Digital inkjet prints by Lisa Gordon Cameron will be on display at the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission’s Flyway Gallery in September.
The exhibit, “Looking In/Looking Out,” includes landscapes and portraits and runs from Monday, Aug. 30 through Thursday, Sept. 30. A reception for the artist is scheduled for Sunday, Sept. 26 from noon to 2:30 p.m.
The distant American Avocet continues in the back of the Shorebird Pool in the northern area. He hangs out with the Mallards, then disappears. He was seen as recently as 4:40 this afternoon.
Lots of butterflies by the Environment Center today, including Viceroy, Monarch, Black Swallowtail, Red Admiral, Pearl Crescent, Common Buckeye, Wild Indigo Duskywing, Broad-winged Skipper, Silver-spotted Skipper, Peck's Skipper, Cabbage White and Orange Sulphur. Also had our buddy, the Snowberry Clear-winged Moth.
Should be a great weekend for birds and butterflies at DeKorte.
The NJMC's Jim Wright wrote this column for The South Bergenite. It appears in today's editions.
New to bird-watching and want to learn about the abundant wonders in our own backyard?
The N.J. Meadowlands Commission is hosting the seventh annual Meadowlands Festival of Birding, a great way for beginners and experts alike to see a variety of great birds and butterflies.
The two-day event is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 11, and Sunday, Sept. 12, this year. Saturday’s programs, headquartered at the Environment Center in DeKorte Park, feature such p
opular events as pontoon-boat birding cruises on the Hackensack River, a bird-banding demonstration, a butterfly session, plenty of bird walks and a keynote address by Richard Crossley, a co-author of “The Shorebird Guide.”
This is one of the best times to go birding in the Meadowlands, and BirdFest is a great way to participate.
We saw the American Avocet at 4:45 p.m. today (Wednesday), chilling with Mallards at the north end of the Shorebird Pool, way in the back. Almost missed it, but the 12x binoculars helped. The above shot is with a 400mm lens, enlarged to a fare-thee-well.
Also had Belted Kingfisher, a few Ospreys and (by the side of the Environment Center) two clear-winged moths on the butterfly bush.
There’s still time to experience the Hackensack River and its marshes up close on a New Jersey Meadowlands Commission pontoon boat cruise or canoe tour.
The leisurely journeys run through September and offer participants a chance to enjoy the flora and fauna of the Meadowlands as experienced NJMC guides discuss the region’s human and environmental history and point out the birds and other wildlife that inhabit the area along the way.
Pontoon boat cruises last about two hours. Suggested donation is $15 per person. Canoe tours last approximately three hours; cost is $15.Registration is required for all tours; call 201-460-4640 to register.
Remaining Pontoon Boat Schedule
(All trips depart from River Barge Park off Outwater Lane in Carlstadt)
Sept. 8, 9, 13, 22 and 23 departing at 5 p.m.
Remaining Canoe Tour Schedule
Tour of Saw Mill Creek Wildlife Area, Lyndhurst.
Saturday, Sept. 18. 8:30 a.m. Departs from Laurel Hill County Park, Secaucus.
When Photographer Marco Lips sent us these two Osprey images from last weekend, we realized that his uniquely Meadowlands photography exhibit was almost at its end — a very fast two months. As we share these two photos, we'd like to remind everyone that the free gallery show closes on Friday. Link to the original post on the exhibition is here. Link to Marco's website is here.
September's exhibition begins next week. More on that soon.
UPDATE: We saw the Am. Avocet on our lunch hour Tuesday — 12:15. It was in the back of the North Pool, along the distant shoreline just to the right of a power-line tower. A Peregrine was strafing the Short-billed Dowitchers and other shorebirds. Also had three Ospreys fishing at once. Did not see a Sora or Least Bittern today.
Julie McCall reports: "The Am. Avocet is still present as of Monday evening. It was still there when I left the Marsh Discovery Trail after around 4:30 p.m. I have a small .jpg (above) with an excerpt of the DeKorte trail map with the location pointed out in case people want to see if the bird is still there Tuesday.
"I also had a very nearby Sora near the beginning of the trail, and it didn't notice me (or maybe it just didn't care) so I got to watch it for a while and take some bad photos.
"Otherwise, mostly the usual suspects. There seemed to be 2 Short-billed Dowitchers in with some Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, and possibly a White-rumped Sandpiper. 2 Peregrines together, 2 Northern Harriers, (both of these on Disposal Road.) 1 Common Yellowthroat, which lured me to the Sora." (Thanks, Julie!")
More on American Avocets here.
Scroll down for the other avocet posts and pix.
Ron Shields reports: "I have sighted individual Sora at the Kearny Marsh on Saturday and Sunday. Attached are images taken Saturday evening in low light conditions. In addition, with water levels extremely low at the marsh, Peregrine Falcons have been targeting resting shorebirds on a daily basis."
Dennis Cheeseman photographed this vireo eating its lunch by the Kingsland Overlook Trail last week. He thought it might be a Philadelphia Vireo, but we thought Warbling Vireo.
One reader wondered (briefly) if it might be a Red-eyed Vireo. What do you think?