Sometimes you just get lucky. Took this on Thursday in Ridgefield on Railroad Avenue while I was waiting for the Monk Parakeets.

As the sun set to the south, we saw a distant Northern Harrier to the east, flying over the Saw Mill Creek Mudflats at DeKorte. We were in the Lyndhurst Nature Reserve, where harriers have hovered all day.

Lower Manhattan is on left, Laurel Hill is in center, and the eastern spur of the N.J. Turnpike is on right.

Canada Geese and Canvasbacks are in the foreground.

Above, a harrier flies over the mudflats around noon today.

Have a great weekend.

As you head toward the Saw Mill Creek Trail from the Lyndhurst Nature Reserve, you will reach a bird blind with a locked gate.

The gate is locked because the path is treacherous beyond that point. During some high tides, the water from the impoundment actually flows over the embankment there.

The gate had been unlocked recently because of vandalism. The sign (at left in photo) is in effect in any event.

Please keep out — we don't want anyone to get hurt. Thanks!

We stopped by Railroad Avenue in Ridgefield to look in on the Monk
Parakeets. We saw about 30 of these noisy green birds whiz past their nests on the causeway bridge, squawking the whole time, but only one perched — about 100 yards from the nests (above).

As we returned to our vehicle, an immature Cooper's Hawk flew out of a tree near the roost.

Strange to see snow atop one of the nesting platforms (left).

Disposal Road and Valley Brook Avenue are the prime location for raptors of late, with frquent fliers that include Rough-legs, Northern Harriers, American Kestrels and Red-tails.

Ron Shields took these shots on Wednesday but saw the Rough-legs and others on Thursday as well. (Thanks, Ron!)

Just a cautionary note: No parking is allowed on Valley Brook, and between bends in the road and a rise or two, it is often hard for motorists to see pedestrians. Please be careful.

Also, the property on both sides of Valley Brook is off-limits. It is being remediated, so please do not trespass.

Don Torino of the Bergen County Audubon Society wrote a wonderful blog post for wildnewjersey.tv.

The subject: DeKorte Park after the blizzard.

The photography: by Marco Lips.

Can't miss.

Link is here.

Karen Riede of Ridgefield reports:

"We have had daily visits of groups of at least 30 Monk Parakeets to our feeders.  Lets just say that there is one less, courtesy of a juvenile Cooper's Hawk."

Transco Trail has been plowed to allow emergency access, so cross-country skiing there has been severely crimped. Lyndhurst nature Reserve, with adjacent tidal impoundments, still offers solid cross-country ski/birding opportunities.

We were in Kearny the day before the snowstorm and saw these three Common Ravens silhouetted against a pale-gray sky.

As you probably know, ravens have been nesting not far away, across the Hackensack River on Laurel Hill in Secaucus.

In fact, it's under three miles, as the raven flies.

More on the Common Ravens of Secaucus here.

We'll look for these guys on our free nature walk at Laurel Hill next Tuesday.