Monthly Archives: August 2008

NORTH ARLINGTON: Harrier Meadow

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Harrier Meadow is a 70-acre Meadowlands Commission marsh restoration site in North Arlington. (The link includes a nice aerial shot of the site.)

Harrier Meadow includes high marsh, meadows, tidal impoundment areas and mudflats.    

On a check of the site not too long ago, we saw many dragonflies, peeps by the thousands, a gadwall with ducklings, plus egrets and herons, pheasants and a northern flicker.

Yesterday, we saw peeps galore, dozens of great egrets and snowy egrets, great blue herons, laughing gulls and more.

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Because of its location (you have to go through a landfill) and associated liability issues, the meadow is usually closed to the public.
   
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BUTTERFLIES: Migratious!

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    Believe it or not, the monarch butterfly migration is already underway to our north.
   Although the monarchs of the Meadowlands won’t be heading out any time soon, the Journey North Web site reports that observers in Ontario have already seen butterflies "traveling in clear directional flight."
  Starting next week, you’ll be able to participate in a nationwide citizen science project that tracks the monarchs’ migration.

  Click here for more information.

KEARNY MARSH

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    A quick visit to the Kearny Marsh last week in hopes of seeing a harbor heron (great egret with a gray band on its right leg and small transmitter on its left) brought none of those special birds.
    But we did see several other great egrets, a bazillion dragonflies, some jewelweed, pennywort and foxtails.
   We also saw a least bittern (below) zip past — always a nice bird to spot. Read more about the least bittern here.

   Click "Continue reading…" below the photo for more photos.

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ENVIRONMENT CENTER: Space Camp (video)

 

   This week the Meadowlands Environment Center is holding a space camp for students entering the seventh grade.
   Tuesday’s session was about the sun, stars and planets, and students went outside to learn about the sun in whole new ways (see 1:45-minute video). Boy_at_scope_9688_2
   MEC’s Laura Venner talked to the 15 students abot the sun and SOHO, an international project involving NASA and other space agencies to study the sun.
  The space camp, one of a half-dozen offered by MEC, a partnership between NJMC and  Ramapo College, is designed to meet the New Jersey State Core Curriculum Content Standards.
   All MEC camps are held at the new Center for Environmental and Scientific Education (below), a “green” building that incorporates sustainable materials and alternative energy, in DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst.

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  Click "Continue reading…" for two more images.

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BIRDING: Harbor Herons video

     This two-minute video is about the Harbor Herons Project, a collaboration of NYC Audubon, NJ Audubon, the Meadowlands Commission and many volunteers. Img_0608
    It should be played with the "sound" on.
    Several great egrets and double-crested cormorant fledglings that were banded earlier this summer are now being spotted in the Meadowlands, confirmation that our marshes are pivotal to the success of herons in the entire metropolitan region.
 Here is a link to our previous post on the Harbor Herons Project, including a link to the project’s Web pages. 

   Click "Continue reading…" for more information and photos from this project.

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