Ray Duffy had Blue-headed Vireos at Schmidt's Woods in Secaucus this a.m. He and a few others saw two Forster's Terns over the tidal impoundments at DeKorte today. Photo of Forster's Tern at right was taken today. We also had Common Merg flying, Savannah Sparrows plus plenty of Gadwalls and No. Shovelers at DeKorte.
Other recent sightings in the next post.
Daily Archives: April 16, 2010
Eastern Towhee plus at DeKorte
We saw this eastern Towhee earlier this week in DeKorte Park's Lyndhurst Nature Reserve but have not seen him the past couple of days — so keep an eye out if you're in the area. Seen today at the LNR, last of the season Junco, White-crowned and White-throats, plus Killdeer, many Great Egrets and an Osprey overhead
Answering a Raven Question
Julie McCall wrote in last week to ask if any previous Common Raven nests at Laurel Hill had been successful, and the answer is yes.
Last year, for example, two young ravens successfully left the nest in early May– though they still received food from Mom and Dad. (Photo is above, a couple of links are here and here. (Thanks for asking!)
New Osprey Platform in Little Ferry
The Record had a neat story today about an new Osprey nesting platform put up on the Bergen County Utilities Authority campus near the Hackensack River in Little Ferry.
We are seeing more and more of these once-threatened fish hawks along the river, and additional housing opportunities (potential nesting sites) are a big plus. This new platform was a joint effort by the BCUA, Riverkeeper, PSE&G and Verizon.
The link to Environmental Writer Scott Fallon's story is here.
DeKorte: Mourning Cloak Butterfly
Just saw our first of the year Mourning Cloak in the DeKorte's Lyndhurst Nature Reserve. This cloak looks like something out of the Salvation Army store, but still nice to see.
By the way, according to the North American Butterfly Association Checklist for DeKorte, this butterfly is due to appear around… mid-April.
Checklist is here.
More on Mourning Cloaks here.
By the way, have you heard that a new free Butterflies of DeKorte Park pamphlet is in the works? We hope to have it ready later this spring.