This Sunday is our free monthly "First Sunday" walk, and the site is DeKorte Park.

The program begins at 10 a.m.with a short talk, "Winter Raptors of the Meadowlands," by the NJMC's Jim Wright.

The talk will be followed by a guided walk in search of winter waterfowl and those raptors.

On our last DeKorte walk we had Peregrine Falcon, Redtail, Northern Harrier and Sharpie, and we had American Kestrel on Disposal Road today.

At DeKorte are currently seeing plenty of Ruddies, Northern Pintails, Northern Shovelers, Green-winged Teal, Black Ducks, and Bufflehead, and the Canvasbacks should be back soon.

The walk is sponsored by the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission and Bergen County Audubon Society.

Details follow.

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  NJMC Naturalist Mike Newhouse and his group of volunteer bird-banders have finished their work for the fall season, weighing and measuring a total of 3,169 birds and 77 species.

The most frequently banded bird? The Song Sparrow, at 484. In second was the Yellow-rumped Warbler.

The South Bergenite has a column on the bird banding by the NJMC's Jim Wright. We will post on Thursday.

For Fall 2009 totals, click here.

For Fall 2008 totals, click here.

Full list of banded birds for Fall 2009 follows.

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Don't be shocked the next time you see the Butterfly Garden at DeKorte — it's getting a major facelift and some new plantings, in plenty of time for next spring.