Ron Shields photographed this Cooper's Hawk after Tuesday's rain.

Bad feather day.

Jim Wright, who keeps this blog, also writes a twice-monthly nature column for the South Bergenite. His latest is an interview with Dr. John Sloan (above left) and J.J. Rusher of DeKorte Park’s McDowell Observatory.

One of the under-appreciated gems of the Meadowlands Commission’s DeKorte Park is the William D. McDowell Observatory, which offers free star-gazing to the public two nights a week.

I recently interviewed Dr. John Sloan (referred to as JS below), the observatory’s chief astronomer, and his colleague J.J. Rusher (referred to as JJ below) to find out what’s happening under the dome.

  The observatory officially opened five years ago this month, and has been very successful. What’s been your biggest challenge of late?
  JS: More than four months after Hurricane Sandy, some people out there still don’t know the observatory is open. People see signs that the park itself is closed some of the time and get confused. Our message is that the observatory is open every Monday and Wednesday night from 8 to 10 for public viewing, conditions permitting, and we’d love to have you come on by.

You also have a pretty cool program on some Friday nights, too, don’t you?
  JJ: Yes — the program is called “Re-friend Your Telescope,” and it’s designed for people who maybe received a telescope as a gift and never took it out of a box, or they used their telescope a long time ago and it’s been gathering dust in their attic, and they want to be reintroduced on how to set up and operate the telescope and use the eyepieces.

The interview continues below.

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Now all we need is a photo!

We got such a great response to Tuesday's Harbor Seal photos — picked up by The Record, nj.com, The Associated Press and the South Bergenite, that we thought we'd run another photo today.

Link to previous rare Harp Seal sighting in Carlstadt is here. (It's also on Page 72 of The Nature of the Meadowlands.)

Link to April 2010 Harbor Seal sighting at River Barge Park (then under construction) is here.

Scroll down for Tuesday's Harbor Seal post, or click here.

We hoep to post more pix next week.

Our next free guided walk with Bergen County Audubon Society is next Tuesday  at Harrier Meadow, a 70-acre natural area in North Arlington that's usually closed to the public.

We'll look for and look for Ospreys, Killdeer, Wilson's Snipes and other spring arrivals, plus lingering winter waterfowl. Have been seeing Ring-necked Ducks, Hoodies, Buffleheads and more this week.

The two-hour walk begins at 10 a.m.

Details follow.

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Don Torino's latest column for wildnewjersey.tv is about the arrival of spring.

Here's a sample:

The first  Meadowlands Red-Winged Blackbirds of Spring had been back for a few weeks now. Tthe “Spirit of the Marsh” is always a longed-for sight for me since childhood and especially welcome after a  tough winter.

Their flashes of red and black felt even more special to see  this season. With all the devastation, loss and despair caused by Sandy, the Red-Wings did my heart good upon their cheerful homecoming.

The call of the Killdeer could now be heard almost daily and their dance is center stage on all the open grassy places they could find – a sure sign that Spring would come again.

The Sounds of Spring were heard on my humble morning quest also. The Downy Woodpeckers drumming could be heard like a Ginger Baker solo throughout the woods.

The Chickadees’ Fee-Beee call softly drifted among the trees to signal all was as it should be. The Song Sparrows  filled the meadows with music that could not help  make anyone smile lucky enough to hear them.

The link is here.

Due to construction work, DeKorte Park will be closed on Friday, March 29.

The park remains closed on weekends because of on-going construction and trail repairs. We appreciate your patience.

On Tuesday morning, NJMC staffer Angelo Urato was working at River Barge Park. Around 8:30 a.m., he noticed something large on the rowing dock. He got out his binoculars and saw that it was a Harbor Seal.  (Thanks, Angelo!)

The seal stayed until just before noon, when it swam off — possibly because a large truck pulled into the park. It has not been seen since, and the river has gotten much choppier.  

We took a photo of the seal and e-mailed it to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine so we could get their input. Here’s what Robert Schoelkopf, the center’s  founding director, had to say.

   NJMC: The Meadowlands Commission currently has what looks to be a Harbor Seal on one of our docks at River Barge Park in Carlstadt, and we just sent e-mailed you a photo. What can you tell us about it?
   It’s a male Harbor Seal, and it looks to be in good shape.

   What’s it’s doing here?
   Resting.

   It just swam up the river?
   Seals are all over New Jersey now. We’ve had a mild winter now, so they’re in pretty good shape. Of the dozen or two seal sightings we’ve had this year, we only have four of them in house [being treated] right now.

More photos (including a zoom), the rest of the interview, and a link to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center follow.

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Ron Shields writes:

Here's some recent shots from the Detention Pond/Disposal Road area.

The Red-breasted Merganser (above)was at the Detention Pond on Sunday morning.

The highlight of the weekend for me was a Peregrine Falcon chasing a Canada Goose from the top of the landfill onto the mudflats!

Pix of Am. Kestrel (pretending to be a N. Shrike), (banded) Bald Eagle and Red-tail follow. (Thanks, Ron!)

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Can you ID this crane, seen off Valley Brook Avenue earlier this month?

(We said it was the bottom of the barrel.)