Start the fall birding season with a free, NFL-themed “Back to Football” Bird Walk at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst on 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 seven nifty prizes.

To celebrate the opening week of the 2013 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  and Giant (great) Blue Heron.  All seven team bird species can be seen in the park. The 2013 season culminates with Super Bowl XLVIII at MetLife Stadium in nearby East Rutherford in February 2014.

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.

On Sept. 11, starting around 8 p.m., a few folks are planning an informal, unofficial gathering in the Visitors Parking Lot in DeKorte Park to look at 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 emanating from Lower Manhattan to mark the 11th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Most were there with cameras, others were there just to reflect.

This has been an unofficial annual gathering that seems to be attracting more and more people.

DeKorte Park’s William K. McDowell Observatory will also be open that night for free public viewing.

Hoping to do an unofficial, informal kayak tour of the Kearny Marsh on Thursday, Aug. 29, weather-permitting. Meet at 10 a.m., Gunnell Oval. E-mail Jim Wright if you plan attend.

Regina Geoghan took these cool shots of a bagworm earlier this month as it munched on a Butterfly Bush at DeKorte Park. Bagworms are considered pests, but they do grow up to be beautiful moths. (Thanks, Regina!)

Regina Geoghan reports:

Saw this guy on the butterfly bush by the building entrance just as I was leaving on Tuesday.

I was only there a short time since there were no butterflies in sight other than an Eastern Tiger S.

This one was very chewed up but I took a few shots just for a record to note that he came to visit.   I think it is a Red-spotted Purple.  (Thanks, Regina! This could be a first, at least in recent years…)

Angelo Marra and the Batmobile

Joe D’Angeli is living up to his nickname. For the second August in a row, the Bergen County animal rehabilitator known as the “New Jersey Batman” is coming to DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst to raise funds and awareness for these imperiled and often misunderstood mammals.

D’Angeli’s three-day event is called “Batstock,” and D’Angeli is kicking it off on Friday (Aug. 23) from 6 to 9 p.m. at the Meadowlands Environment Center. The $8 admission fee includes up-close looks at bats, an appearance by a genuine George Barris-designed Batmobile [baove], bat movies, snacks and beverages.

Proceeds from the event go to bat conservation groups, bat rehabilitators, wildlife conservation and education groups, and centers focusing on bats and white-nose syndrome — a deadly fungus that has wiped out more than 80 percent of the small brown bat population in the Northeast. Continue reading →

The Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society are sponsoring a second birding-by-boat excursion this summer on the Hackensack River next Tuesday from 10 a.m. to noon.

The two-hour event starts at 10 a.m. and leaves from River Barge Park at 10 a.m. Bring water and sunscreen. Details follow.

Tuesday, August 27, 10 a.m to noon Birding by Boat (bonus event).
A two-hour birding trip along the Hackensack River and its marshes.  Meet at River Barge Park, Carlstadt. Looking for Peregrine Falcons, Ospreys, Northern Harriers, Shorebirds, various Egrets and Herons.  Space is limited, and reservations are required. It’s best to arrive a little early and make sure you know how to get there.  A donation of $15 per person is suggested. Contact: Gabrielle Bennett-Meany of the NJMC at 201-460-4640.

Marie Longo took a pic of this dragonfly on our First Sunday walk at DeKorte recently. Yesterday we asked, which is it?  Fran Duggan correctly replied first, and others concurred –Swamp Darner. (Thanks to all!)

Thanks to all who participated in today’s Harrier Meadow walk.

We had more than 40 folks participate, and roughly that many species of birds.  We also had great looks at a not-so-rare Treehog, above.

We will print the full list later this week.

Now appearing in the Flyway Gallery in DeKorte Park’s Meadowlands Environment Center is a two-artist  shoe featuring…photography and 3D Art Decoupage focusing on natural landscapes by local artists Paula Vilela and Ilda Pinto Almeida.

Most of Paula’s photographs were taken in DeKorte Park, including the one on the right.

The show, “Perspectives,” runs now through Friday, Sept. 27. An artists’ reception is scheduled on Saturday, Sept. 7, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

The Flyway Gallery is located in the Meadowlands Environment Center in DeKorte Park.

Click here for more information.