Every spring for the past several years, the folks at several Spectrum for Living residences have built Tree Swallow nesting boxes.

In fact, some have turned it into an art form — to the point where they are far too beautiful to put in a marsh.

We had some especially incredible nest boxes built by the Spectrum for Living crew this year — and that’s saying something. We couldn’t decide which is the most amazing.

Below is a sampling… (Thanks, Spectrum for Living!)

More pix follow. Continue reading →

Dennis Cheeseman writes:

I photographed this Boat-tailed Grackle at River bage park on Earth Day morning at 7 a.m.

(Thanks, Dennis! More on Boat-tailed Grackles here.)

NJ.Com just named the seven best spring birding spots in the Garden State, and the Meadowlands is one of them. Thanks NJ.Com! The other places are great, too, but we love to see the Meadowlands get their due.

The link is here. They clearly saved the best for last. :- )

DeKorte Park will be closed all day Saturday (April 26) for roadway repairs. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Ron writes:

As photographed Monday afternoon.

FOY for me.

Mike Girone writes:

I checked out a few spots along the Hackensack River in Secaucus this past Saturday afternoon. I saw 1 adult Peregrine at the Route 3 site (not at the box, but on a nearby bridge support).

The other could’ve easily been hidden from view if it was inside the box.

Afterward I went to Laurel Hill Park to check out the decommissioned railroad swing bridge at the south end of the park, and I can report that Peregrines are hanging out near the old Osprey nest on the bridge for their nest.

(See photo by Marco Van Brabant above).

I never got a good look at the female’s legs to check for bands, but the male is definitely unbanded.

(Note: Marco’s shot at right clearly shows the female banded.)

Could someone with a long lens photograph the band numbers?

Continue reading →

Rich Romano writes:

Here’s a shot of one of two wild parrots that nest in Secaucus near Schmidt’s Woods, photographed Monday.

(Thanks, Rich! They look to be Monk Parakeets, aka Quaker Parrots. )

A big thank you to 75+ folks who attended the wonderful free Earth Day concert at DeKorte Park  last night, featuring folk-singer/songwriter Spook Handy.

For fans of Spook and his inspirations — Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie — it was a memorable evening.

The concerted was sponsored by the Bergen County Audubon Society and hosted by the Meadowlands Commission. and it was preceded by a free guided nature walk in DeKorte Park.

Highlights included a crowing Ring-necked Pheasant, a couple of Osprey with fish, and assorted duckage.

Full list follows. Continue reading →

Allan Sanford writes:

Saw these guys on disposal road and they were happy to see me. Unfortunately i was unprepared and not happy to see them without insect repellent. Perhaps a warning is in order. LOL

Here’s the warning:

As visitors to DeKorte Park and other Meadowlands locales may have noticed, we are getting a lot of Midges these days. The good news is that they don’t bite, and the birds (especially the Tree Swallows) love them. The bad news is they can be annoying if you walk too close to a shrub where they  congregate.

They are amazing bugs of the Chironomid family, and they have long “whiskers” on their heads, as evidenced by the close-up photo below.

More on Chironomids here.

We photographed this young Bald Eagle over Valley Brook Ave. on Monday afternoon after he rousted the two Ospreys from their nest.