In September and October, NJMC Naturalist Michael Newhouse and his dedicated band of bird-banders banded 46 species and nearly 3,000 birds in all.

   Bird most likely to be banded — the Savannah Sparrow, with more than 700 banded. It is a threatened species in New Jersey. (Pictured at right, a confusing Black-throated Blue Warbler, one of the 46 species.)

   For a look at the variety of birds that use the former landfills in the Meadowlands each fall, check out the full list of banded birds. 

 Click "Continue reading…" for the full list.

 Click here for all Meadowlands Blog posts on bird banding.

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  Neil Maruca sez: "Meadowlands was birdy, but not a lot of rarities. Highlights:

Mehrhof Pond– 520 Ruddy Ducks, 11 Ring Necks, 8 Lesser Scaup, 6 Hooded
Mergs
Valley Brook Rd– Red Shouldered Hawk
DeKorte– Dowitcher sp. (probably Long Billed), 30 Greater Yellowlegs, 120
Shovelers
Kearny East-100+ Pintails, Great Cormorant

  Ray Duffy sez: "I got my first fall Fox Sparrows in Schmidt’s today (Saturday). There were 2 that I saw and I think a third calling."

  Julie McCall reports: "There was a very cooperative brant (presumably the same bird from the earlier post?) there again today (Saturday), keeping company with a pair of Canada Geese. Closest look I've gotten of one. They're quite pretty birds."

    These guys are typically gone by now, but one was straggling around DeKorte late last week. He clearly has seen better days. (It's a "he" because of the solitary spot on each wing.)

    More on Cabbage Whites here.

   A quick walk around DeKorte at Lunch on Friday found one lone Great Egret (above), lots of yellowlegs, several skittish Green-winged Teal (including the one below). 20+ Buffleheads, 20+ Ruddies, 8 Gadwalls, 4 Black Ducks, a few Mallards and two DC Cormorants.

      The Meadowlands Commission is hosting its annual Staff Art Exhibit from Friday, Nov. 6, through Sunday, Nov. 29, at the Flyway Gallery in the Meadowlands Environment Center. 

   The exhibit – which is open daily to the public for free – features nature photography and watercolors by Commission employees.

     This year’s show includes interesting multi-media works of Meadowlands landmarks by landscape architect Lisa Cameron, who also exhibited with the Highland Park Artists’ Collective this past May. Her work "WMCA" is pictured above.

    The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

     It is one of several free attractions at the Meadowlands Environment Center, which is located in DeKorte Park, a 110-acre oasis with walking trails and water views, all framed by the New York City skyline.

   Click "Continue reading …" for more information.

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    Ron Shields photographed this Brant at DeKorte on Thursday. (Thanks, Ron!)

   NJMC naturalists also saw several Brants on Thursday on the Hackensack River, in addition to three Bald Eagles, a Bonaparte's Gull, and a Goshawk.

  NJMC Naturalist Michael Newhouse reports that October was a banner month for bird-banding at the former Erie Landfill in North Arlington.

 All told, Mike and his wonderful team of volunteers banded 46 species, and more than 2,300 birds. 

   We will post the fall banding totals soon.

   Can you guess what species this is? It takes a sharp eye.

   Click "continue reading…" to see the answer and the full October list.

   Click here for other blog posts on the NJMC bird-banding project.

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