A thank-you to all who e-mailed us and sent us photos of the Yellow-crowned Night Herons at Mill Creek Marsh in Secaucus.
We are using Chris Takacs' photo here, because he included this helpful report:
Our free noontime guided walks on the Marsh Discovery Trail resume today. A Least Bittern was seen along the trail yesterday and on last Thursday's walk.
Th
e informal walks last about an hour. Birders and other nature lovers of all levels are welcome.
Our July 21 eco-cruise on the Hackensack River and nearby marshes has been postponed because of a possibility of thundershowers.
The pontoon-boat cruise has been rescheduled for Wednesday, July 28, at 5:30 p.m., and some openings have been created by the postponement.
For details or to make a reservation, call the NJMC's Gabrielle Bennett-Meany at 201-460-4640.
Click here to see a list of the birds we saw on a similar cruise on Tuesday morning.
We are keeping our fingers crossed for nice skies and not too much humidity for Butterfly Day at DeKorte Park today. The free event begins at 10 a.m. and ends at 3 p.m. — come and go as you please. Short slide shows begin at 10 minutes after every hour; butterfly walks begin at 10:30, 11:30, 12:30, 1:30 and 2:30. Bring your own food and beverages.
Let's hope the butterflies cooperate!
Because parking may be at a premium on Sunday , we are reserving the parking lot nearest the guardhouse for people attending Butterfly Day.
All other park users, including birders and walkers, are asked to park in the lot by the Administration Building and observatory until after 3 p.m.
We ask all drivers to drive slowly and to look out for pedestrians. Thank you.
For last-minute information, you can call the NJMC's cellphone, 201-615-8570 or 201-469-7349.
We've compiled a list of the birds we saw on our pontoon-boat birding trip on Tuesday. 32 species, including eight Ospreys and quite a few Yellow-crowned Night Herons — and we're sure we must have missed a few species because we weren't really looking for Northern Cardinals, American Robins, etc.
Not too shabby. One of our umpteen Forster's Terns is pictured above. Black-crowned Night Heron is below.
Full list follows.
We have a great schedule for this Sunday's Butterfly Day at DeKorte — with walks, talks, activities for kids and great door prizes. It's perfect for families, and it's free.
The event runs from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Just bring your own lunch and beverages.
The event is sponsored by the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, the Bergen County Audubon Society and the Northern NJ Chapter of the North American Butterfly Association.
Full schedule follows.
To celebrate our first anniversary of Third-Tuesday-of-the-Month bird walks, we had a birding-by-boat trip on the Hackensack River today, and did the birds show up to celebrate with
A sampling: Eight Ospreys, a Peregrine Falcon, umpteen Black-crowned (below) and Yellow-crowned Night Herons, Forster's Terns, and plenty of yellowlegs and other sandpipers (bottom). Not to mention too many Diamondback Terrapins to count (right).
Bird and terrapin pix below were taken by R.T. Geoghan. (Thanks, R.T.!)
Will post more pix and maybe a full list tomorrow.
We are thinking of making this a monthly trip during the summer. E-mail us here if you like the idea.
Chris Takacs filed an amazing list of sightings from the Meadowlands the past few days, including Black Skimmers, a Peregrine Falcon, an American Kestrel, a Gray Ghost, 2 Blue Grosbeaks and a Clapper Rail.
Full list follows. (Thanks, Chris!)
Because of a scheduling conflict, today's (Tuesday's noon) Marsh Discovery Trail walk in DeKorte Park is cancelled. The next noon walk is Thursday.
Last Thursday we had a great (but brief) look at a Least Bittern flying, and an amazing Forster's Terns show. It all began with this perched Forster's Tern and a juvenile floating in the Shorebird Pool.
The adult took off with the fish …
Full sequence follows…
