Despite threatening skies, yesterday’s Fourth Annual Butterfly Day at DeKorte Park was big hit.

Nearly 600 folks attended and got some up-close looks at some cool butterflies, plus face-painting, scavenger hunts, a costume contest, and some nifty information tables to help them better connect with nature.

We will post more pix, links, and full list of butterflies seen yesterday as time allows, but wanted to post a couple of links now.

The Record’s coverage is here.

Photos from yesterday on the nj.com website are here.

The Meadowlands Commission would like to thank the Bergen County Audubon Society, the North Jersey chapter of the North American Butterfly Association,and the Lyndhurst E.M.S. for all their help! We’d also like to thank the NJDA-Forest Pest Outreach Program for participating.

Rich Romano shared these two pix — of a dragonfly and a gullet’s eye view of a Yellow-crowned Night Heron eating a Blue-clawed Crab in a tree.

Both pix were taken in Secaucus.

(Thanks, Rich.)

We are proceeding as planned with the Fourth Annual Butterfly Day at DeKorte Park this Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  And it’s free

The highly popular, family-friendly event includes butterfly walks and talks, a scavenger hunt and butterfly costume contest for kids, and information tables.

The Butterfly Day schedule includes frequent butterfly walks and an hourly slide show and talk on the butterflies of DeKorte Park. A native plant walk is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. There are also Day-long scavenger hunts tailored for children.  Bring your own lunch and beverage.

This year the Commission has added a Butterfly Costume contest, inspired by the many children who have attended past events dressed in butterfly regalia.

Continue reading →

We had an eventful birding by boat trip yesterday — including a balky engine, an extremely high tide, and solid looks at a vehicle-carrier fire along the Turnpike.

Had lots of great looks at cool birds as well, including quite a show by hundreds of Semipalmated Sandpipers hanging out by the River Barge Park docks at high tide.

A link to John Pastore’s photos of the adventure cruise is here. (Thanks to John for the photo above as well.)

Stay tuned: A second “birding by Boat” pontoon-boat cruise is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 27.

Denise Farrell’s list of birds seen along the way follows. (Thanks, Denise!) Continue reading →

Rob Fanning was at DeKorte Park this morning, he reports:

* Black Skimmer–2 roosting on flat w/ Corms and Gulls

* Peregrine Falcon–sitting on tower–being dive-bombed by a Kingbird!

*Forster’s Terns–7+

* Semi Sands–250+

* Marsh Wren–1 seen, several heard

*Yellow Warbler–4

* BC Night Heron  (Thanks, Rob!)

Repairs to DeKorte Park’s  World Trade Center Memorial Cove — badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy  — are now completed. The area will get new plantings next.

An earlier post about the repairs is here.

Roy Woodford writes:

“It took me a few seconds to figure out why this little butterfly was suddenly sitting so still for the camera.”

Answer follows. (Thanks, Roy!) Continue reading →

Have seen Peck’s Skippers in Jill’s Garden at DeKorte many times this week.

Nature photographer and author Kevin Karlson will be joining us for his fifth annual Shorebird Day at DeKorte. It’s Saturday, Aug. 10, from 8:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and it’s free!

Highlights include two bird walks ion the morning, a bird ID seminar, a preview of Kevin’s latest projects, and a photography workshop with Kevin and fellow ace nature photographer Lloyd Spitalnik.

This event is sponsored by the N.J. Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society. Bring your own water, sunblock and lunch.

Schedule and rsvp info follow. Continue reading →

Freya Anthony, then 3½ years old, was one of the delightful surprises of our first Butterfly Day in 2010.

Jim Wright, who maintains this blog, also writes a twice-monthly column for the South Bergenite. His latest is on this Sunday’s Butterfly Day at DeKorte Park:

It all began nearly five years ago, almost as an after-thought. Don Torino, the president of Bergen County Audubon Society, and I were discussing his group’s new collaboration with the Meadowlands Commission.

Wouldn’t it be fun, we decided, if the two groups sponsored a free butterfly walk at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst, the home of the NJMC?

More than 70 people participated in that first walk, and Butterfly Day was born the following July, in 2010. Continue reading →