There’s still a little time to give your input into the future of the Bergen County Parks System. The County Parks Master Plan Online Survey closes tomorrow, June 1, at 10 a.m. The survey allows you to give input on how you use parks in the Meadowlands and throughout the county, including what you like, what you’d like to see and what can be improved. Bergen County is in the midst of formulating its first ever Parks Master Plan.
Don’t miss out. Take the survey here.
Awww…. Check out the Spotted Sandpiper and Killdeer at DeKorte that Mickey Raine caught together over Memorial Day Weekend. We’ve got more photos of sandpipers as well as Forster’s Terns and Black Skimmers from DeKorte and Mill Creek Point Park taken over the holiday weekend. Thanks Mickey!
Spotted Sandpiper
Spotted Sandpiper
Black Skimmers
Black Skimmers
Black Skimmers
Forster’s Terns
Forster’s Terns
Black Skimmers
We’ll start the day with photos from Mickey Raine taken last Wednesday of Skimmers, Sandpipers and more at River Barge Park and Mill Creek Marsh. While the photos are a week old, they are pretty awesome and well worth posting now!
Black Skimmers
Black Skimmers
Least Sandpipers
Least Sandpipers
Barn Swallow
Egret and Friend
Egret and Friend
Egret
Red-tailed Hawk
Yellow Warbler
Well, Memorial Day weekend wasn’t a complete washout. Steve Ceragno sent these photos he took on Saturday at DeKorte, the nicest of the last three days. Thanks Steve! Here’s hoping June brings better weather.
Snapping Turtle
Photo: Jan van der Kam/Courtesy of the Conserve Wildlife Foundation)
There’s a very interesting and extensive story in today’s Record by James O’Neill on the plight of Red Knots, a New Jersey Endangered and Federal Threatened Species that has been dwindling for the past two decades.
The reason for the decline: the over harvesting of eggs laid by Horseshoe Crabs on beaches along the Delaware Bay. The migratory birds depend upon the eggs to fatten up for the journey to their Arctic breeding grounds. The number of birds has stabilized in recent years but hasn’t started to rebound.
Check out the story and an accompanying video here
Northern harrier marsh hawk
Join the Bergen County Audubon Society on a Nature Walk of Harrier Meadow in North Arlington this Sunday, June 4, from 9 to 11 a.m. It’s a great opportunity to explore an amazing preserve that’s normally closed to the public. They’ll be looking for spring migrants, flycatchers and shorebirds. For more information email greatauk4@gmail.com or call 201-230-4983.
We’ll finish our weeklong series of Meadowlands Visits photos from Mickey Raine with some shots of that longtime staple of the Meadowlands, the muskrat. Thanks Mickey for a week’s worth of great photos!
The NJSEA’s Drew McQuade just sent these shots of two Black Terns at DeKorte. Rare migratory visitors to the area!
Catbirds, so often seen in the Meadowlands, are quite resourceful when it comes to protecting their nests from their main nemesis, the Brown-headed Cowbird, and other parasites. How does this medium-sized songbird thwart would-be schemers? Click here for the answer.
In today’s installment of this week’s Meadowlands Visits series, we’ve got a groundhog and muskrat taking center stage. Thanks to Mickey Raine for supplying the photos from Mill Creek Marsh and Mill Creek Point Park. We’ll finish the weeklong series tomorrow with more muskrats!
