Kevin Karlson Day is Aug. 21, and we have an added attraction this year — a free, hour-long wildlife photography workshop led by noted bird photographer and shorebird expert and his well-known colleague, Lloyd Spitalnik.
   The workshop runs from 3 to 4 p.m., and includes a question and answer session.
   Kevin Karlson Day is brought to you by the N.J. Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society.
   To rsvp for the workshop or the full day,  contact Don Torino  of the BCAS at greatauk4@aol.com or 201-636-4022.

   The William D. McDowell Observatory in  DeKorte Park begins a new month of programming tonight with free public programs at 8:30 and 10:30 p.m. — weather permitting, of course. 
   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 August schedule, click here.

   We first saw this butterfly on Butterfly Day, and it is still hanging around. It's a Peck's Skipper, easier to identify than many skippers because it is smaller and it has some beautifully distinct wing patterns.
   More on Peck's Skippers here.
   We also saw a Question Mark on Wednesday afternoon on the Transco Trail, near a Red Admiral — hadn't seen one of those guys since late June. Too bad it wasn't around on Butterfly day.

   We had another great turnout for our First-Sunday-of-the-Month Walk at DeKorte Park, with plenty of shorebirds and aprroximately 40 people.
   Highlights included a Peregrine Falcon early, Short- and Long-billed Dowitchers,  plenty of peeps and yellowlegs, Osprey, and many Forster's Terns and Barn Swallows. Some of us also had a Baltimore Oriole and by the Environment Center.
   A big thank-you to all who turned out — and braved the threatening skies to get a great look at Meadowlands nature…

  The Hudson Reporter just published a nice story on last week's Butterfly Day — with plenty of photos. Link is here.

    To help you get a feel for what might be in store for the Meadowlnads for the upcoming month, we thought we would provide links to our top blog posts from August 2009:

   August 3: Hummingbird Moths Are Here

   August 5: Skeetkill Marsh, Mid-Summer (Above)

    August 11: First Fritillary

    August 19: Cedar Waxwing at Harrier Meadow

    August 20: Crabs DuJour

    August 24: Cicada Cacophony

      August 27: Egret Turf Wars

    August 31: More Cormorant Antics  

   Stephanie Seymour reports: I went to DeKorte from around 8 to 10:30 am this morning.
  No luck with Skimmers or my nemesis Least Bittern, but saw some great Forster's Tern action.
   I am almost sure I saw 2 Least Terns as well, but since I can't be 100% sure I decided against counting them on eBird.
   Also, there were easily like 300 or 400 or maybe even 500 little Least Sandpipers, but eBird makes a fuss if you report those numbers. So I decided to be WAY conservative and say 150.
   Saw a gorgeous male Baltimore Oriole, 2 Warbling Vireos, and a few Yellow Warblers all in the same area (take path from second back parking lot into a little tree oasis and that's where all these were).
   Full report follows.  (Thanks, Steph!)

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