Our Third Tuesday of the Month Walk for January is the amazing Laurel Hill County Park in Secaucus, which abounds in both natural history and local history. Never know what you’ll see at Laurel Hill — Common Ravens, Redtails, Peregrines and more. The walk begins at 10 a.m.
Full information follows.
The NJMC’s Chris Dour reported an injured hawk on the shoulder the Belleville Pike in Kearny this morning, and stayed on scene until NJMC Naturalist Gabrielle Bennett-Meany arrived and took the Red-tailed Hawk out of harm’s way.
NJMC Naturalist Brett Bragin drove the bird to The Raptor Trust in Millington.
(Thanks, Chris, Gaby, Brett and The Raptor Trust!)
For more information on what to do if you find an injured bird, click on The Raptor Trust’s advice page, here.
From a wayward American White Pelican to a rare Cinnamon Teal, 2014 was a great year to see unusual birds in the Meadowlands.
The region had so many seldom-seen birds that the N.J. Meadowlands Commission asked South Bergenite readers earlier this month to vote for their “2014 Meadowlands Bird of the Year.”
The results are in, and the winner in a runaway is:
The charismatic Snowy Owl, with 55 percent of the tally – or three times as many votes as the next highest vote-getter. This charismatic owl was frequently seen in DeKorte Park last winter, with a total of four seen at once during Super Bowl Weekend.
Also receiving votes were the Cinnamon Teal (18 percent), the Lark Sparrow (12 percent), the Yellow-headed Blackbird (8 percent) and Marbled Godwit (6 percent).
As we look over the results, we realize we may have slighted the George the Pelican, who left in a huff in October. We are including his photo here to make amends.
A total of 65 folks participated in the poll.
Note: The Meadowlands Commission is offering a 25-cent reward to the first person who sees a Snowy Owl in the district this year.
A big thanks to Muhammad Faizan, Ron Shields, Roy Woodford and Greg Miller for contributing the photos here.
Dennis Cheeseman photographed this guy on the Kingsland Overlook on Tuesday.
These elusive birds are extremely tough to photograph, so a tip o’ the Meadowlands Marsh Hawks cap goes to Dennis. (Thanks, Dennis!)
Mickey and Elaine Raine write:
Mill Creek Marsh had many birds out on Sunday, but we were most pleased with seeing the Northern Pintail out of the water for once.
The Northern Pintail was alone, no companion or others of its kind present, and it first stood out on the ice before eventually taking flight.
The late day sun was perfect and the tones came out beautifully. Even in the shaded area in which Elaine saw this young male Mallard, the air had a special quality about it, so the rich colors on it could still be appreciated–not as seen in better lighting with more vibrancy and details, but quite pretty, anyhow.
As we were about to depart, the Great Blue Heron came flying right by us.
(Thanks, Mickey and Elaine!)
Ron Shields, the dean of Meadowlands nature photography, is presenting a talk and slide show on “The Birds of the Meadowlands” today (Jan. 14) at the Meadowlands Environment Center in DeKorte Park at 2 p.m.
For a sampling of Ron’s photos, click here.
(More info on the talk follows.)
Thanks to the Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute and its continuous weather monitoring station, you can now get a weather report localized for DeKorte Park.
The link is here.
Louis Balboa’s Disposal Road Bald Eagles photographs s we posted yesterday included a pair of younger raptors, including the one above. How old do you think it is?
P.S.: Louis also took a photo of a banded Bald Eagle two years ago that enabled us to determine where the eagle was from. The link is here.
Our Third Tuesday of the Month Walk for January is the amazing Laurel Hill County Park in Secaucus, which abounds in both natural history and local history. Never know what you’ll see at Laurel Hill — Common Ravens, Redtails, Peregrines and more. The walk begins at 10 a.m.
Full information follows.
“Bald Eagles of the Meadowlands & Beyond” is a free, 62-page online book about our national symbol’s remarkable comeback in northern New Jersey and across America.
The lavishly illustrated e-book, sponsored by the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, features chapters by raptor expert Scott Weidensaul, Kathy Clark of the N.J. Endangered and Nongame Species Program, and the American Eagle Foundation.
The full-color book also showcases images by 19 nature photographers and five illustrators.
Contributing photographers: Louis Balboa, Jerry Barrack, Al Barrera, Jana Brusich, Dave Chanda of N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife, Kathy Clark of N.J. ENSP, Greg Gard, Mike Girone, Muhammad Faizan, Alice Leurck, Bill Menzel, Greg Miller, Doug Morel, Fred Nisenholz, Allan Sanford, Ron Shields, Mick Valent of N.J. ENSP, Roy Woodford and the NJMC’s Jim Wright.
Read the free e-book on your computer.
To turn the pages of the e-book, click the lower right-hand corner.
Read or download the free e-book on your tablet.
Purchase a hard cover or soft cover print-on-demand copy of the book at cost.
Note: Due to the nature of on-demand printing, these books can be a tad expensive.