Mike Girone reports:

Spent late Saturday (8-10) afternoon at DeKorte and adjacent roadways. Spotted a Cooper’s Hawk flying west and fairly low over Disposal Road. It eyed up a group of Killdeer (who were very much aware of the hawk), but kept going. Not long after, up to 3 Red-tailed Hawks were soaring together near the Carillon.

An Osprey was seen over DeKorte getting buzzed by swallows. Great & Snowy Egrets, along with Forster’s Terns, were patrolling the Shorebird Pool, and an unidentified flycatcher was working Transco Trail near the Turnpike.

A check on Valley Brook Ave. yielded 2 Common Raven fly-overs (at low altitude), and a pair of Osprey (both dining on fish) on the light poles at the old ball field. One of the Osprey switched light poles, and ousted an American Kestrel from its perch.

By this time, it was nearing the 6 p.m. low tide, and I headed to Saw Mill Creek trail (a.k.a. Peregrine Alley). Found an unbanded adult perched inconspicuously on a tower, and over the next 90 minutes, watched it make up to 6 attempts at catching prey! While none of them was successful, it was quite a show with several close passes!!

After the Peregrine called it a day (last seen heading low over Saw Mill Creek tidal flat east towards the Turnpike), got a great look at an adult Black-crowned Night Heron fairly close to the trail. A classic Meadowlands sunset capped off the evening.

In addition to the attached pics, I created a gallery on Flickr (I know I’m a Peregrine Falcoholic, but it did steal the show that evening!).

http://www.flickr.com/photos/80696806@N06/sets/72157635062094968/