Chris Takacs reports seeing a Little Blue Heron this a.m. at Harrier Meadow, where he fills feeders. That's his photo, above. (Thanks, Chris!)

The Meadowlands Commission and Bergen County Audubon Society are leading a walk at Harrier Meadow at 4 p.m., weather permitting,  if the bird is still around on Thursday morning…

Will post either way by 10 a.m.   If the bird's still there and you want to participate in the walk, call Jim Wright at 201-469-7349.

Note:  

* Do not show up unannounced; the walk will be scrapped if no one rsvps.

* Harrier Meadow is closed to the public, and Hurricane Sandy repair work involving heavy equipment is underway. Do not trespass.

For shorebird junkies, and interesting post from Don Freiday on Short-billed (and Long-billed) Dowitchers. 

From what Don writes, I'm guessing the dowitcher at the left (photographed last week in Harrier Meadow) is a Short-billed.

"In New Jersey, in May, they're ALL Short-billed Dowitchers.

Now I know that's an exageration, but only by a whisker, and yet there have been a high number of reports of Long-billed Dowitcher this spring.

"Having NEVER seen a Long-billed Dowitcher (LBDO) in May in NJ, I have to ask myself, is there something wrong with me?"

The link is here.

We're starting to get more and more butterflies, though nothing like last year by this time, when we were already a week into our Red Admiral invasion.

Had this skipper (Zabulon?), an Eastern Tiger Swallowtail and some Cabbage Whites on Monday afternoon on the Kingsland Overlook. Yikes — time to get out the butterfly field guides again.

(Also saw a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and a hard-to-diagnose flycatcher.)

For the NABA checklist for DeKorte Park (with frequency and season), click here. Whichever butterfly is pictured above does not appear to be on the list, unless we overlooked something (always a possibility).

No flies on you guys!  Congrats to everyone who correctly ID'd this guy as a Yellow-crowned Night Heron.

Kudos to all who said it was a Yellow-crowned Night Heron photographed in Secaucus.

Huzzahs to all who ID'd it as Yellow-crowned Night Heron photographed in Secaucus by the Hackensack River.

And a zowee to Mike Gempp, who identified the name of the marsh — Anderson Creek Marsh.

Congrats to all for a fine job!

Ace environmental reporter Jim O'Neill of The Record writes:

When the 17-year cicadas actually emerge in our North Jersey area, I want to do a follow-up on the story that The Record published last Friday.

If any of you see cicadas, please send me a quick email about how many, location, etc? That would be incredibly helpful.

Given how warm it was today, I'm thinking the soil temp could have gotten pretty close to the magic 64 degrees and we could have them emerge tonight or tomorrow night. Thanks for any help!! My email is oneillj@northjersey.com

Here's a link to Friday's story:
http://bit.ly/YOqCV5

We had a very entertaining walk at Mill Creek Marsh in Secaucus this morning, with 34 species of birds and 22 varieties of human. 

Bird of the day: Eastern Kingbird?

Some shorebirds moving in, and warblers moving out.

Full list later in the week.

Who dis? In which Meadowlands town was it likely taken?

                                       
Ron Shields has been watching a Baltimore Oriole building her nest in DoKorte Park.  Here are some of the highlight pix.  (Thanks, Ron!)

Two more pix follow.

Continue reading →

Mill Creek Marsh is one of our very favorite spots, and this time of year is especially delightful — we just never know what to expect.

We could see anything from unusual shorebirds to ducks to egrets to Bald Eagles, as well as those centuries-old Atlantic White Cedar stumps.

Join the Meadowlands Commission and Bergen County Audubon Society for a free guided walk tomorrow (Tuesday) morning at 10.

Full details follow.

Continue reading →

First, on a Losen Slote Park walk in Little Ferry earlier this month, we found a very mysterious, hard-to-explain birdie  in the meadow (pictured at right).

The very next weekend — exactly one week later — while viewing the Bald Eagle Nest from nearby Ridgefield on our annual Mother's Day Walk, we found a related species.

By the observation area was the racquet pictured at left, which we believe is from either a miniature motmot
or part of a miniature tennis set.

Put the two photos together and… the game is afoot.

The point is simple: Just never know what you'll find in the Meadowlands, or what the next tide will bring in.