Monthly Archives: May 2010

Looking Ahead: June


   In case you're planning ahead, here are some Meadowlands highlights 
from last June (click on the date to read the post):

   June 5: Snowy Egret, Breeding Plumage 

   June 8: Great Egret!

    June 8: Black-necked Stilt at Harrier

    June 10: Awesome Aerial Photography

    June 11: Diamondback Terrapin Up-close

    June 15: DeKorte's First Daylily

    June 17: Silver-spotted Skipper

    June 24: Amazing Cormorant Rescue

    June 25: Exciting News: Partnership with BCAS

    June 26: Forster's Terns in Love at DeKorte

    June 29: Peregrines Thriving on Hackensack River Bridges

Fish Story

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   While looking for raptors that might be perched atop the electrical transmission towers by the Erie landfill, we looked up and could not believe our eyes.
   IMG_0048-2 Could it really be a fish, 100 feet out of the water?
   Yes — thanks to an Osprey, no doubt — it could be indeed.
   Just goes to show: You never know what you'll see next in the Meadowlands.

Observatory: June Schedule

   The William D. McDowell Observatory in  DeKorte Park begins a new month of programming next Wednesday night with free public programs at 8:30 and 9:30 p.m. — weather permitting, of course.  [Note: The observatory is closed Monday for Memorial Day.]
   Dress for the weather; with the dome open, you are basically outside.
   Each evening two major objects in the night sky will be viewed, plus one or two other celestial objects or events depending on the observing conditions. 
  
Pictured at left is the observatory's state-of-the-art telescope with a 20-inch mirror, housed beneath a retractable dome.
   The telescope, one of the largest in the area, is equipped with cameras to record the stars and planets. Special filters block light pollution.
    For detailed information and the complete June schedule, click here.

Mill Creek Marsh Walk This Sunday

    Bergen County Audubon Society writes:
    "Mill Creek Marsh has reopened after extensive storm damage, so we thought we would schedule a field trip there on Sunday, May 30, at 10 a.m. We will be looking for shorebirds, herons and raptors."
   The walk is free and open to the public. Directions to Mill Creek Marsh are here.
   To rsvp, contact Don Torino of the BCAS at greatauk4@aol.com or 201-636-4022.

Marsh Wren at Kearny Marsh

   Ron Shields got some nifty shots of a notoriously hard-to-photograph Marsh Wren last weekend.
   "The last photo shows the wren with material gathered from the floor of the marsh.  I will assume it  would be used for nest construction. 
   "Also seen but not photographed was my first Pied-billed Grebe since winter.
  "Calls from both coots and moorhen were heard sporadically from the depths of the reeds as well."

   More pix follow. (Thanks, Ron!)

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About that ‘Snow’ in DeKorte

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  IMG_0055  If you have been anywhere near DeKorte Park's Lyndhurst Nature Reserve in recent days, you've noticed the accumulation of cottony seeds all over the place.
   They are Cottonwood seeds — more about the tree (pictured at left) and the seeds here.
   An earlier post on Cottonwood Catkins is here.

DeKorte Guided Noon Walk Tomorrow

 

   While we await repairs to the Marsh Discovery Trail, we are offering free guided 90-minute walks of the boardwalk trail every Tuesday and Thursday.
   The next walk is tomorrow, at the entrance to the trail near the guard gate. Need more information? Call Jim Wright at 201-460-2002.

Red Admirals Galore

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    If you think you're seeing more Red Admiral butterflies than usual, you're right! 
   We had a half-dozen on the Marsh Discovery Trail at DeKorte in less than an hour last week. The one above was photographed at the Kearny marsh.
   NJ Audubon's Sandy Hook Bird Observatory had more than a hundred last week.
   But it turns out that Red Admirals are having a banner year a lot of places, including the Great Lakes and Quebec.  (Thanks, Deedee!)
   More on Red Admirals here.