An injured Black Skimmer – a bird on the NJDEP endangered-species list -– was successfully released Friday morning near Laurel Hill County Park in Secaucus after a miraculous recovery at the Raptor Trust rehabilitation facility in Millington.
It flew down the channel, banked left at a bend, and disappeared.
A pic of a skimmer in action, plus the rest of the story, folllows.
By popular demand, we are providing a downloadable PDf of our Meadowlands Bird Checklist. This way you can see a digital version and save paper. Do not try to print it out… It is set up to be read on a computer.
We are posting all six of our new or reprinted guides over the next week.
Next: Mill Creek Marsh Paddling Guide.
Name the butterfly… (Clue above; seen Tuesday.)
The injured Black Skimmer rescued in Secaucus on June 9 and brought to the Raptor Trust by the Meadowlands Commission has made a miraculous recovery.
As recently as Monday, the Raptor Trust staff did not think the bird would survive from an apparent impact injury. The bird was force-fed and tube-fed, and suddenly has made an about-face. The NJMC plans to release the bird in the Meadowlands on Friday morning. Link to earlier post is here.
More on the Raptor Trust here. (Thanks, Raptor Trust!)
More on Black Skimmers — endangered in New Jersey — here.
By popular demand, we are providing a downloadable PDf of our DeKorte Park Trail Guide. This way you can see a digital version and save paper. Do not try to print it out… It is set up to be read on a computer.
We are posting all six of our new or reprinted guides over the next week.
Next: The Birds of the Meadowlands updated checklist.
… You have to stop by while the water levels are low in the Shorebird Pool during a routine inspection of the pilings… Won't last beyond this weekend in all likelihood.
Have you seen any Monarch butterflies this year?
The word we are getting is that while this looks to be a good year for butterflies in general in North Jersey, numbers of the iconic Monarch are down. We have but one (sketchy) sighting at DeKorte so far this spring.
What are you seeing?
By popular demand, we are providing a downloadable PDf of our new Saw Mill Creek Paddling Guide. This way you can see a digital version and save paper. Do not try to print it out… It is set up to be read on a computer.
We are posting all six of our new or reprinted guides over the next week.
Next: The DeKorte Park Trail Guide.
Our First-Sunday-of-the-Month for July is on Independence Day. 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 around the square-mile park, looking for Black Skimmers, butterflies and various egrets and herons. The walk is run by the New Jersey
To rsvp, contact Don Torino of the BCAS at greatauk4@aol.com or 201-636-4022.
We had a nice turnout for our Tuesday walk, with extremely low water levels in the Shorebird Pool.
Highlights were up-close looks at Blue Crabs, several Black-crowned Night Herons, dozens of egrets and a baby Tree Swallow sticking its head out of the nesting box. Next walk is Thursday at noon.
