We have been hearing — and catching — glimpses of Indigo Buntings in Lyndhurst and North Arlington.

Caught this guy on a landfill the other day, but one of his cousins has been seen in DeKorte  — just not by us.

When we went looking for the Blue Grosbeak the other day, we came across this little guy — barely able to fly. we took his picture and let him be.

We are thinking it is a young Blue Grosbeak. What about you?

Butterfly Day at DeKorte Park is Sunday, July 24, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

It's a free, family-friendly event, with walks, talks, information booths, scavenger hunts and door prizes. Bring your own beverage and lunch, plus sunscreen and bug spray. Details follow.

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In honor of our upcoming Butterfly Day on July 24, here is a special Teaser.

Mickey Raine photographed this Cabbage White on last month's "Butterflies for Beginners" walk. Male or female?

Answer appears tomorrow, or on a search engine near you.

We had a Variegated Fritillary at DeKorte today — in the yellow flowers in the far parking lot. This is a new record for us as well.

Just photographed this Pipevine Swallowtail by the Butterfly Bushes on the side of the MEC at DeKorte.

It is a new species for us. For the North American Butterfly Association checklist for DeKorte Park, click here.
 

Just a quick tip of the hat to all the volunteers in Ridgefield who have been tackling the Mile-a-Minute Weed at Skeetkill Creek Marsh.

Karen Riede reports:

"We had a session with 6 volunteers and the pile is pictured between us.  The mile-a-minute is so abundant.  The berries are starting to show."
 
Pictured L to R:  Julianne D'Amico, Katie Pfaff, Patty Pfaff, Madeline Pfaff, Joe D'Amico, Kathy Payerle (not pictured Karen Riede, beacuse she took the photo.)

Mile-a-Minute is a nasty invasive. Thanks, all!

DeKorte Park from Mallav Naik on Vimeo.

Mallav Naik, a big fan of DeKorte Park and an occasional contributor to this blog, has created a Vimeo video of images from the park, accompanied by a very soothing soundtrack. Definitely worth a look and listen. (Be patient; it may take a little time to load.)

Mike Britt reports:

Two Peregrines soaring high over the shorebird pool. Two Black Skimmers were roosting on the flats with the gulls/cormorants. Later the Skimmers were "skimming" and interestingly…one flew off high and south with a fish.

As for southbound shorebirds…a Greater Yellowlegs and 6 Semipalmated Sandpipers were on the flats at Berry's Creek…meanwhile 4 Greater Yellowlegs & 2 Lesser Yellowlegs were roosting at Clay Ave.

(Thanks, Mike!)

Kevin Bolton took this Digiscope shot of a Yellow-crowned Night Heron at Mill Creek Marsh earlier this month.

Writes Kevin: "This Guy was feeding with a group a Snowy at Mill Creek Marsh it was take with the Nikon D7000 /Kowa Photo adapter, focal length 1200mm."  (Thanks, Kevin!)