The BCAS and NJSEA have a number of special events coming up throughout the year to celebrate the 10^th Anniversary of our partnership.

In addition to our annual Butterfly Day, Moth Night and Birding Festival, we’re kicking off our new Native Plant Day and have some great guest speakers lined up for other programs. And don’t forget our guided walks throughout the Meadowlands on the first Sunday and Third Tuesday of each month.

We’ll have more details as the events get closer, but for now, keep these dates free on your calendar!!  All events take place at DeKorte Park and the Meadowlands Environment Center in Lyndhurst.

Sunday, Feb. 3: Super Bird Sunday Nature Walk – Enjoy some time in nature before the big game! Prizes will be awarded to the first people to spot birds that are also National Football League team names: Eagles, Falcons, Cardinals,  Ravens, Seahawk (Osprey), Wood(packer) and “Giant” Great Blue Heron.

Dr. Brooke Bateman

Sunday, March 3: Climate Change Talk With Dr. Brooke Bateman – Dr. Bateman is the National Audubon Society Senior Scientist of Climate. Her work focuses on helping birds survive climate change. Dr. Bateman is also leading Climate Watch, a survey conducted by community scientists across the country who will test the predictions in Audubon’s Birds and Climate Change Report against real-life sightings.

Great Egret

Sunday, March 31: Birding for Beginners –  A great opportunity for all ages who are interested in bird watching to learn from the best. The event consists of a program on birding tips and optics followed by a guided walk of DeKorte Park.

Tall Sunflower, Blue Vervain, Joe pye-weed, and Bee Balm. BCAS Pollinator Habitat, DeKorte Park.

Sunday, June 30: Meadowlands Native Plant Day – An exploration of native plants in DeKorte Park and the Meadowlands region featuring talks and walks led by plant experts. Rain date Sunday, July 7. Stay tuned for more information!

Jim Wright

Sunday, July 7: Meadowlands Talk With Jim Wright – A decade ago former New Jersey Meadowlands Commission staffer Jim Wright and BCAS President Don Torino joined forces to start twice-monthly nature walks to celebrate the region’s environmental comeback. That became the foundation upon which the partnership between Bergen Audubon and the Commission (now the NJSEA) is based. Wright led the agency’s partnership efforts until his pseudo-retirement in 2015, though you can be sure to see him participating in walks and special events. He is the author of several books including “The Nature of the Meadowlands.” Wright also pens “The Bird Watcher” column, which is published in The Record newspaper and on northjersey.com every other Thursday.

Hummingbird Moth
Courtesy Dennis Cheeseman

Tuesday, July 23: Meadowlands Moth Night –Our annual Moth Night is part of National Moth Week, which promotes a better understanding of the importance of these amazing, lesser-known cousins of butterflies. Hear a talk by a moth expert and then venture out into DeKorte Park where we’ll be attracting moths using industrial lights and sugar bait.

Sunday, July 28: 10^th Annual Butterfly Day – Our most highly-anticipated event of the year! Butterfly Day has evolved from a walk that drew 70 people a decade ago into a family-friendly event that now attracts upward of 1,000 people to DeKorte Park each summer. The day includes walks, talks, onsite experts to help identify the various butterflies and kids activities including a Scavenger Hunt, Face Painting, Butterfly costume contest (12 and under) and crafts. Rain date Sunday, Aug. 4.

Sharon Stiteler aka The Bird Chick

Saturday, Sept. 14: Meadowlands Birding Festival – The day will include bird walks, talks, raptor visits, kids activities and more celebrating the Meadowlands amazing bird population. This year’s keynote speaker is Sharon Stiteler aka The Bird Chick – http://www.birdchick.com/   (Rain or shine)

Many thanks to Joe Koscielny for these photos taken during this past Sunday’s Bergen County Audubon Society walk at Harrier Meadow in North Arlington, including a fantastic Great Blue Heron takeoff sequence (above and below).

Common Merganser

Bald Eagle

Buffleheads

Red-tailed Hawk

Join the Bergen County Audubon Society this coming Tuesday (Jan. 15) for a guided walk of Losen Slote Creek Park and the Mehrhof Pond Wildlife Observation Area. Both sites are located near one another in Little Ferry and provide great opportunities for bird watching. They’ll be looking for waterfowl, Eagles and wintering birds.

The walk runs from 10 am to noon. For more information contact Don Torino at greatauk4@gmail.com or 201-230-4983.

