Mike Gempp reports:

Disposal Road: Brown-headed Cowbirds, nesting Eastern Kingbirds, a pair of nesting Orchard Orioles, at least one Baltimore Oriole,  Killdeer by the dozen, and a few Spotted Sandpipers roaming the hillside.

The highlight of the afternoon was seeing a family of pheasants strutting along the hillside. I saw the male first, all lit up in the sun, and then started seeing the babies, and then Mom. There were eleven birds all told.

DeKorte: Indigo Bunting, plenty of Goldfinches, a Song Sparrow, a pair of Cardinals, a Black Crowned Night Heron, and the usual cast of characters. Marsh Wrens, Osprey and baby ducks abound, and Egrets continue to be scarce.

(Thanks, Mike!)

Jim Wright, who keeps this blog, also writes a nature column every other week for The South Bergenite. Here is his latest column –on 'Meadowlands' author Tom Yezerski.

A great way to see something in an entirely new light is through an artist’s eyes, and no better example of this can be found than “Meadowlands,” a charming new children’s book by former Rutherford resident Thomas F. Yezerski.
  The all-color, richly illustrated book, which has received rave reviews from the likes of The New York Times, tells the story of the Meadowlands District from the time of the Lenapes to present day.
  The subtitle of the book is “A Wetlands Survival Story,” and that certainly is what it is. The Meadowlands is in the midst of an amazing environmental recovery, but to appreciate how far we’ve come, we have to look back at where we’ve been.
   Yezerski’s ability to encapsulate that story in 32 pages – in a fashion that will fascinate kids and adults alike — is testament to his abilities as both writer and artist.

Rest of the column follows.

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