As previously posted, longtime Meadowlands birder Pete Bacinski passed away last night. Pete was a Lyndhurst native well-known for his great work with the NJ Audubon Society. Chris Takacs of the Bergen County Audubon Society sent in the following:

Last night a pillar of the birding community died, Pete Bacinski. 
Pete was a local guy, raised in Lyndhurst. He went to Jefferson School, Lyndhurst HS and Fairleigh Dickinson University. He spent many years birding the Meadowlands as a teenager and older when it was all dumps.

He directed the Sandy Hook Bird Observatory for NJ Audubon, Owl Haven Nature Center and the All Things Birds Program. He led Eco-Tours across North America and had a weekly column on birding in the Star-Ledger for 14 years. He was part of the first World Series of Birding winning team with Roger Tory Peterson, Bill Boyle, Pete Dunne and David Sibley. He was the leader of the original Meadowlands Birding Festival while he was with NJ Audubon. 

Pete was a tremendous birder, naturalist, teacher… a wealth of information. Everyone liked him and he liked everyone. He’s done presentations for Bergen County Audubon that were amazing. He had so much to share. He’ll always be remembered by me for his greeting “Hello my friend”. The birding community is mourning his loss and will really miss this larger than life man. I believe so will the birds he loved. All the birds sing a bit softer and mournful today for Pete.

Chris Takacs, BCAS