If you are looking for a guidebook that covers the parks and natural areas of the Meadowlands and beyond, contact us for a free copy of  “Birding and Wildlife Trails: Meadowlands and More” guidebook.

 To date, the NJMC has distributed more than 43,000 English- and Spanish-language copies of the free color guide, including to locations as far away as Singapore and Tel Aviv.The guidebook was coordinated by the New Jersey Audubon Society, and it's a great publication.

   To request copies of the "Birds of the Meadowlands" brochure in English or Spanish — or other eco-tourism materials — contact the NJMC at (201) 460-4694 or info@njmeadowlands.gov.

     DeKorte Park, with its square mile of land and tidal impoundments, is open to all from 8 a.m. to dusk, including dogs on leashes, but nearby former landfills are off-limits to the public, for all sorts of reasons, from public safety to on-going remediation work.

     These open spaces are also magnets Northern Harriers and other raptors (as well as birds like the Northern Shrike), and trespassing is illegal.  

    Last month, an alert birder saw someone trespassing on the former Kingsland Landfill. The birder notified us, and security staff for that site found the person and made sure he left the property immediately.

    If you see anyone trespassing on the open areas along Valleybrook Avenue or on the Kingsland Landfill (along Disposal Road on the other side of the road from DeKorte Park and the Carillon), don't hesitate to call the site's security office at 201-896-8100. 

   Similarly, if you see anyone trespassing on the Erie Landfill or Harrier Meadow (along Disposal Road on the same  side of the road from DeKorte Park and the Carillon,please contact the NJMC's Angelo Urato at 201-638-7064.

   Trespassers can include dog-walkers, birders, photographers, hikers and any sort of motorized vehicles.

    Who are these two ducks decked out in winter plumage?

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    Our next nature walk is this Sunday, February 14, at 10 a.m.– the Great Backyard Bird Count/Valentine’s Day Bird Walk with the Bergen County Audubon Society.

    This free two-hour guided nature walk starts outside the Meadowlands Environment Center in DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst, and runs from 10 a.m.

   We’ll walk in the square-mile park as time allows, looking for (and counting) wintering waterfowl, raptors and other miscellaneous birds of note.

   Who knows? maybe even the Northern Shrike (above, left) will manage to put in a surprise appearance.

  The walk is run by the N.J. Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society.

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

   Kevin Bolton took this Canvasback shot last week at DeKorte, using a digiscoping rig. Here is the link to Kevin's Web page. (Thanks, Kevin!)

    Ron Shields took these photos of a female (above) and  a male Common Merganser at the Kearny Marsh  this past week. (Thanks, Ron!)

    Nest time you visit DeKorte Park, you can get great looks at White-crowned Sparrows before you even get to the guardhouse.

   Pull onto the shoulder on the right just before the guardhouse, and then watch (or photograph) from you car. These great winter birds are often hanging out by the bushes to the right or across the roadway feeding on the ground. (Thanks, Chris!)

   More on White-crowned Sparrows here.

   This week we have had a nice variety of ducks on the far side of Teal Pool and in the Saw Mill Creek Tidal impoundment, including: Northern Shovelers, Pintails, rafts of Canvasbacks, Buffleheads, Common Mergs, Hooded Mergs, Black Ducks, Gadwall and Mallards.

     Due to the possible snow storm on Saturday,  all programs in the Meadowlands Environment Center might be cancelled, so please call before coming. The MEC's main number is 201-460-8300.

    The photo above was taken a year ago today, Feb. 4, 2009.

 
Chris Takacs has compiled a list of birds seen in the Meadowlands last month, and with bird walks scheduled for the next two Sundays, we thought it might be instructive to post the list here. (Thanks, Chris!)

   E-mail us here if you have birds you would like to add.

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