Rich Romano took this photo of a Diamondback Terrapin last Sunday at Laurel Hill County Park in Secaucus.

(Thanks, Rich!)

The walls of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission’s Flyway Gallery will be filled with watercolors, oils, acrylics, pastels and photographs paying “Homage to Nature” during June and July.

The exhibit by members of the Clifton Association of Artists runs from Monday, June 4 to Friday, Aug. 3.

A reception for the artists is scheduled for Saturday, June 9 from noon to 2 p.m.

The Flyway Gallery is located in the Meadowlands Environment Center in DeKorte Park, the home of the NJMC.

Nearly 50 works will be on display depicting everything from Meadowlands Marshes and birds to garden scenery and desert landscapes. The Clifton Association of Artists aims to foster public awareness of the arts and help local artists share, learn, explore and evolve.

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More than 100 people gathered at the NJMC William D. McDowell Observatory in Lyndhurst on Tuesday to witness the Transit of Venus, a once-a-century event in which Venus passes directly between the sun and earth, appearing as a black dot moving across the surface of the sun.

Despite the cloudy weather, visitors were able to observe the Transit through portable solar telescopes, spotting scopes and special eclipse glasses.

More information on the observatory's free viewing sessions for the public can be found here.

One of our most popular annual events takes place this Sunday. It's the June Native Plant Walk, featuring the exceptional Edith Wallace, and it's free.

If you want to learn all about the native plants in DeKorte Park — and why native plants are so important — please join the Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

Not to be missed…

Details follow.

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Nice story on the web by Environmental Writer Jim O'Neill on the Jersey City Peregrine Falcon family.

Link is here.

Our latest "Focus on the Meadowlands" on the wildnewjersey.tv blog features a bug-eyed Common Muskrat (we have been getting complaints that we don't post enough muskrat photos), the Ridgefield Park Mama Bald Eagle, complete with transmitter, and a DeKorte Redstart that sat still for half of a second.

The link is here.

The soil is ready, the plants are here (or almost here), and the new native plant garden for birds and butterflies is about to take root.

Planting should occur over the next few days.

Funding for the new garden comes from the Meadowlands Marsh Hawks World Series of Birding fund-raising effort, and from the Bergen County Audubon Society. The Meadowlands Commission paid for any additional plantings that were needed.

In addition, BCAS folks dropped off a truckload of native plants for the garden earlier this week. The BCAS'ative plant project is a joint venture with the Teaneck Garden club. BCAS planted 500 native shrubs at the Garden Club,  and they have been caring for them until the BCAS can move them to conservation projects like the one at DeKorte.

The Meadowlands Commission's Parks Department provided the design for the new garden (sketch of the garden's design is here).

Maybe the garden will be part of next year's annual native plant walk.

A big thank you to everyone who made this garden possible!

Ron Shields reports:

[Last week], an adult Spotted Sandpiper seemed extremely vigilant and alert from a perch atop a pipe along Disposal Road 

The rest of the images are the reasons why. 

I counted two chicks but there could be more.

One of our highly popular annual events is the June Native Plant Walk, featuring the exceptional Edith Wallace.

If you want to learn all about the native plants in DeKorte Park — and why native plants are so important — please join the Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society at 10 a.m. on Sunday.

Edith asks that people on the walk refrain from any bird-watching. (Just kidding!)

Not to be missed…

Don Torino of Bergen County Audubon Society, one of the leaders of our many monthly walks, has a weekly column on the wildnewjersey.tv blog.

His latest is on Serviceberry:

"My favorite 'lazy man' birding spot is at Dekorte Park, where a large stand of serviceberries grows. You don’t need to walk and work up a sweat; there is a strategically placed bench right adjacent to the trees. You can sit back and enjoy the bird show.
    
"If you happen to get a little hungry while watching the vast numbers of birds, wolf down the berries since they are delicious to us too. You can find great recipes online for juneberry pancakes, pies and jams. Just don’t pick them in the park."

Here's the link.