NJMC Naturalists Mike Newhouse and Brett Bragin took delivery last week of two new big Barn Owl boxes, donated by Scott Gunther and Wild Birds Unlimited of Paramus.
     "We certainly have Barn Owls in the Meadowlands, and we'll put these to good use," says Newhouse.
    We had several Barn Owl sightings earlier this year, including the low-profile pair at left. (Thanks, Scott and Wild Birds Unlimited of Paramus!)
  

    Just about anywhere you look in the Meadowlands these days, it seems like you see an Osprey or two — from the Kearny Marsh to Carlstadt and beyond.
   The NJMC's Angelo Urato took this shot of an Osprey with a meal on a utility pole on Valley Brook Avenue in Lyndhurst. Ospreys are seen daily along this road. (Thanks, Angelo!)

 
The saga of the Overpeck Preserve Bald Eagle with the transmitter has turned into a real mystery.  We checked with Fish and Wildlife Departments in Virginia, Maryland, New York, Maine and Quebec, but came up empty.
    After we posted Alice Leurck's photo above on this blog, a reader suggested we checked to see if the eagle's legs were banded, because Bald Eagle banders in various states use different color bands.
   Alice checked her photos and, sure enough, we were able to make out the bands in one of the shots. The left leg had a red/black band, and the right leg had a silver band.
   We also sent the photos to the folks at the Center for Conservation Biology, and are waiting to hear from them. (Thank you to everyone has offered their help in solving this little mystery!)