Because of the weekend storm, the buildings at DeKorte Park, including restrooms, are closed until further notice. The Marsh Discovery Trail is closed (and partly underwater). See photo above, near the start of the trail.

    We have been seeing this Sharpie at Harrier Meadow of late. We photographed this guy on Thursday. Note the nice flat tail — helps to distinguish it from a Cooper's Hawk.

  We came across this charming blog post and thought we would pass it along.
  Just click here. It's from the "Monkey Business" blog.

   Chris Takacs reports: "Northern Shrike was seen today 7:30 a.m. on Disposal Rd. near the Detention Pond.
    "He flew to the Erie Landfill just to the SW. Sat on the poles surrounding the landfill and flew chasing a sparrow to the locusts on the side of the hill.
    "I saw 9 White-crowned Sparrows last evening in the grass and phrags across from the same pond. I saw 5 this morning in the same area. Both times 2 adults."  (Thanks, Chris!)

 Our next free nature walk with the Bergen County Audubon Society is Tuesday, March 16, at 10 a.m. The place is DeKorte, and yes, we'll look for the shrike.
   This photo was taken yesterday, by the bend in the road by the Maintenance Shed. (Please park off the road if you look for the shrike — it's a dangerous corner).

   Details about the walk follow.

Continue reading →

   As promised, though a tad late, is a list of the birds we saw on Sunday's "Birding for Beginners" walk, done in cooperation with the fine folks at Bergen County Audubon Society.
    At left was one of the highlights — a nice flight of Northern Pintail flying overhead as we walked along the Lyndhurst Nature Reserve Trail.
   All told (or is it all tolled?), we counted nine species of duck, including Bufflehead and plenty of lazing Canvasback.
   We also had early Killdeer and lingering White-crowned Sparrow (in the usual spot, nearly the security guard booth).
   Non-bird sightings included an early slider and the unofficial mammal of the Meadowlands, the Muskrat.
  We did not see the shrike, though it wasn't for a lack of trying.

Continue reading →

   Ron Shields has been terrific at locating (and photographing) the wily Northern shrike on Disposal Road. Ron took some amazing shots over the weekend, which he was kind enough to share with this blog.
  The shrike was seen at 1 p.m. today [Thursday] on Disposal Road "where the gray asphalt becomes brown asphalt," according to a birder from New York City. (Thanks!)
   The shrike was seen Wednesday by NJMC Naturalist Mike Newhouse along the edge of Harrier Meadow and the former Erie Landfill. Many of us suspected the over-caffeinated hunter was often nearby but out of sight, on the other side of a landfill. There you have it.

  More pix follow.

Continue reading →

Just before 6 p.m. last night (Tuesday, March 9), we saw a Coyote cross Disposal Road and disappear into the area by the huge black tubes.

We did not have time to get a photo, but are passing along the info because we thought it would be of interest. Yet another species seen on Disposal Road in the past few months.