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.

Continue reading →

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

   May 22: Backyard Getaway

  On Tuesday at  10 a.m., the Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society are sponsoring a free two-hour guided walk  at DeKorte Park.

  We’ll look for the Northern Shrike, and also look at waterfowl and raptors and whatever else is around.

    Last year at this time, we had the Snowy Owls and a Eurasian Green-winged Teal.

   To rsvp, contact Don Torino of the BCAS here or call 201-636-4022.

   Ray Gilbert saw the Northern Shrike eating lunch (a mouse) at noon at the Retention Pond across from the Carillon on Disposal Road. (Thanks, Ray!)

   We found the shrike again at 12:50 on the Kingsland Landfill closer to DeKorte. (Photo on the right.)

   Ray also had a Bald Eagle through his spotting scope; the bird was flying across DeKorte toward 1-E.

   To see earlier key shrike posts and photos, click here and scroll down.

     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 April.

    April 1: Rare Turtle Video

    April 3: Tree Swallow Boxes Are Back

    April 8: DeKorte Park Is In Its Spring Finery

     April 16: The Ravens of Laurel Hill     

     April 20: Raven vs. Redtail

     April 23: Muskrat at DeKorte

     April 24: The Barn Swallows Are Back

   We are taking a year-end break from Tuesday Teasers. Teasers resume in January.

   Click here for previous Tuesday Teasers.

      We had the Northern Shrike at 10:50 this morning — great views by the retention pond across Disposal Road from the Carillon.

  We were in a vehicle across the road from the retention pond, and the bird flew in and perched in the tree above for about 30 seconds (above).

   It then hung out on a nearby strand of barbed wire, dipped down into the tree behind the barbed wire, then flew  across the pond and disappeared from view. We also had a male Northern Harrier fly overhead almost simultaneously.

    If you are planning to look for the shrike, birding from your vehicle does not seem to be a bad approach. You are out of the wind, and the bird seems oblivious to vehicles.

   This is the 10th day out of the past 12 that the bird has been seen.

   Click "Continue reading …" for more shrike shots from this morning, including a "locating the bird" shot and a neat tailfeathers shot.

   Scroll down the blog for earlier Shrike posts.

Continue reading →

   "Botha's Boots," a blog out of Brooklyn about "music, architecture and the stuff in between," had a post yesterday about our favorite place: the Meadowlands.

   Read it here.

      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 March 2009:

   March 2: Monk Parakeet Video

   March 6: Of Redtails and Redwings

   March 12: The Killdeer Are Back

   March 13: First Great Egret of the Year

   March 23: K Rations