Saw this distant rail from the Ruddy Duck blind on the Marsh Discovery Trail around 1:40 p.m. Also grabbed a shot as it flew from left to right across the channel… We are thinking Clapper Rail. Please share your thoughts.

The young Tricolored Heron is back at DeKorte Park. It was last seen around 11:10 in the Shorebird Pool by the Transco Trail, not far from the first water-monitoring station.

A big thanks to NJMC Naturalist Mike Newhouse for giving us the heads-up.

Shorebird Pool water levels will remain as low as rainfall allows for Kevin Karlson Day tomorrow and the rest of this entire weekend.

Kevin Karlson Shorebird Day is Saturday, 8:15 a.m. to 3:45 p.m., rain or shine. Gate opens at 8 a.m.

 If you need more info, here are some quick clicks:

For a flyer with basic info, click  here. (We'll do the indoor programs first if there's bad weather in the morning, but we are keeping our fingers crossed.)

For Kevin's detailed description of the day's events, click here. (Photographers will want to read this closely!)

For the list of birds from last year's KKSD walks, click here.

Regina Geoghan writes:

"Just before noontime at DeKorte, I saw several Red Admirals, a Painted Lady, a Monarch, the usual skippers and I did capture a sphinx moth. [Snowberry clear-winged or Hummingbird Clear-winged?]

"Way too hot to be out there in the middle of the day. 🙂 "   (Thanks, Regina!)

Our latest "Focus on the Meadowlands" feature for the wildnewjersey.tv blog features a new Osprey nest for the Meadowlands, an odd moth and that banded Peregrine.

The link is here.

Ron Shields writes:

Here are two comparative images of Tuesday's magnificent sunset taken ten minutes apart in DeKorte Park.

Note the dramatic change in hue that takes place in a relatively brief period. Outstanding!  (Thanks, Ron!)

Greg Miller saw and photographed a Sora at noon today from the "Ruddy Duck" blind at DeKorte Park.  A few of us check about 10 minutes later with no luck but will try again.

(We enlarged and cropped Greg's pic a bit; thanks, Greg!)

Professional nature photographers Kevin Karlson (right) and Lloyd Spitalnik are offering a free day of events at DeKorte Park on Saturday. Kevin sent us the following description of all the programming — which include some amazing stuff you won't want to miss, including a free hands-on photography seminar and a look at their new book:

Two 90-minute bird walks in the morning (8:15 and 10:15 a.m.) will concentrate on shorebirds and any other birds that we see around the Meadowlands Environment Center and on the Marsh Discovery Trail.

After lunch, I will give a short presentation on “Tips for Being a Better Birder” (1/2 hour), after which I will show new digital comparative photo arrays from my upcoming book “Birding by Impression” in the Roger Tory Peterson Reference Series.

Detailed descriptions of the afternoon programs follow.

Continue reading →

Don Torino, a leader on our Meadowlands Commission/Bergen County Audubon Society's regular walks, write a regular column for the wildnewjersey.tv blog.

His latest column is on how a love of nature keeps you young — and mentions the Meadowlands:

"Some of my fondest memories of old friends and family members (Some that have moved on or are no longer with me) always seem to drift back to times we spent as kids.

Summers when we stayed out from dawn till dusk in the Meadowlands, as long our parents had to send other kids out to look for us. …

"The memories are ones I think nature was kind enough to give to us.

"They are the memories that makes us smile when no one is looking, ones that remind us despite our age that the child that always loved nature it still in us, it has never left."

The link is here.

Two weeks ago, we posted an item about spotting a banded Peregrine on a former landfill in Rutherford.

We got close enough to photograph both the bird and the band, and sent the info along to our banding experts. We got a nifty reply from Christopher A. Nadareski,  Section Chief, NYC Environmental Protection:

"Great news! One of three I banded at the Met Life Building on 5/12/2012.  Her FWS band is: 1947-03231.  Had two siblings (one male and one female)."

More information follows.

Continue reading →