Dennis Cheeseman writes: "A Northern Parula (above) enjoying a late season caterpillar, plus a nice Monarch (below).  (Thanks, Dennis!)

NJMC staffer Jim Wright, who keeps this blog, also writes a column every other Thursday for The South Bergenite. His latest, about an extended Meadowlands by a rare American Avocet, is posted here.

  Let me tell you about a rare bird that has been hanging out in North Arlington for more than five weeks.

   It is an American avocet, a beautiful shorebird with a thin, upturned bill, and it has found a home in a 70-acre New Jersey Meadowlands Commission natural area called Harrier Meadow.

   NJMC Naturalist Mike Newhouse and Lyndhurst birder Chris Takacs found the bird the Monday morning after Hurricane Irene ripped through area. The storm probably sent the 18-inch-high bird off-course.

  “The American avocet is usually found south here, and Delaware and beyond,” says Newhouse. “Texas is a great spot to see them.”

The rest of the column follows.

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