We had a nifty Sunday morning at DeKorte Park yesterday — with more than 50 participants enjoying a beautiful April morning and sighting more than 40 bird species, including lots of Tree Swallows like this guy, photographed this weekend by Fred Nisenholz.
We’ll print the full list tomorrow.
Mickey Raine was nice enough to pass along some photos of the live rehabbed owls that Jill Bennetta of Flat Rock Brook Nature Center brought to her presentation on the owls of New Jersey at the Meadowlands Environment Center yesterday.
(Thanks, Mickey!)
Snowy Owl at DeKorte Park
Jill Bennetta of Flat Rock Brook Nature Center included photos of seven owls from the Meadowlands in her owl presentation at the MEC yesterday.
We thought we’d share them again here — thanks to Stephen Buckingham, Fred Nisenholz, Muhammad Faizan, Doug Morel and Ron Shields! (The other two were from this blog.)
The New York Times had an informative article about one of our favorite Meadowlands birds, the American Woodcock, recently.
Here’s a sample:
“Woodcocks have unusual adaptations that contribute to their success. The bird’s long bill is flexible at its tip, which allows it to probe deeply and pinch rapidly burrowing worms and insects with great accuracy and little resistance.
“Additionally, the woodcock’s eyes are positioned high on its head, allowing the bird to monitor potential threats even with its bill buried in the mud. This arrangement provides a great defense against predators, and it accounts for the bird’s unusual anatomy. A woodcock’s brain is positioned below its eyes, upside down in its skull.”
The link is here.
This Sunday, There’s a trifecta of nifty nature events in DeKorte Park this Sunday — a free first Sunday of the Month walk at 10 a.m. (including a look at the new Purple Martin condos), a Birding for Beginners class at 1 p.m. (including a free guided walk in which we are sure to see Tree Swallows like the little guy above), and an owl program featuring live owls and pix of Meadowlands owls, beginning at 2 p.m.
Details for the three events follow.
Thanks to the Bergen County Audubon Society and Purple Martin expert Tim Shaheen, DeKorte Park is now home to a condo complex for Purple Martins.
BCAS donated the structure and eight of the dozen gourds, and Shaheen donated his expertise and the other four gourds. NJMC Naturalist Mike Newhouse and colleague Drew McQuade helped with the installation.
Please stop by DeKorte Park and see the new installation. It is located next to the Shorebird Pool between the MEC and the Administration Building.
We will post more about the Purple Martin condo complex soon.
Thinking of visiting DeKorte Park or nearby Disposal Road this weekend?
To see what’s being reported at DeKorte on eBird Hotspot Explorer, click here.
To see what’s being reported along Disposal Road on eBird Hotspot Explorer, click here.
Note: As of Friday, part of Disposal Road near DeKorte Park had a very deep puddle covering the entire roadway. You may want to park in DeKorte and walk down the Transco Trail or take the Schuyler Road entrance to Disposal Road.
No sooner did the NJMC’s Gabrielle Bennett-Meany and Drew McQuade put up new Tree Swallow nesting boxes in Harrier Meadow yesterday morning than the little zephyrs started moving in….
This archival photo of Secaucus and environs has been sitting in an NJMC office for quite some time. The question is, when was it taken?
(Click on the image for a larger view.)
