Ron Shields sent along this photo of a Light-morph Rough-legged Hawk, the star of yesterday’s walk on the Kingsland landfill.  We had several rewarding looks.

The raptor was hunting the windward side of the landfill, where our walk took place.  At the end of the walk, many of us saw this visitor from the North again from our vantage point in DeKorte Park. Very cool.

We planned the walk a year ago. The Rough-leg was nice enough to arrive Friday and stick around. How’s that for lucky timing?

We will post the full bird list later today.

We had an invigorating guided walk on the Kingsland Landfill today. Highlights included a Light-morph Rough-legged Hawk and spectacular views of the Meadowlands.

Full list tomorrow.

A nice write-up about today’s walk is on the front page of The New York Times’ sports section this morning.  Bottom line, according to The Times: It sure beats watching the Jets or Giants.

(We sincerely wish both teams  a speedy recovery!)

Scroll down for more information on the walk. Link to The Times story is here.

This is our second annual walk along the Kingsland Landfill, looking for winter raptors and waterfowl.

Those who are adventurous and want to see a panoramic view of the Meadowlands should be able to walk to the top of the landfill.

We’ll meet in the first parking lot in DeKorte (so early arrivals can check out the duckage) and then walk or drive over to the lower gate at Kinglsand. Dress for the weather and wind. Continue reading →

As promised, here are a few Ron Shields’ Light-morph Rough-leg shots.

Ron’s only comment: “If only the sun had been out!”

(Thanks, Ron!)

Ron Shields reported a Light-morph Rough-legged Hawk over the Kingsland Landfill this afternoon.

We arrived in time to get some shots on this increasingly cloudy afternoon — will post highlights of Ron’s shots later.

Let’s hope this raptor from the north hangs around for Sunday’s walk. (Thanks, Ron!)

For more information about Sunday’s Kingsland Landfill walk, click here.

Dave Blinder writes:

Hadn’t been to the area much lately, I spent a lot of the fall trying to photograph the New Jersey State Parks in peak foliage.

Anyhow, attached are a couple of photos from DeKorte taken Thursday.  A nice sunset, and a Junco.

One Fox Sparrow was skulking around, and plenty of American Tree Sparrows foraging outside of the Transco Trail.

Dave’s nature photography website is here. (Thanks, Dave!)

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. (Hint: lots of ducks.)

To see what’s being reported along Disposal Road on eBird Hotspot Explorer, click here. (We got great looks at American Kestrels, Red-tails and Northern Harriers as we drove down the road yesterday, with a glance or two at a Sharpie.

On Tuesday, Nov. 25, we How’s this for a timely Teaser?  Photographed at the NJMC’s awesome banding station last month. What is it?

The answer is: Fox Sparrow. Congrats to Shana and the others who ID’d it correctly.

Jim Wright, who maintains this blog, also writes a monthly column for the South Bergenite. His latest column is an interview with NJMC naturalist about birds we might see in the coming weeks:

Early December in the Meadowlands is a time to look ahead and predict what rare birds might be coming our way this season.

Winter, after all, can be a prime time for seeing rarities — especially a certain charismatic white owl.

“Right now, snowy owls are being seen in the vicinity of the Meadowlands,” says N.J. Meadowlands Commission naturalist Mike Newhouse. “It might be just a matter of time until one is found here.”

Early 2014 saw an invasion of these large raptors the likes of which had not been seen in decades. During one stretch, a snowy owl was seen daily in DeKorte Park.

Sometimes the owl would be seen sitting on the ice in an impoundment. After the ice thawed, it could be seen sitting on a park bench, watching the ducks that swam past it.

The most amazing sighting came one Saturday afternoon last February, when lucky DeKorte visitors got to see four snowy owls at once! Continue reading →