Dennis Cheeseman photographed these cold Starlings in Carlstadt yesterday. Thanks, Dennis!

Karen Fung writes:

“Friends and I were lucky enough to be visiting DeKorte on Sunday, Jan. 12, when your two Snowies also decided to make an appearance!  Here’s the video of the first one that we saw, which was perched on the Nature Center railing when we arrived around 8:15 a.m.”

(Thanks, Karen!)  Note: we have not heard of a Snowy Owl sighting at DeKorte in the past 10 days, and we also checked along the Transco Trail yesterday, to no avail.

Our next walk is a doozy — our fifth annual Super Bird Sunday walk at 10 a.m. on Sunday, Feb. 2, the same day as that big game at MetLife Stadium.

This time we are having the event at Losen Slote Creek Park in an effort to stay as far away from the Meadowlands Sports Complex as possible.

This Super Bird Sunday V, and we will be offering prizes to the first folks who identify a bird that is named after an NFL team (or more likely, vice versa!)…

Directions to Losen Slote can be found on the right-hand column of this blog.

Continue reading →

When we went for a walk on the Transco Trail this morning, we noticed cross-country ski tracks.

Because of the new, higher berm, the trail’s snow cover is not as wind-swept as in years past, making it a great mile-long, straightaway to go cross-country skiing.

One caveat: The trail can be a cold place to be, especially when the winds pick up.

American Avocet at the Clay Avenue Wetlands in Lyndhurst. Photo Credit: Dennis Cheeseman

Jim Wright, who keeps this blog for the N.J. Meadowlands Commission, also writes a twice-monthly nature column for the South Bergenite. Here’s his latest, an interview with 2013 Big Year winners Ray Duffy and Dennis Cheeseman:

The results of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission’s 2nd Annual Big Year competition are in, and it turns out that 2013 was quite a year for birding in our own backyard.

More than dozen birders competed to see who cvould see the most species of birds in the Meadowlands last year. The overall winner, Ray Duffy of Secaucus, tallied 187 species, and Dennis Cheeseman of Camden County took first place in the “out of district” division.

Ray Duffy,left, receiving his award from BCAS President Don Torino.

In honor of Ray’s victory, the Bergen County Audubon Society is donating $220 worth of native plants to DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst, the home of the NJMC, and both Ray and Dennis are receiving several nifty prizes, including NJMC pontoon boat rides for two, a year’s membership to the Meadowlands Environment Center, and copies of the coffee-table book, “The Nature of the Meadowlands.”

We asked Ray and Dennis to share their thoughts about participating in the event.

Why do you participate?
Ray: I live and work in the area and I am a very active birder.
Dennis: The big year gives me the incentive to go out and find something new each day and then brings the enjoyment of comparing what I find to previous years’ tallies. In addition, I love to walk, so as I walk around I love to hunt for the pictures I shoot. Things change from season to season, birds migrate, flowers bloom and die, so it is always something different even though you may be in the same spot.
What bird are you most proud of seeing this year?
Ray: I found a female Red Phalarope Harrier in Meadow during the World Series of Birding. It was a big surprise as a big thunderstorm had just rolled through, and a breeding-plumage female was swimming in one of the pools — extra neat because the female is more colorful than the male.
Dennis: There are so many to choose from, but birds that are rare for this area come to mind first — American Avocet, Nelson’s Sparrow and Hudsonian Godwit. Continue reading →

Marco Van Brabant writes:

Yesterday afternoon was not the most pleasant walk over the unprotected Saw Mill Creek Trail, even walking with the wind it was a challenge, but it was still worth it.

Thanks, Marco!

Because of the snowstorm, DeKorte Park is closed Wednesday.

Photo from a recent BCAS/NJMC walk by Marie Longo

Woody Allen once said, “I am not afraid of death; I just don’t want to be there when it happens.” Unfortunately, I am meeting more and more people that feel that way about being outdoors. They say they love Nature but don’t really want to be there when it happens.

It seems some folks that would otherwise be enjoying the outdoors have now become fearful of nature and are finding more and more reasons to avoid a walk in the woods and meadows  and stay inside …

After a recent report of oncoming snow, my neighborhood supermarket parking lot filled to capacity with the frightening weather reports of as much as 4 inches of snow, the lines at the check-out twisted as far back as the deli counter from panicked townspeople with shopping carts overflowing with the most critical of survival foods, Milk, bread and eggs.

But I had to wonder, was I missing something or was this 4 inches of snow very different from the four inches of snow that was around when I was a kid?

Here’s the link.

Passing this along:

Residents in northern New Jersey and New York City will see a low-flying helicopter in the upcoming days as it surveys naturally occurring background radiation as a security measure for the upcoming Super Bowl, officials said.

The U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration will use a twin-engine Bell 412 helicopter equipped with radiation sensing technology, according to the New Jersey Office of Emergency Management.

The flights will continue through Saturday.

Because of the winter storm, DeKorte Park is closing at 2 p.m. today (Tuesday); The park will have a late opening on Wednesday.