Don’t forget renowned birder and author Scott Weidensaul’s free talk tonight at the Meadowlands Environment Center at 7:30.  Weidensaul’s talk on the plight of migratory birds is titled, “Birds, Beans and Conservation: Simple Ways to Save Migratory Birds.”

Weidensaul is the author of more than two dozen books, including the Pulitzer Prize-finalist about migratory birds, “Living on the Wind.” Weidensaul’s newest book: “The Peterson Reference Guide to Owls of North America and the Caribbean,” will be available for purchase, and Scott will sign books after the event. This program is sponsored by Birds & Beans: The Good Coffee, and hosted by the Bergen County Audubon Society. For more information, email greatauk4@gmail.com or call 201-230-4983.

We’ve got some great news: a renowned naturalist and bird expert is coming to speak at the Meadowlands Environment Center in November! Who is it? Well, you’ll just have to wait until 3 pm today, when we reveal his/her identity!

Photos by Don Torino. Left to right: Aster, Trumpent Vine, Obedient

It’s beginning to feel very diffrent at DeKorte Park now. Despite the above normal temperatures one, can feel summer slowly fading away. The leaves are slowly beginning to show their autumn russets, reds and yellows, the morning breeze is a little crisper, and even the clouds now take on their fall shades, putting us on notice that change of the season will soon be here.

The very last blossoms of the Purple Coneflowers and Rudbeckia still hang on to the last in anticipation of the butterflies and Bumble Bees that still depend on them . The many dried seed heads that will remain erect for the months to come will also provide food for birds like Goldfinch and Song Sparrows as autumn arrives and winter sets in.

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Mary Kostus provided us with these photos of a Sora she took yesterday while walking the Marsh Discovery Trail with her friend Lisa Meltzer Press. Mary writes: We spotted this little one walking right along the trail. Thanks to Chris Takacs who showed us the Stilt Sandpipers at the west pool and told us to look for Sora as we walked. We were barely a 10th of a mile in along the trail when we spotted it walking in the mudflats around 10:25 am Monday morning. We also spotted Red-Tailed Hawks and Savanah sparrows, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, and Great Blue Herons along the walk and Transco trail.

Our own Don Torino penned a column for Wild New Jersey on fall raptors that may appear in your backyard, and what to expect from these birds of prey. Read Don’s column here. Photo courtesy of Fred Nisenholz

Much activity this morning along the Marsh Discovery Trail and the Shorewalk at DeKorte Park. Chris Takacs reports that a Sora was spotted by several people along the MDT and four Silt Sandpipers were seen in the Shorebird Pool. In addition, four or more American Kestrels were seen over the Kingsland Landfill from Disposal Road. Chris’ photo was taken around 8:30 this morning from the Discovery Trail.

Where were you last Friday at 5:30 in the morning? If you’re Mickey Raine, you were at Mill Creek Marsh in Secaucus capturing some truly gorgeous shots of the sun rising. Mickey was kind enough to share these photos for us to enjoy.

Let’s start the week with some great shots that Mickey and Elaine Raine sent us from their time at Mill Creek Marsh last week. I especially love the Red Fox photos. More from Mickey and Elaine later today!

The Bergen County Audubon Society this week awarded the NJSEA with two grants totaling $3,500 to fund plantings at the Lyndhurst Nature Reserve in DeKorte Park. The grants will supplement existing plantings by adding new species to increase foraging, cover, and nesting for a variety of songbirds, and to provide nectar and larvae plants for butterflies. Site preparation work will begin this fall, with planting scheduled for spring.

Approximately 2,000 plugs of native grasses and herbaceous perennials (Switchgrass, Common Milkweed, Butterfly Weed, Gray Goldenrod) and  200 native shrubs (Black Chokeberry, Shadblow Serviceberry, Gray Dogwood, Red-twig Dogwood) will be planted. Pictured are NJSEA Supervisor of Park Planning Katy Weidel and Bergen County Audubon Society President Don Torino.

Thank you BCAS!!

There’s a detailed story in today’s South Bergenite about ecological enhancements and wetlands preservation in the Meadowlands attracting wildlife back to the area in recent decades. The story gives a comprehensive overview of the great effort that goes into planing and implementing ecological enhancements. Read the story here.