Thanks to Rich Brown for this great photo he took on Saturday of a juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron feeding at DeKorte Park!

Things are feeling very different now. We can see shorebirds gathering on the mudflats in the Meadowlands, we can watch the Egrets congregating by the hundreds preparing for their journey south and now, when we look up, we can witness the migrating Monarchs, a new generation flying higher and faster than they have all summer. The season is beginning to change

It may still be 90 degrees outside, folks still continue to head down to the shore and all may seem business as usual. However, for the people that are connected more to the natural world around them they can feel the transformation that is on the way. The skies now look very different, birds are behaving in an unfamiliar way, forming flocks instead of singing for a mate, and preparing for migration rather than feeding nestlings. The Milkweed is dying back, gaining strength for the coming spring, but the Goldenrod and Asters are preparing for its fall magic to help Monarchs and birds on their long, arduous journey ahead

For the nature lover there is an ancient connection to nature’s secrecies. Despite the stresses of work, school and family burdens, the hawk overhead stirs feelings carried with us through the ages. The hummingbird on the last flowers of summer bring an inner joy that cannot be described or put into words, and a walk through the fall forest and fields will always live in your heart and,  if we are very lucky, it will be passed on for generations to come.

We are never alone when we are connected to the natural world. Nature is the one constant. It is always there for us, waiting patiently for you to see it, hear it, embrace it and discover it when you need it most. Although at times that strong connection can also bring a feeling of loneliness when we see a bird, butterfly or flower in a crowd of people that no one else seems to notice or care about. And yet at the very same time there is a closeness that brings us a unique inner strength from nature that can never be lost or broken through life’s journey.

I hope that all of us will take some time and witness the nature that endures around us every day, no matter if it is the Robin on the front lawn, the Duck on the pond or the butterfly in the back yard. All of nature is important and intricately connected to the rest of the natural world and ultimately to us. Only when we learn to understand it and appreciate it will we find the strength to protect it and preserve it.

    See you in the Meadowlands,

    Don