American Golden Plover

We’ll close out the day with some more great shots from Ron Shields at the Kearny Marsh. Ron writes: Here are some additional images taken over the past week which include a closeup of a Golden Plover, a Black-bellied Plover and a Pectoral sandpiper.  They are great birds for the Kearny Marsh and the Meadowlands. There have been upwards of two dozen plus pectoral sandpipers present which is the most I have ever seen there and this is only the second time I have photographed Black-bellied plovers in the Kearny Marsh.

Black-bellied Plover

Pectoral Sandpiper

American Golden Plover

Ron Shields photographed someGolden Plovers and Wilson’s Phalarope at the Kearny Marsh in the past week. These are great birds for the Marsh and the Meadowlands! This is also the first time Ron has spotted the phalarope in the marsh. Thanks Ron!

American Golden Plover

Wilson’s Phalarope

Wilson’s Phalarope

Wilson’s Phalarope

Jim Wright

The BCAS and NJSEA have plenty of great activities lined up for the Meadowlands Birding Festival on Saturday, Oct. 7, at DeKorte Park, from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm!

Today we’re spotlighting the”Nature of the Meadowlands” talk by Jim Wright, with photography tips by nature photographer Ron Shields, at 10:30 am in the MEC Auditorium.

The talk marks the five-year anniversary of Wright’s book, “The Nature of the Meadowlands,” which was written for the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission.The lavishly illustrated, 128-page book illuminates the Meadowlands’ natural and unnatural history, including its darkest days of a half-century ago and its environmental revival. Ron contributed many of the book’s beautiful photos.

Jim’s column, “The Bird Watcher,” appears bi-weekly in The Record. His blog is The Celery Farm and Beyond

Ron Shields is an avid birding photographer in the Meadowlands who was recently featured in a Record article.

Bring the kids to the Meadowlands Environment Center on Oct. 19 for an evening of not-so-spooky fun featuring live wolf and bat presentations! Experts will explain how they benefit the environment, dispel myths and show that these important creatures aren’t so scary after all. There will also be games and crafts. Don’t miss this great family night out!

The event runs from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. Bat presentations at 5:45 and 7:30 pm  Wolf program at 6:30 pm  Crafts and games ongoing.

To register click here

Some good news stories over the weekend on the reintroduction of Bobwhite Quail into the Pine Barrens by the New Jersey Audubon Society and the spotting of a of a  juvenile male Peregrine Falcon in August at DeKorte Park that was fledged in Richmond, Va., in late June.

Check out the Bobwhite story here and the Peregrine article here

We rarely get skunk photos, but here’s one from Dennis Cheeseman taken this week at River Barge Park. Dennis also sent along photos of a Semipalmated Plover and Magnolia Warbler at DeKorte. Thanks Dennis!

Courtesy M.E. Raine

Join the Bergen County Audubon Society for a guided nature walk next Tuesday (Sept. 19) at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst! The walk goes from 10 am to noon and meets outside the Meadowlands Environment Center.

They’ll be looking for shorebirds, ducks and fall migrants such as Flycatchers. For more information email greatauk4@gmail.com or call 201-230-4983.

Steve Ceragno got a cool shot of a Tennessee Warbler at Mill Creek on Sunday, a bird not spotted here on a regular basis. He also shared a photo of a Red-tailed Hawk greeting him on Disposal Road. Good work, Steve!

Sora

Good birding at DeKorte this morning. Chris Takacs reports that among the species sighted were 4 Soras, 2 Adult, 2 juveniles, along Marsh Discovery Trail; numerous sandpipers including Semi-palmated Sandpipers, Short-billed Dowitchers, Yellowlegs, Least Sandpipers, Semi-palmated Sandpiper; Peregrine Falcon and American White Pelican

peregrine falcon

The New Jersey Meadowlands has been my home for almost all my life. Growing up birding and exploring this very special place has given me a wonderful, unique childhood and blessed me with the love of nature that will be with me always.

To say the least it has meant so very much to me that I have had the honor and privilege of helping to pass on what I love by leading nature walks in the Meadowlands for going on 10 years. Bergen County Audubon Society’s partnership with the NJ Meadowlands Commission and now the NJSEA has allowed us to introduce people to the wonders of the Meadowlands like never before.

The comeback of New Jersey Meadowlands is one of the most amazing environmental success stories in the country – from a place which was once left for dead and suffered some of the worse environmental abuses that could be imagined to today have become one of the best urban birding places in the United States. An achievement very much worth celebrating. On Saturday, October 7th Bergen County Audubon Society and the NJSEA will hold the Meadowlands Birding Festival, an event long overdue.

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