In honor of intergalactic Star Wars Day,  a great group of seven scouts from Boy Scout Troop 120 of North Arlington planted 48 saplings in Harrier Meadow.

The scouts enhanced three groves of Red Cedar and planted two new groves of Serviceberry Shadblow.

The ground-breaking event was sponsored by the Bergen County Audubon Society and the N.J. Meadowlands Commission.

Saplings were provided by the National Wildlife Federation.

Three scoutmasters from the troop also participated in the event.

The scouts are  Assistant Senior Patrol Leader Tyler Maramba and scouts Alex Ruiz, Christian Perez, Daniel McClane, Joseph Rutigliano, Daniel O'Neill, and Charles Triano (a member of Venturing Crew 120).  The three leaders are  Chet Choynowski, Matthew McClane and Michael Choynowski. (Thanks, guys!)

In addition to planting the trees, the scouts were treated to looks at an adult Bald Eagle, a Blue-winged Teal and dozens of Greater Yellowlegs.

A big thank you to North Arlington Boy Scout Troop 120, the Bergen County Audubon Society, and the National Wildlife Federation. The event was officially part of the federation's National Wildlife Week.

May the Fourth be with you! 

Grabbed this shot through the Phrags at DeKorte. It's May, and time for ducklings.

We will be posting the complete list of Big Year totals for all 12 contestants through April 30 on Monday.

We will also post the totals for this time last year, and for Marsh 31 this year.

You're right. It is pretty dang exciting.

We are getting ready for a native tree planting tomorrow in Harrier Meadow. The National Wildlife Federation is providing the 50 Cedar and Serviceberry saplings, and North Arlington Boy Scout Troop 120 is providing the manpower. 

Sponsored by the N.J. Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society.  Earlier post is here.

The photo below is pre-Hurricane Sandy, but it will give you an idea of where we'll be walking (red line) on Sunday in Losen Slote Creek Park.

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The William D. McDowell Observatory in DeKorte Park has an exciting month of programming in May.

Free public access is from 8:30  to 10 on Monday and Wednesday nights  this month — weather permitting, of course.

(Note: The observatory will be closed on Monday, May 27, for Memorial Day.)

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

Ridgefield's Skeetkill Creek Marsh (above), one of the sites we'll be visiting on our fifth annual Mother's Day walk, has been getting a lot of TLC this spring — thanks to Eagle Scout candidate Alek Corradini, the Meadowlands Conservation Trust (which owns and manages the site), and the Genzyme Corporation (they are the building with the parking lot in the lower right-hand corner of the photo above).

As part of Earth Week, Genzyme helped spruce up the park part of the site, including a nice fresh coat of paint on the kiosk.

Pictured above, left, are Genzyme's Kevin Benton, Eileen Becan, Chong Yu, and Juan Arroyo.

More on Skeetkill Creek Marsh here.

Early May is prime time for seeing migratory birds — especially warblers. To celebrate, we are adding a free guided walk on Sunday, May 5. It's the Early Bird Special at Losen Slote Creek Park in Little Ferry, a great wooded area for warbler-watching. (Thanks, to Denise Farrell for naming the walk!)

We'll also have our annual Losen Slote May walk the same day, at 10 a.m.

Details follow.

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We were lucky enough to fly over the Meadowlands north of Route 3 last week and got some great views of the Mill Creek Marsh — you can even see the stumps in some.

Three more pix follow.

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