Don Torino of Bergen County Audubon Society and the Meadowlands Commission's Jim Wright did a scouting trip yesterday in advance of Sunday's free guided walk.

A few quick observations: 

* A lot of good birds are moving in, including Baltimore Orioles, Eastern Towhees and a variety of warblers. We even had several Solitary Sandpipers — and heard a Ring-necked Pheasant, not far from its ancestral home.

* The trails are very muddy (and partly underwater in places), so wear waterproof boots if you can.

* We didn't see as much litter as in years past, but we still plan to police the area and trim the trails, so bring work gloves and clippers if you've got them.

* The flora (including the ferns above) is going great guns, with lots of native plants to be discussed on Sunday.

Full list of birds follows.

Meadowlands IBA–Losen Slote Creek Park, Bergen, US-NJ
May 3, 2012 9:40 AM – 11:10 AM
Protocol: Traveling
1.2 mile(s)
Comments:     warblers moving in …
22 species (+1 other taxa)

Mallard 
heron sp.
Ring-necked Pheasant
Solitary Sandpiper 
Mourning Dove 
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Blue Jay 
American Crow 
House Wren 
American Robin 
Gray Catbird 
Northern Mockingbird 
Black-and-white Warbler 
Common Yellowthroat 
Yellow Warbler 
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler 
Black-throated Green Warbler 
Eastern Towhee 
Northern Cardinal 
Red-winged Blackbird 
Common Grackle 
Baltimore Oriole 
House Sparrow