Chris Takacs saw the Northern Shrike for about 10 minutes, around 2:30 p.m. It was by the retention pond across from Carillon on DeKorte Road. (Thanks, Chris!)

    The bird has now been seen for eight days in a row. Scroll down for more Shrike posts.

    We stopped by the Kearny Marsh yesterday by Gunnell Oval, in hopes of finding some Bald Eagles seen in the vicinity.

   We didn't see any eagles, but the female Common Merg (above) popped up, and we had plenty of American Coots, as well as distant Gadwall and Green-winged Teal.

   Water levels are still high, and the marsh has not iced over yet.

    As of Thursday, the Northern Shrike has been seen seven days in a row off Disposal Road.

   If you are planning to look for this bird, we thought we'd offer a few bits of pertinent info.

  The bird has been seen several places on both sides of Disposal Road, mostly on the former landfills on the North Arlington side of the AMVETS Carillon (toward Schuyler Avenue). 

   The former landfill on the Carillon side of the road is the Erie landfill. The former landfill across the road is Kingsland. (Both landfills are off-limits, and no trespassing is allowed.)

   The shrike has been seen several times on the far side of the Kingsland retention pond, and several times on the Black Locust near the top of the Kingsland Landfill.

   When it is visible, the bird is typically seen perched high in a bare tree — much like the silhouetted shot at top of the post, taken on Wednesday.

   The bird can perch for a few minutes at a time, and hunts from that perch like a flycatcher, possibly returning to the same spot. But it more often seems to be out of view entirely, so patience is a virtue.

   Disposal Road does get traffic, so beware of vehicles.

   Dress warm; it can be pretty cold out there these days.

   If you do see the bird, please e-mail Jim Wright here, and he will post the news to the blog. You can also e-mail him if you have questions, and he will try to get back to you as soon as he can.

   Ray Duffy took a nice video early in the shrike's stay. It is here. (Thanks, Ray.)

   Good luck!

   (Scroll down for earlier posts, which contain directions to Disposal Road and more shrike info.)

   Ray Duffy reports: "At Laurel Hill this morning around 9, a Common Raven was bullying a Northern Harrier and an accipiter trying to give them the hint to move out of the area behind the Xchange/Paddle Center.  I saw it flying with some food in its mouth by Laurel Hill a little later on." (Thanks, Ray!)

   Here's a link to a post on the Laurel Hill ravens from last spring. Photo below was taken last spring as well.

  Chris Takacs reports: "It's 25 degrees with 20 mph winds at  7:45 a.m. and the Northern Shrike is singing away from a perch across the  retention pond on Disposal Rd. at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst/North Arlington today." (Thanks, Chris!)

   Chris makes a great point — if you're planning on looking for the shrike any time soon, dress warmly.

   BTW, Because the bird was seen within three days of the Christmas Bird Count day for our region, it can be included in the count — but we will shoot for it on Sunday.

    We had a most enjoyable two-hour walk at Mehrhof Pond and the BCUA's Mehrhof Woods on Tuesday.

     Don Torino (above) and Dave Hall of Bergen Audubon Society helped lead the way — pointing out hundreds upon hundreds of Ruddy Ducks, lots of Hooded Mergansers (left), and assorted Common Mergansers, Lesser Scaups, Northern Shovelers, and other ducks.   

   Also seen: DC Cormorants, Great Blue Heron, Northern Harrier, Redtail, Tree Sparrows a-plenty and a few Fox Sparrows.

    The BCUA site is typically closed to the public, and we thank the utility for allowing us access. Because there is so little human activity, and because the pond is such a duck magnet this time of year, the birding is often excellent there.

  The Northern Shrike continues on Disposal Road in North Arlington and Lyndhurst.

  It is being seen perched on bare branches on both sides of Disposal Road.

  As of 1 p.m., it was hunting the Kingsland Landfill closer to Harrier Meadow and the PSE&G substation, and was perched on a small tree near the top of the landfill.

  A spotting scope is a good idea. It was not as close as it was earlier this week.

  This is the sixth day in a row it has been seen in the area. We think it's a he because we have heard it (him) singing.

   To get to Disposal Road, to follow the directions to DeKorte Park on the left-hand side of this blog, and bear right through the "Authorized Personnel Only" sign and proceed a half a mile or so… Parking on left, past the Carillon near the Erie landfill.

  Also seen — Coopers' Hawk, harriers, Belted Kingfisher, Red-tails, male Kestrel.

  Scroll down for more shrike posts, including a pic of the shrike coughing up a pellet.

   This Sunday (Dec. 20), the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission will participate in the 110th annual Christmas Bird Count, and you can help — without leaving  home.

   This nationwide bird census invites people with backyard feeders to tally the birds they see and submit the results as well.

    All you have to do to participate in the local count is to register with me, pay a $5 fee (which goes to the National Audubon Society to help defray the CBC's administrative and tabulation costs), and then keep watch of the birds visiting your feeder on Sunday. 

  Click "Continue reading …" to see how Meadowlands residents can count birds at their feeders on Sunday.

Continue reading →

   We happened to get a photo of the Northern Shrike coughing up a pellet yesterday, and thought we'd pass it along in case you found the whole notion of pellets hard to swallow.

   NJMC Naturalist Michael Newhouse is hopeful that the sightings of the shrike coughing up pellets is a sign that it has found a plentiful food supply and might stick around a bit.

  The shrike has been seen along Disposal road for five days now, and possibly could have been here a while before it was first seen last Friday.

  Chris Takacs reports he saw and heard the Northern Shrike on Disposal Road today around 8 a.m.– from a perch above the retention pond a from the AMVETS  carillon in DeKorte Park.

   Previous posts have more information on finding Disposal Road and locating the bird.