Due to circumstances beyond the NJMC's control, please be advised that the entire Transco Trail (from Disposal Road to the Western Spur of the Turnpike) will be closed from Friday, March 23, until June 30.

Work on the pipeline is scheduled to take place 10 hours a day – six days a week (Monday – Saturday).

Williams (Transco Pipeline) is conducting a pressure test of the natural-gas pipeline. The contractor is installing construction fencing this week and we will post the appropriate signage as reminders.

Please do not enter the construction site. Proceed with caution when entering and leaving the Lyndhurst Nature Reserve and when entering the southern end of DeKorte Park.

During this time, you can only enter and exit the Marsh Discovery Trail from the main entrance (by the guard booth).  There will only be one way in and out, you will not be able to complete the loop. The trail will be blocked/closed where it meets Transco Trail.

Trucks and equipment will be entering and exiting these areas frequently.

We appreciate your patience and understanding. E-mail jim.wright (at) njmeadowlands.gov if you have questions.

The butterfly in that rare painting posted yesterday was identified in the NY Times auction ad as a Red Admiral, when in fact it was a Painted Lady.

More on the artist here.

Photos of both species, taken at DeKorte Park, follow.

Continue reading →

Just wanted to give everyone a heads-up that Tideland Treasures, the gift shop inside the Meadowlands Environment Center, is undergoing an overhaul (as opposed to overgoing an underhaul), and a lot of the previous merchandise is being sold at amazingly low prices from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. next Tuesday, March 27.

Items include childen's toys, stuffed animals, bric-a-brac, knick-knacks, collectible collectibles, stocking stuffers, novelties and other unusual stuff (a lot of it for kids) you never realized you needed.

The new Tideland Treasures, with very little of the above,  will be reopen on Friday, March 30, with 15 percent off all merchandise through Sunday, April 1.

Yesterday, we asked readers to tell us what these odds ducks were.

We think the duck above is a Mallard/Black Duck hybird. And the ducks below are just plain Mallards. (thanks to those who responded correctly, and thanks to Stephen Buckingham for sending in the pix!)

Don Torino, who leads many of the Meadowlands Commission’s walks with the Bergen County Audubon Society, has a new post on wildnewjersey.tv, about the imminent arrival of warblers. (That’s a Palm warbler above; not the twitching tail.)

Don writes: “I pulled up to my local gas station the other day with the call of the Black-and-white Warbler playing on my car CD player. The attendant looked around and asked me if I wanted him to check my fan belt. ‘No thanks, just a squeaky warbler, I said. ‘It’s under warranty.’ Good thing I didn’t have the American Bittern playing or he would have called a tow truck.

“By the time the leaves are on the trees most warbler watching becomes warbler listening. The tiny little marvels can be far up in the canopy or tucked into heavy cover.

“The only way to identify them is by learning their calls. And just so you don’t feel overwhelmed, try to learn just a few calls at a time. If you try to remember all of them, you won’t recall any when you get out into the field. You still have time to begin your warbler call schooling so put those Bruce Springsteen CDs away for a while and get your warbler songs playing.”

The link is here.

Somehow, this Eastern Phoebe eluded us on our walk yesterday, but it could not elude the lightning lens of Dennis Cheeseman.

(Thanks, Dennis!)