We had a rare daily double this morning around 11:15 in Jill’s Garden in DeKorte Park. First we saw a Ruby-throated Hummingbird on a Butterfly Bush and a Trumpet Vine (above), and then we saw a Hummingbird Clear-winged Moth on another Butterfly Bush (below).
We don’t see that many hummingbirds at DeKorte. If anyone could photograph one here….
Start the fall birding season with a free, NFL-themed “Back to Football” Bird Walk at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst this Sunday (Sept. 1) at 10 a.m.
The guided, two-hour walk, sponsored by the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) and the Bergen County Audubon Society (BCAS), has a special National Football League theme – and up to eight nifty prizes.
To celebrate the opening week of the 2014 season, we’re offering prizes to the first person on the walk who sees any bird species with the same name as a pro-football team: Cardinal, Raven, Falcon, Eagle, Seahawk (Osprey), Giant (Great) Egret, Giant (great) Blue Heron, and Woodpacker (boo Don Torino on that one). All seven team bird species can be seen in the park.
The walk meets outside the Meadowlands Environment Center. Check meadowblog.net for last-minute weather updates. You will have to sign a standard liability release that is good for NJMC/BCAS events throughout the year. To rsvp, contact Don Torino of the BCAS at greatauk4@aol.com or 201-230-4983. The Meadowlands Environment Center’s phone number is 201-777-2431.
DeKorte Park is open on Labor Day (Monday, Sept. 2) but the Environment Center (restrooms, gift shop, Flyway Gallery) will be closed.
River Barge Park is open Monday with full bathroom access.
For those who like to plan ahead, we are posting the schedule for our First Sunday and Third Tuesday free guided walks through the end of 2013. The walks are sponsored by Bergen County Audubon Society and the N.J. Meadowlands Commission.
Full list follows. Continue reading
Mike Girone writes:
Spent late Sunday (8-25) afternoon at DeKorte. Started out on Saw Mill Creek trail by the Carillon and spotted a banded immature Peregrine. It had the black and green auxiliary band, along with a silver federal band.
After some stretching atop one of the towers, it took flight, soaring over the west end of the Teal Pool. It gained height fairly quickly, getting mobbed by swallows the whole time.
A brief walk out to Disposal Rd. yielded 2 American Kestrels hunting the old landfill, alternately hover-hunting, and diving at a young Red-tailed Hawk. Up to 3 Northern Harriers were hunting the area as well.
Returning to Saw Mill Creek trail, first 1, then 2 banded immature Peregrines appeared! They took turns forcing each other on and off the sets of towers while heading west to the Carillon and onto Disposal Rd. The impromptu pair was a male and female; the male had a silver federal band (possibly the same one sighted earlier in the afternoon), while the female had a black federal band, marking her as a NJ bird. During the antics on the towers, the female made a very low pass over the trail, allowing her black and green auxiliary band to be photographed.
A 70 and an N below it was enough to ID the bird as 70/AN, a female banded this past June at a newly discovered nest near Atlantic City! This falcon ended up chasing a duck across the Teal Pool, with both birds passing very low (less than 6 feet) across Saw Mill Creek Trail! Continue reading
On Sept. 11, starting around 8 p.m., several folks are planning an informal, unofficial gathering in the Visitors Parking Lot in DeKorte Park to view the Tribute in Light in Lower Manhattan.
Roughly two dozen folks were on hand at DeKorte Park a year ago to see the twin beams of light that marked the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.
Most were there with cameras, others were there just to reflect.
DeKorte Park’s William K. McDowell Observatory will also be open that night for free public viewing.
A big thank you to Denise Farrell for compiling the list of birds seen on Tuesday’s Birding By Boat pontoon boat cruise with Bergen County Audubon Society.
Highlights included Peregrine Falcon, Common Gallinule, Caspian Tern and Royal Tern. Full list follows. Continue reading
The mystery bird from yesterday’s Teaser was a toughie! As far as we could tell at first, it was a young Black-crowned Night Heron — one of three we saw at DeKorte that day. We had never seen Yellow-crowned Night Herons (adult or juvies) at DeKorte, so when we saw them we assumed they were BCNHs. Never assume! It’s makes an ass of me and me, or something like that.
Congrats to all who ID’d the YCNH correctly! Full photo follows. Great ID explanation by Rick Wright is in the comment field. (Thanks to all!) Continue reading
Due to lower water levels (and the resultant impeded access) in the Kearny Marsh, Thursday’s kayak paddle at the Kearny Marsh has been cancelled. Sorry about that!
It’s not It everyday that you see eye to eye with this bird. What is it? (Photographed in DeKorte Park in mid-August.)