Ron Shields happened this American Kestrel last week on Disposal Road (where else?).

What does the kestrel have in its mouth?

(Thanks, Ron)

Mike Maddaloni specializes in sunset shots of the Meadowlands, and he offered to share some he's taken from DeKorte Park, including some recent ones.

(Thanks, Mike!)

More follow.

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Greg Gard shared this video of one of our American Kestrels eating a dragonfly on Disposal Road.

(Thanks, Greg!)

Joan Giovia writes:

"Is this all pollen on this bee?"

(Photo taken at the flower bed in front of her house on Orient Way, Lyndhurst. 

We are thinking it is all pollen  — how about you?

(Thanks, Joan!)

Our last Birding-by-Boat cruise of 2012 with the Bergen County Audubon Society is tomorrow (Tuesday, Aug. 28), at 10 a.m. We hope to see Ospreys, shorebirds, waders and plenty more.

Suggested donation is (the bargain price of) $15.  Reserve your seat now; seating is extremely limited at this point!

Full info follows.

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Ray Duffy writes:

"On Saturday I had American Redstart, Black-throated Blue, Black-and-White warblers at Schmidt's Woods and a Prairie Warbler at DeKorte along the Transco Trail. 

"The Tricolored Heron was around last night near the intersection of Transco and Marsh Discovery Trail.  I'm starting to see a bunch of bright juvenile Least Sandpipers as well."  (Thanks, Ray!)

You can only take so many pictures of the Tricolored Heron before you are reduced to taking pictures of people taking pictures of the Tricolored.

It was seen about 4:15 p.m. on Thursday where the Transco Trail meets the Marsh Discovery Trail. The bird has been here two weeks now.

(Have had no reports on Friday as of 4:45 p.m.)

We saw one of the Least Bitterns along Bittern Cove at the other end of the Marsh Discovery Trail (near the guardhouse) around 2:30 p.m. Friday, and others have been seen as well.

Had a Ruddy Duck in the Shorebird Pool on a few occasions recently.

Greg Gard did a great video of one of the many American Kestrels hanging out near Disposal Road.  Psoting it Monday because we don't want to have too many American Kestrel posts in one day, do we?

Better late than never …

Late last month, we had two reports of a wing-tagged American Kestrel in the DeKorte Park/Disposal Road area.

Rosemarie Widmer saw a wing-tagged kestrel  with a No. 9, but lacked a  camera.

And about that same time, Doug Tilly had a camera but couldn't see the number on the wing-tagged American Kestrel.

Doug wrote: "Came across 6 Kestrels in hunting and hanging out on the dump along Disposal Road at noon today.  I could see all 6 at once but not in the camera lens.  One of them had an orange tag on its wing."

Through the wonders of communications, we put two and two together and located the tagger — John Smallwood of Montclair State University, who reports banding two female American Kestrels with #9, one  on the left wing and the other on the right wing, in June in Sussex County.

(Thanks, Rosemarie, Doug, and John.)

Greg Gard writes:

"Here are a couple of photographs taken on Disposal Road Wednesday morning. 

"I found there a cooperative American Kestrel who didn't mind my presence and was actively hunting and consuming his food near me.

"At one point  a Red-tailed Hawk flew to close to "Kestrel's" territory and all of a sudden he was surrounded by 5 American Kestrels.

They flew in circles for about 2 minutes attacking the Red-tailed Hawk.

"Later on, I saw Kestrels perched along the Disposal Road on either black pipes or trees. One of the Kestrels had an orange tag #9 on his wing."

(Thanks, Greg!)