Botanist Edith Wallace used a hand lens, or loupe, to see plants up-close on our guided plant walk this past Sunday.

Congrats to Matt and Mimi for IDing the tool correctly.

Don Torino, who leads so many of the guided walks that the Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society offer each walk, has a new column on Pipevine Swallowtails on wildnewjersey.tv.

Don writes:

Long ago, this most elegant of butterflies was a much more common sight than it is today. This is because their host plant – the the Pipevine (Aristolochia) – is the only plant that the Pipevine Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar will use!

About a hundred years ago, the Pipevine graced the porches and trellises of many homes, but as it fell in of favor the Pipevine Swallowtail, it fell in numbers. This butterfly has become hard to find and concentrated in small locations, including the Greenbrook Sanctuary in Bergen County.

We also had a Pipevine Swallawtail at DeKorte last summer, in mid-July.

The link to Don's column is here.

The link to our blog post on the Pipevine Swallowtail is here.

Steve Buckingham reports:

I thought you might like to know that the fountain in the center of the butterfly garden was quite the place to be for a few minutes late Saturday afternoon.  First a lone Gray Catbird thought he would clean himself up:

Then two Cedar Waxwings crashed the party… Thanks, Steve!)

Our next free guided walk is next Tuesday at 10 a.m. at DeKorte Park.

We'll cover the recently reopened loop along the Marsh Discovery Trail and Transco Trail, and look for butterflies and buds as well as birds.

Should be fun. We hope you can make it!

Details follow.

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Believe it or not, there's an adult bald eagle perched on the tallest tree on the landfill just to the left of the setting sun above [photographed on Saturday]. 

The eagle briefly hunted the impoundments and then flew to this lofty perch and was still there as night fell. 

In addition, the last two days yielded up to ten Black Skimmers mostly found gathered on the mudflats to the east of the Saw
Mill Creek Trail near the turnpike. 

The Peregrine Falcon continues to make its nightly appearance in the first set of towers.  (Thanks, Ron!)

What is the name of the monocle-like device that ace botanist Edith Wallace used on her guided plant walk this past Sunday at DeKorte Park?

What is it used for?

(We like to think of it as a really, really small spotting scope.)

The Meadowlands Commission is pleased to announce that the Transco Trail is now open again for its entire length, from the AMVETS Carillon on Disposal Road all the way to the western spur of the New Jersey Turnpike — nearly a mile long.

You can now take the Marsh Discovery Trail and Transco Trail and do a loop back to the parking lot again. The trail had been scheduled to be closed through June 30, so this is especially good news.

Thank you for your patience. Williams (Transco Pipeline) was conducting a pressure test of the natural-gas pipeline, and the testing is now done.

Ron Shields reports:

With an incoming tide, the Saw Mill Creek Trail was extremely active one night last week just before dusk. 

Highlights included at least ten Black-crowned Night Herons huddled on the mudflats at the beginning of the trail, a flyover Osprey with the catch of the day, a Gray Ghost retreating to Harrier Meadow, three Black Skimmers (7:45PM) that made several passes throughout the impoundments, and a Peregrine Falcon that made a few unsuccessful attempts at supper before catching and devouring a shorebird. 

With all that, it was the low pressure clouds and the light they reflected that really stole the show for me.

Roy Woodford writes:

All those hours standing on Disposal Road waiting for Northern Harrier fly-bys with Ron Shields definitely didn't go to waste.  The stories of what he was able to see and photograph convinced me to go buy a kayak. 

I'll have to admit, shooting from a boat gives some unique perspectives and opportunities that you wouldn't otherwise get … and it's more difficult than I thought it would be.

 Nonetheless, in the four hours I was out there I found tons of Tree Swallows, Barn Swallows and Red-winged Blackbirds all buzzing by within feet of my head.  I also came across Common Moorhens, American Coots, Wood Ducks, Mallards, Semipalmated Sandpipers (I think – check the picture), Killdeer, Osprey, one Least Bittern , Swamp Sparrows, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, and Black-crowned Night Herons (and many other species I can't identify). 

There are lots of Painted Turtles (I think) and Snapping Turtles as well.  I'm sure I missed a ton of things … I could spend all day out there.

Three more pix follow.

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Our third annual DeKorte Plant Walk with the inimitable Edith Wallace was fascinating as always.

Edith took two dozen folks on a short loop in DeKorte Park, finding and explaining all sorts of neat plants, berries and bugs.

This could be the most educational free walk that Bergen County Audubon Society and the Meadowlands Commission hold all year. A big thanks to Edith and all who attended.

See the next Tuesday Teaser for more on the walk.