Don Torino, who helps lead our free monthly walks with Bergen County Audubon Society, has a neat column this week in wildnewjersey.tv — about Skeetkill Creek Marsh and the arrival of Spring.

Don writes that "spring is a time of renewal when birds return after a hard winter, and the quiet shades of russets and browns turn to the reawakening colors of greens, scarlets, and yellows of spring. It is an extraordinary time when life begins again."

He adds: "All of us have some kind of spring ritual, whether it's cleaning out the garage or fertilizing the lawn. For me it is cleaning out tree swallow nest boxes at Skeetkill Marsh.

"It's a day that I can walk out into the marsh, get full of mud, and pretend just for a little bit that I am a kid again."

The link is here.

On Thursday evening, the Meadowlands Commission and Bergen County Audubon Society are sponsoring a free walk at Laurel Hill County park in Secaucus to look for American Woodcocks as they do their springtime courtship display.

The walk begins at 5:30 as we look for the nesting Common Ravens and other local natural attractions. If you are on a tight schedule and only want to see/hear the woodcocks, please be at the park by 6:45 p.m. The walk should end a little after 7:30 p.m.

Our next Third Tuesday walk is at DeKorte Park at 10 a.m. on March 20, just in time to celebrate Spring's official arrival.

Full details on both walks follow. (And thanks to Chris Takacs for the woodcock photo.)

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Karen Riede reports that on Sunday, she and a couple birders stopped by the Ridgefield Nature Center, and : "A Mourning Cloak butterfly greeted us as soon as we opened the gate.  Later we saw an American Painted Lady."

We are posting one of our file pix of the Mourning Cloak in case anyone would like to see one for ID purposes– beautiful butterfly.

On Monday, there was a Cabbage White on Disposal Road (pretending to be a raptor, no doubt), and another one at Harrier Meadow. Spring is in the air.

Bruce Riede took this photo earlier this month at Skeetkill Creek Marsh in Ridgefield — after Don Torino had found it while cleaning out Tree Swallow boxes.

What is it? (Thanks, Bruce and Don!)