Credit: Joe Koscielny

Check out Jim Wright’s column in The Record today all about the celebration of the return of the Bald Eagle being held on Sunday, Jan. 20, at  New Bridge Landing in River Edge. The free event, “Historic New Bridge Landing; Where Eagles Fly,” runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. and features speakers including Wright and Bergen County Audubon Society President Don Torino. Don’t miss this great event on the amazing success story of the return of Bald Eagles!

Join the Bergen County Audubon Society next Tuesday (Jan. 15) for a guided walk of Losen Slote Creek Park and the Mehrhof Pond Wildlife Observation Area. Both sites are located near one another in Little Ferry and provide great opportunities for bird watching. They’ll be looking for waterfowl, Eagles and wintering birds.

The walk runs from 10 am to noon. For more information contact Don Torino at greatauk4@gmail.com or 201-230-4983.

The NJSEA will host a viewing of the upcoming Total Lunar Eclipse at its William D. McDowell Observatory in DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst from 10:15 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 20, to 1 a.m. Monday, Jan. 21. This is the first Total Lunar Eclipse visible from North America since 2015. The eclipse begins at 10:34 p.m. The moon will be in full eclipse from 11:41 p.m. to 12:43 a.m.

The Observatory holds 20 people at one time. The eclipse can also be viewed from the ground with binoculars and portable telescopes. Visitors are encouraged to bring lounge chairs and their own viewing instruments while they wait to enter the Observatory.

In addition, astronomers and volunteers will talk about eclipses and answer questions throughout the evening in the Science Center, which is adjacent to the Observatory.

Note: No food or drinks will be available. Please dress appropriately for the weather. The Observatory is not heated.

In case of inclement weather, the event will be cancelled. Check www.meadowblog.net for updates, or call 201-615-8570.

About the Total Lunar Eclipse:

A Total Lunar Eclipse occurs when the Earth’s shadow completely covers the moon. The moon usually appears a reddish color due to refraction of light in the Earth’s atmosphere and is sometimes called a Blood Moon. Totality during a lunar eclipse normally lasts about an hour, whereas a total solar eclipse lasts only a few minutes. Unlike solar eclipses, lunar eclipses are safe to view without any eye protection or special precautions, as they are dimmer than the full moon.

Join the Bergen County Audubon Society on a guided walk through Harrier Meadow in North Arlington this Sunday (Jan. 6) from 10 am to noon. We’ll keep our eyes peeled for ducks, wintering birds and raptors. Harrier Meadow is located off Disposal Road near DeKorte Park.

You don’t want to miss this walk: Harrier Meadow, a stunning natural area, is usually closed to the public.  For more information, contact Don Torino  at greatauk4@gmail.com or call 201-230-4983.

Could George the American White Pelican be back in the Meadowlands? The rare visitor for these parts has been seen as recently as this morning in the area.

Chris Takacs sent the following update:

Return of George?

December 7 an American White Pelican was being chased by a Bald Eagle at Mill Creek Marsh and photographed by Sandy Sorkin. The bird could not be refound. On December 10 a White Pelican was spotted in southern Maine in Wells, for a day. December 11 a White Pelican was spotted in Rye, NH. By December 14 the pelican was in Little Harbor, NH east of Portsmouth for about 2 weeks. It made a Christmas Eve appearance in Falmouth, ME, but returned to the Little Harbor area (Odiorne Point SP) and last spotted New Year’s Eve.

January 3, Ed Borowik reports American White Pelican at Kearny Marsh East from radio station driveway Rt. 7. I made a trip this morning and spotted the Pelican far out in the impoundment, but still here in our Meadowlands. This is the only American White Pelican being seen in northeast United States currently. Is it George and did he take a trip to NH/ME? I’d like to believe in George.

Photo was from the morning and map shows his spot

Join the Bergen County Audubon Society on a guided walk through Harrier Meadow in North Arlington this Sunday (Jan. 6) from 10 am to noon. We’ll keep our eyes peeled looking for ducks, wintering birds and raptors. Harrier Meadow is located off Disposal Road near DeKorte Park.

You don’t want to miss this walk: Harrier Meadow, a stunning natural area, is usually closed to the public.  For more information, contact Don Torino  at greatauk4@gmail.com or call 201-230-4983.

This year, 2019, will mark the 10^th anniversary of Bergen County Audubon’s partnership with the Meadowlands.

A decade ago BCAS and the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (now the NJSEA) decided to work together to help more people get outside and discover the wonders of an incredible natural world that was right outside their door, our New jersey Meadowlands.

With the help of then-NJMC employee Jim Wright we began conducting twice-monthly free nature walks as an experiment to see how many people would enjoy and learn to love the Meadowlands the way we did. It did not take long to realize that our partnership was very special and the passion for nature in the Meadowlands would bring in people from all walks of life and from many miles around.

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