check back often.