Usual suspects at DeKorte, plus two Northern Shovelers, our first since the spring.
Monthly Archives: August 2010
Tuesday Teaser: Find the Muskrat
NJMC Naturalist Gabrielle Bennett-Meany took this photo on the Mill Creek Marsh Trail. She writes:
They are quite abundant, so anyone who is walking along the trail quietly and hears rustling in the vegetation, it could be a muskrat feeding.
Answer follows.
Bird Reports: DeKorte 082910 and 083010
Valerie Knipping writes: "Sunday morning searched very hard for the Avocet. at DeKorte. No luck. Lots of Least Sandpipers and 1 semi-palm plover. Also a few Laughing Gulls sprinkled about along with many Snowy and Great Egrets. Also one male Black-throated Blue Warbler in a Scholar Tree near the buildings.
On Monday at DeKorte, NJMC staff had Short-billed Dowitchers and lots of Least Sandpipers (above) and Yellowlegs, plus a Forster's Tern or two, the usual Ospreys and a Kestrel (by the Erie Landfill). We do have some mud flats in places, but water levels are still a bit up. And no American Avocet.
Our Next Walk: DeKorte on Sunday (Sept. 5)
Please join The Meadowlands Commission and Bergen County Audubon society for a walk at DeKorte Park this Sunday — Sept. 5 — at 10 a.m.
Details follow.
DeKorte Bird Report: 082710
Did not see the Avocet as of 1 p.m. Friday, but it could easily be out of sight. Had dowitchers, both yellowlegs, Ruddies, Osprey, a few Forster's Terns and lots of egrets.
Water levels in the Shorebird Pool are up due to recent rains but a few spots of mud are around. Also had an American Kestrel off Disposal Road.
September Flyway Gallery Show
Digital inkjet prints by Lisa Gordon Cameron will be on display at the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission’s Flyway Gallery in September.
The exhibit, “Looking In/Looking Out,” includes landscapes and portraits and runs from Monday, Aug. 30 through Thursday, Sept. 30. A reception for the artist is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 26 from noon to 2:30 p.m.
082710: Avocet Continues: With Map
The distant American Avocet continues in the back of the Shorebird Pool in the northern area. He hangs out with the Mallards, then disappears. He was seen as recently as 4:40 this afternoon.
DeKorte Butterfly Report 082610
Lots of butterflies by the Environment Center today, including Viceroy, Monarch, Black Swallowtail, Red Admiral, Pearl Crescent, Common Buckeye, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Broad-winged Skipper, Silver-spotted Skipper, Peck's Skipper, Cabbage White and Orange Sulphur. Also had our buddy, the Snowberry Clear-winged Moth.
Should be a great weekend for birds and butterflies at DeKorte.
Bird Fest is Just Around the Corner!
The NJMC's Jim Wright wrote this column for The South Bergenite. It appears in today's editions.
New to bird-watching and want to learn about the abundant wonders in our own backyard?
The N.J. Meadowlands Commission is hosting the seventh annual Meadowlands Festival of Birding, a great way for beginners and experts alike to see a variety of great birds and butterflies.
The two-day event is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 11, and Sunday, Sept. 12, this year. Saturday’s programs, headquartered at the Environment Center in DeKorte Park, feature such p
opular events as pontoon-boat birding cruises on the Hackensack River, a bird-banding demonstration, a butterfly session, plenty of bird walks and a keynote address by Richard Crossley, a co-author of “The Shorebird Guide.”
This is one of the best times to go birding in the Meadowlands, and BirdFest is a great way to participate.
Avocet, Clear-winged Moths, Kingfisher, Ospreys
We saw the American Avocet at 4:45 p.m. today (Wednesday), chilling with Mallards at the north end of the Shorebird Pool, way in the back. Almost missed it, but the 12x binoculars helped. The above shot is with a 400mm lens, enlarged to a fare-thee-well.
Also had Belted Kingfisher, a few Ospreys and (by the side of the Environment Center) two clear-winged moths on the butterfly bush.