Dave Blinder passed along some great shots late last week, before the storm and the Christmas Bird Count, and we are only now posting them.
Dave's photos on Flickr can be found here.
Click continue reading…" below for shots of a Yellow-throat and a Redtail.
Quite a few birders and photographers on Disposal Road today looking for the Northern Shrike, and most got to see him in action at some point– eating a mouse, defending his territory and singing like Caruso.
The bird does seem to disappear for long stretches and then pop up. Also seen today from the road: immature Bald Eagle (we hope to post a photo by Ron Shields soon), a Gray Ghost and a female harrier or two.
Just a reminder to be careful on Disposal Road. The road is not supposed to be a through street, and neither North Arlington nor Lyndhurst maintains it, but there are a lot of trucks and other traffic that may not expect birders on the road.
Earlier helpful posts on the Shrike, directions, etc., are here.
Mike Britt reports that the totals for this side of the Hudson River on the Lower Hudson Christmas Bird Count on Sunday were 88 species and 15,153 individual birds.
Highlights included: Long-tailed Duck, Great Cormorant (3), American Bittern, Black-crowned Night Heron (19), Bald Eagle, Northern Harrier (18), Rough-legged Hawk, American Kestrel (3), Wilson's Snipe (2), Iceland Gull, Barn Owl, Long-eared Owl (2), Common Raven (2), Horned Lark (48), Marsh Wren, American Pipit, Grasshopper Sparrow, Snow Bunting (129), Eastern Meadowlark, Rusty Blackbird, White-crowned Sparrow (14).
Photo above is a Savannah Sparrow on the Avon Landfill taken on Count Day. (Thanks, Chris!)
We also had a Snowy Owl, a Red-shouldered Hawk (yesterday by Disposal Road), 3 Greater Yellowlegs, and the Northern Shrike during count week.
Click "Continue reading…" below to see the full list, with the count for each bird.
The year 2009 marked the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission's 40th anniversary and a major expansion of our nature programs. We thought we'd celebrate by looking back at 2009, month by month.
Here are some highlights from May:
May 4: Tree Swallow Nest Box Project
May 11: Glossy Ibis and Friend
May 14: Scenes Along the Hackensack Await
May 20: DeKorte Finery — With Labels