Jim Wright, who maintains this blog for the Meadowlands Commission, also writes a twice-monthly column for the South Bergenite. His latest features the NJMC’s Brian Aberback, who started the commission’s Oral History Project five years ago.

Video interviews with long-time muskrat trappers.  The audio recollections of life-long Meadowlands residents. Insights from the people who helped turned the region from wasteland to wonderland.

Five years ago, to mark the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission’s 40th anniversary, we created an oral history project to capture the recollections of people who grew up in the old days of the Meadowlands or who played a pivotal role in the region’s incredible environmental comeback — or both.

  This spring on our nature blog, www.meadowblog.net, the NJMC is posting nearly a dozen of those interviews (including the memories of a few folks who have since died) in order to remind residents of this region not only about its checkered bygone days but as a place of wonder and adventure for youngsters growing up in the early to mid-20^th century.

Brian Aberback, the NJMC’s public information officer, supervised the project and conducted many of the interviews. He was happy to talk about the project’s contribution to the history of the Meadowlands.

The interview follows. Continue reading →

Barn Swallow

Steve Buckingham reports:

I got an early preview this past Saturday on Disposal Road of the Swallow Madness at DeKorte that I look forward to each year in late April/early May.

Dozens of Barn, Tree and Rough-wing swallows were soaring and swooping in the high winds right at the curve in the road, at the eastern end of the retention pond where we usually congregate for raptors in the winter, and over the surface of the retention pond.

It was a fun challenge to try to photograph these speedy daredevils in flight.  Attached is a trifecta of the three species.  When I returned on Sunday afternoon, the Barns and Rough-wings were gone, and only a small number of Trees remained, sticking to the pond area inside the fence.

(Thanks, Steve!)

Although the Ridgefield Park nesting site appears to have failed this year, Al and Alice are still using the nest site to roost at night, and other eagles (Al and Alice’s offspring?) are fishing nearby, much to the annoyance of local gulls.

Jerry Barrack passed along this sequence from Sunday (yes, an Osprey was fishing there, too.).

(Thanks, Jerry!)

DeKorte Park and all its buildings will be closed on Saturday, April 26, for road repairs. Please plan accordingly.

Muhammad Faizan was nice enough to share his video of the Yellow-headed Blackbird that was at DeKorte Park for several days recently. (Thanks, Faizan!)

More of Faizan’s YHBB pix here.

Bird migration is here, and the World Series of Birding is just around the corner. We are pleased to announce that the Meadowlands Marsh Hawks will defend our title for the second year in a row.

We couldn’t have won last year without your support.  This season, our team is asking for your help again as the title defense is going to be a real challenge.

Every time a team wins the Limited Geographic category, its par total goes up by five — which means the par for Bergen County has now increased by 10 species in the past two years.

The overwhelming support from all of you last year helped us raise enough money to do an overhaul of the Kingsland Overlook Trail. We are in the designing phase right now, and we’ll be planting native plants this spring. Please come out in May to see the trail’s new look.

This year, we have several exciting projects you can contribute to:

* Add another Purple Martin Colony at DeKorte.

* Add more native plants to Harrier Meadow.

* Plant a new native-grass habitat on a nearby closed landfill.

You can get the details and download the pledge form here:

Pledge sheet 2014

Fred Nisenholz took this recent shot of an American Kestrel with prey near Disposal Road.

We had a wonderful First Sunday walk at DeKorte Park yesterday, with more than 50 participants and more than 40 species of birds. (A big thanks to Marie Longo for the pix, and to everyone who helped with the list.

Dare we say it?  Spring might be here… Continue reading →

Five years ago, as part of the N.J. Meadowlands Commission’s Oral History Project, we interviewed lots of folks about the region in the old days. We are going to reprint the best of them here, every Tuesday, for 11 weeks. This week: Vince Petto.

Lifelong Meadowlands resident Vince Petto spent his childhood hunting, fishing and swimming in the Hackensack River and nearby marshes.

In this audio interview, Petto recounts several colorful tales of boyhood explorations and misadventures.

Petto, who grew up in North Bergen and now lives along the Hackensack River in Secaucus, also discusses the allure of the river and how it has changed for the better over the years.

Excerpts of the interview follow. Continue reading →

Several folks have been monitoring the Ridgefield Bald Eagles’ nest.

Everything seemed to be going along fine until recent days, when folks noticed no activity at the nest for hours at a time, or both eagles returning together after being away from the nest, or juvenile Bald Eagles flying in the vicinity.

These are photos from March 27, the last time we know of when Al and Alice traded places in the nest.

Alice flew out just moments before Al flew in. If you look closely, you can see the antenna on Alice’s back (above). The photos below are of Al flying into the nest.

Please let this blog know if you see any activity at the nest.