Rich Brown visited Losen Slote Creek Park in Little Ferry on Saturday and shared these nice photos of a Cedar Waxwing and one of 4 Northern Waterthrush he spotted under some brush along the stream bank. Nice work!

With a heavy heart we pass along condolences to Carmine Fernandez on the loss of his wife, Laura, earlier this month. Carmine and Laura, North Arlington residents, have been fixtures at River Barge Park and Marina in Carlstadt since the facility opened in 2012, and before that at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst. Carmine continues to carry on the tradition, albeit with a heavy heart.

The couple could be seen at the park nearly everyday, seated on lawn chairs outside their purple PT Cruiser. On their own time, and from a pure love for the park and people, they always had a friendly hello for parkgoers, answered people’s questions and made everyone feel welcome.

Our thoughts are with Carmine, and Laura will always be remembered.

Please use caution when driving on DeKorte Park and Disposal Road. Chris Takacs relayed this info on Friday:

I watched this Yellow Warbler get hit by a car on Disposal Rd. near the bus lot. The car was travelling probably 35 MPH. I believe he was only stunned, but was sitting in the road ready to be hit again. I picked him up off the road and gave him about 5 minutes of warmth and shelter. He seemed to recover a lot and flew off to the edge of the landfill. This is the second day I’ve seen this. Yesterday I found 2 dead Barn Swallows.

Thank you Chris for relaying this important information. Also, in addition to the birds, there are schoolchildren, visitors and staff using the park and walking through crosswalks everyday. Please drive slow and be aware of your surroundings. Much appreciatied!

Can’t help but hum on this gorgeous day. Neither can these hummingbirds that Ron Shields photographed at the Kearny Marsh.

More great photos from this Tuesday’s Mill Creek Marsh keep coming in. These are courtesy of Joe Koscielny. Enjoy!

For more information click here.

Mickey Raine sent in these photos of Least Sandipers, Egrets and a Black-crowned Night Heron he took at DeKorte on Saturday just after 7 a.m.  Early morning is a great time to see many species gathered before breaking for the day. As Mickey writes: Scenes are very different at the start of the day–like it is with people or any other creatures, for most settle together at the end of the day, and do not go their own way until sometime in the morning; therefore, an hour when one can usually expect to see the greater gathering .

The Osprey, the “fish hawk” of the Meadowlands, is one of New Jersey’s largest raptors and one that almost disappeared for good from New Jersey. According to the “Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey,”  prior to 1950, over 500 osprey nests were found along the New Jersey coastline. By 1974, only about 50 nests remained. Loss of nesting sites and widespread food contamination by persistent pesticides (mostly DDT) caused the birds’ decline in New Jersey and throughout the eastern U.S. Consequently, the osprey was listed as “endangered” by the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife in 1974.

Thanks to the outlawing of DDT, having cleaner water and the wildlife management efforts of the New Jersey DEP, we were successful in restoring Osprey to the state,  Today there are over 500 nesting pair. The Osprey is an incredible and magnificent bird that has returned to New Jersey and to our Meadowlands . Lucky for us there is a special man looking to help make sure these  birds of prey stick around for all of us to enjoy. Jim Macaluso, the Osprey Man of the Meadowlands.

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Thanks to Alice Leurck who sent in these great photos from Tuesday’s Bergen County Audubon Society walk at Mill Creek Marsh in Secaucus. Don’t miss the next BCAS Meadowlands walk on Sunday, June 5, from 10 am to noon at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst. The walk will focus on the park’s many native plants.

Photos from May 17 walk at Mill Creek Marsh by Alice Leurck:

Congratulations to the Meadowlands Marsh Hawks! The team captured the World Series of Birding Limited Geographic Area category for counting 145 species in Bergen County during the 24-hour event that began at midnight on May 14.

The four-man team consists of Mike Newhouse, Mike Wolfe, Chris Takacs and Zach Batren. In the process the Marsh Hawks raised nearly $2,000 for NJ Audubon/NYC Audubon’s Harbor Herons survey project to help them purchase solar powered GPS/GSM transmitters to track Egret migration and to allow elementary school classrooms to follow and learn about their migration. Job well done gents!

Thirty-eight of the team’s 145 species were spotted only in the Meadowlands District. Below is the complete list of species.

For more on the World Series of Birding click here

Canada Goose

 

 

represent the second most birds we have identified in 1 day in Bergen County.