Did a quick walk out into DeKorte Park Nature Reserve during lunch, near low tide.
Didn't see any Canvasbacks but did see an extra-secretive Pied-billed Grebe (above) and a Lesser Yellowlegs (left).
The Grebe was distant, and hanging out near the rocks along the distant Saw Mill Creek Trail, which is officially closed.
It tended to hide behind rocks if any humans seemed close, so best to use a spotting scope from the far shore.
Full list follows.
Prize-winning author and artist Thomas F. Yezerski, whose stunning book “Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story” was on several 2011 “Ten Best” lists, is exhibiting the illustrations from the book in the DeKorte Park’s Flyway Gallery through the end of March.
On Sunday, Feb. 5, from noon-1:30 p.m., Tom will give a short talk and slide show on the book, and then be available to inscribe a copy for you, and you'll be able to see the original illustrations up-close.
This free family-friendly event is sponsored by the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission and Bergen County Audubon Society. The Meadowlands Environment Center is located in DeKorte Park, Lyndhurst.
Signed copies of the book are available at a special discounted price at the MEC’s Tideland Treasures Gift Shop. Contact the NJMC’s Jim Wright at 201-460-2002 or jim.wright@njmeadowlands.gov for more information.
Calling all birders!
The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society are pleased to announce the 2012 Meadowlands Big Year competition.
The goal is to see as many different bird species as possible in the 14 towns of the Meadowlands District over the course of 2012 — and also to have fun birding.
The idea is to promote birding in the Meadowlands, and to give area birders a competition that does not require as much travel (and gasoline consumption) as, say, a New Jersey Big Year.
To make this as fair as possible, we will have two divisions: Meadowlands residents and non-Meadowlands residents.
More details follow.
We have compiled a boffo events calendar for all of 2012, so you can set aside some very important dates — such as Butterfly Day, Kevin Karlson Shorebird Day, Birding for Beginners classes, a special April Fool's Day (you'll be perfect for this!), and other must-see events. Not too mention our first-Sunday and third-Tuesday walks.
We're posting on Monday — including two big events for Sunday, Feb. 5 — so stay tuned…
Mickey and Elaine Raine write: "Just outside DeKorte Park, on the other
side of the railroad tracks, we recently came across trees that had a number of strange cocoon-like pods suspended by these very thin, almost vine like, extensions that were wrapped several times around the branches before stretching out to hold the pods.
"They were swaying back and forth with the heavy winds, but appeared to be quite secure.
"Each cocoon/pod consisted of many spikes–perhaps as nature's plan for protecting these from possible predators.
"If anyone has ever seen similar and can assist in identifying them, we would appreciate it."