As promised, though a tad late, is a list of the birds we saw on Sunday's "Birding for Beginners" walk, done in cooperation with the fine folks at Bergen County Audubon Society.
    At left was one of the highlights — a nice flight of Northern Pintail flying overhead as we walked along the Lyndhurst Nature Reserve Trail.
   All told (or is it all tolled?), we counted nine species of duck, including Bufflehead and plenty of lazing Canvasback.
   We also had early Killdeer and lingering White-crowned Sparrow (in the usual spot, nearly the security guard booth).
   Non-bird sightings included an early slider and the unofficial mammal of the Meadowlands, the Muskrat.
  We did not see the shrike, though it wasn't for a lack of trying.

Continue reading →

   Ron Shields has been terrific at locating (and photographing) the wily Northern shrike on Disposal Road. Ron took some amazing shots over the weekend, which he was kind enough to share with this blog.
  The shrike was seen at 1 p.m. today [Thursday] on Disposal Road "where the gray asphalt becomes brown asphalt," according to a birder from New York City. (Thanks!)
   The shrike was seen Wednesday by NJMC Naturalist Mike Newhouse along the edge of Harrier Meadow and the former Erie Landfill. Many of us suspected the over-caffeinated hunter was often nearby but out of sight, on the other side of a landfill. There you have it.

  More pix follow.

Continue reading →