To see what we might expect in April, we thought we’d look back to some highlights from April 2013.  Just click on the text to link to the post.

April 10: Meadowlands Snipe!

April 11: Amazing Baby Terrapin Pix

April 12: Ron Shields’ Latest: Pheasant, Raptors

April 17: Golden Plover Continues @ Harrier Meadow

April 23: Earth Day Cub Scout Volunteers

April 24: Mill Creek Marsh Glossy Ibis

April 26: Two Eaglets in Ridgefield Park Nest

April 28: Snapping Turtles in Love

Don Torino. who leads many of the Bergen County Audubon Society/Meadowlands Commission walks, also writes a column for wildnewjersey.tv.

His latest is about how now is the perfect time to take up birding.

Here’s a sample.

There is no better time and place to begin the birding life than Spring in New Jersey.

Soon the woods, fields and water will be filled with the wonders of winged migration. Bird life that has stirred the spirit of human kind since the beginning of time will be arriving for the experienced as well as the first time birder to enjoy, appreciate and relish.

Nothing more than a pair of binoculars and a field guide will gain you entry into an incredible and magical world of bird life that you may have never have believed existed right outside the door of your New Jersey home.

The link is here.

Members of the public are invited to bid on six slips in four categories based on depth of water at high tide and access to hose bibs. Maximum boat length is twenty-eight feet in all categories. There is no electrical service at the slips.

 NOTE: During extreme low tides, Category C slips may have boats resting on the riverbed, depending on draft.

Two slips are Category A(W):           9’-13’ deep at high tide + hose bib.
Minimum bid is $1700.

Two slips are Category A:                  9’-13’ deep at high tide, no hose bib.
Minimum bid is $1530.

One slip is      Category B:                  7’-9’ deep at high tide, no hose bib.
Minimum bid is $1080.

One slip is      Category C:                  5’ -7’ deep at high tide, no hose bib.
Minimum bid is $500.

An information session will be held on Thursday, April 10, at 3 p.m. We recommend you attend this meeting though it is not required in order to bid. Bids will be opened Thursday, April 17 at 6:00 pm.

Please visit www.njmeadowlands.gov

(select Public Bids and Notices in the upper left to download bid package.)

If you need further help, contact Lisa Cameron at lisa.cameron@njmeadowlands.gov  or (201) 460-4658.

The William D. McDowell Observatory in DeKorte Park has an exciting month of programming in March — beginning tonight.

Free public access is from 8 to 10 on Monday and Wednesday nights this month — weather permitting, of course.

Dress for the weather; with the dome open, you are basically outside.

Each evening at least two major objects in the night sky will be viewed, plus one or two other celestial objects or events depending on the observing conditions.

For a South Bergenite column by the NJMC’s Jim Wright about the observatory, click here.

For more information about Observatory programming, click here.