Thanks to all who wrote in to ID the confusing fall warblers. We are thinking that the above warbler is a Nashville, and the one below is a Bay-breasted.

(And thanks to Dennis Cheeseman for providing the teaser!)

The Meadowlands Commission's Angelo Urato reports:

"Tuesday afternoon while I was on the roof of the Harmon Tower Building in Secaucus, I had a close up view of this adult Peregrine Falcon."

(Thanks, Angelo — just love the Hackensack River Lift Bridge in the background, a classic Meadowlands shot.)

Our next guided walk is this Sunday, Oct. 7, at 10 a.m. at the incredible Mill Creek Marsh, especially beautiful this time of the year. 

The walk, sponsored by the Meadowlands Commission  and Bergen County Audubon Society, begins at 10 a.m. at the trail's entrance, just off Park Plaza Drive. (Directions are on the left-hand side of this blog.)

Mickey Raine, a photographer and friend of this blog, writes: "In case  some of these folks are first-time visitors at Mill Creek Marsh, I am attaching some photos — most people have no clue as to just how beautiful MCM is."  (Thanks, Mickey!)

For a list of birds we saw at Mill Creek during an October walk last year, click here.

For the full listing and more of Mickey's photos, click below.

Continue reading →

We are pleased to announce that the first copies of "The Nature of the Meadowlands," our coffee-table book about the region's incredible nature and unnatural history, have arrived in our gift shop in the Meadowlands Environment Center.

Written by the NJMC's Jim Wright and featuring a Foreword by Governor Thomas H. Kean, the lavishly illustrated, 128-page book illuminates the region's checkered past —  including its darkest days of a half-century ago and its inspiring environmental revival.

The book celebrates the amazing landscapes and parks to be found here, including DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst, the Kearny Marsh and Laurel Hill in Secaucus.

In addition, "The Nature of the Meadowlands" features dozens of striking images, including present-day nature and landscape photography,  pictures of an old Secaucus pig farm, a "Sopranos" landmark, a Harp Seal in Carlstadt, an Eastern Coyote on a Meadowlands landfill, and rare Laurel Hill minerals. In short, expect the unexpected.

“The Nature of the Meadowlands” is a great resource and beautiful keepsake — and the perfect gift  for the upcoming holidays.

You can buy a copy any time during gift shop hours — and have it signed by Governor Kean and Jim Wright at a special book event on Oct. 15.

More about the Oct. 15 event here.

"Scene from the Meadowlands" by Gideon Steele.

The Art Association of Rutherford is holding its 65th Annual Open Juried Exhibition at the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) Flyway Gallery in the Meadowlands Environment Centernow through Nov. 30.

An awards reception for the environmentally themed show is scheduled for Oct. 14 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The exhibit features more than 40 works that will be judged in five categories: Oils/Acrylics, Watercolors, Photography, Mixed Media and Computer Manipulated Art.

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Dennis Cheeseman sent these in yesterday just to annoy everyone. Can you identify these confusing fall warblers? (Thanks, Dennis, sort of.)

It's October already, and we are asking for Meadowlands Big Year participants to e-mail us their totals so far through September if they have not done so already.

Please send them to jim.wright (at) njmeadowlands.gov and include the words "Meadowlands Big Year" in the e-mail). 

Much appreciated, and good luck to all.  Thanks to those who have updated their numbers already!

Competition details are here.

The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) will celebrate the publication of its new coffee-table book, “The Nature of the Meadowlands,” with a special book talk and signing by author Jim Wright of the NJMC and Governor Thomas H. Kean, who wrote the book’s foreword.

The public signing and talk is on Monday, Oct. 15, from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Meadowlands Environment Center.

The “Nature of the Meadowlands” will be available later this week. The list price is $34.95. Those who reserve the book by today (Oct. 1) will receive a 20 percent discount for a cost of $27.95.

The lavishly illustrated, 128-page book illuminates the Meadowlands’ natural and unnatural history, including its darkest days of a half-century ago and its inspiring environmental revival.

It also celebrates the amazing landscapes and parks to be found here, including DeKorte Park, the home of the NJMC, the Kearny Marsh and Secaucus’s Laurel Hill. Individual chapters are devoted to birds, butterflies, and mammals –with a final photo-essay section that captures the essence of the Meadowlands throughout the year.

At the Oct. 15 talk and signing, Governor Kean will speak about the environmental recovery chronicled in “The Nature of the Meadowlands” and Wright will give a slide show talk highlighting its striking photography.

To reserve a copy of “Nature of the Meadowlands,” visit www.njmeadolwands.gov and click on “The Nature of the Meadowlands” box at the bottom of the page, call 201-460-4637 or email info@njmeadowlands.gov. 

We thought a nice way to see what might be in store for October 2012 might be to look back at what we saw last October.

Here are some highlights from October 2011:

October 3: October Eagles

October 7: Banded Northern Harrier — Amazing Looks

October 10: Warbler Show, Disposal Road

October 14: About that American Avocet

October 24: Ron Shields' Latest Disposal Road Shots

October 27: Storm Over the Meadowlands

October 31: Bird-banding Goes Elementary

The William D. McDowell Observatory in DeKorte Park begins a new month of programming tonight (Monday, Oct. 1).

Free public access is from 8 to 10 on Monday and Wednesday nights  this month — weather permitting, of course.

Dress for the weather; with the dome open, you are basically outside.

Each evening at least two major objects in the night sky will be viewed, plus one or two other celestial objects or events depending on the observing conditions.

For more information about free public viewing nights and to check out the observatory's website, click here.

For a South Bergenite column by the NJMC's Jim Wright about the observatory, click here.