Ray Duffy reports he saw the shrike this afternoon on Disposal Road …

   He took some pix — a link is here.

  We will look for this bird on our walk tomorrow, which begins at 10 a.m. with a raptor talk at DeKorte Park.

   Neil Maruca reports: "Cold but fun day in the northern Meadowlands.   Certain locations were iced over (Skeetkill Marsh, Mill Creek), the ones that weren't (Mehrhof Pond, Cromakill Creek Marsh) had good waterfowl counts.

  Daniel Brill reported on Jersey Birds that  "a Northern Shrike was seen late Friday at the edge of DeKorte Park immediately north of the north end of Saw Mill Creek Trail on either side of Disposal Road. 

   "The nearby impoundments held Mallard, Black Duck, Pintail, Green-winged Teal, and Gadwall."  (Thanks, Daniel!)

   There have been no reported sightings as yet today.

   More on Northern Shrikes here.

     Did a little scouting for the hawk walk this Sunday, mostly on Disposal Road. Saw this Ring-necked Duck by the Carillon, along wth a pair of Hooded Mergs, plus a Belted Kingfisher flying by. Raptor-wise, we had three Redtails (prolonged looks of them kiting by Disposal Road), a Northern Harrier and a Turkey Vulture.

   This Sunday at 10 a.m., the Meadwolands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society are hosting a "Hawk Talk and Walk" at DeKorte Park.

    The indoor part of the program begins at 10 a.m. with a slide show and talk by the NJMC’s Jim Wright in the Meadowlands Environment Center’s Visitor Center. The talk features the raptors that were seen (and photographed) in the Meadowlands last winter – including Snowy Owls, Rough-legged Hawks, Northern Harriers (above), Peregrine Falcons and Bald Eagles.

    After the program, we will look for raptors at DeKorte and environs  — and keep our fingers crossed. Dress for wind and cold, and bring binoculars.

   To rsvp, contact Don Torino of the BCAS at greatauk4@aol.com or 201-636-4022.

     On Thursday, we saw three Great Egrets at Harrier Meadow, and eight yellowlegs in the Shorebird Pool at DeKorte.

    Go figure.

   One of the unintended results of humankind's edifice complex  is that birds sometimes fly into buildings.

   The Sharp-shinned Hawk on the left had the misfortune of flying into a window in the same building as the Meadowlands Commission's Business Accelerator on Chubb Avenue in Lyndhurst, not far from Giants Stadium.

   Jonathan Martin of the Accelerator staff called NJMC naturalists to check the bird (he also took the picture above). The game plan was to take the Sharpie to the Raptor Trust in Millington if it did not recover in short order.

    The good news is the bird did regain its senses and fly off. NJMC naturalists say the bird should be fine. 

    Click here for photos of a Sharp-shinned Hawk banded this fall in the Meadowlands.

   Click here to find out what to do if you find an injured wild bird. The link is to the Raptor Trust, a wonderful place.

        Michael Britt has an informative article on Rough-legged Hawks in the current issue of New Jersey Birds.

   Link is here.

   The trails at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst are closed today (Wednesday).

   NJMC staffer Jim Wright's talk at New Jersey City University will begin at 2 p.m. today. Directions to the campus are here. An earlier post about the talk is here.

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    Chris Takacs reports: Saw 3 Fox Sparrows at DeKorte Monday morning while doing a dry run  north of the Saw Mill Trail  for the Christmas Bird Count on Dec. 20. Had 38 species overall.

 (Chris also took the pic above — thanks, Chris!)

    Click "continue reading…." for the full list.

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