Category Archives: Birds

MILL CREEK MARSH: Don Torino reports

   Just in time for October’s arrival, birder Don Torino reports:

    Visited Mill Creek marsh trail [yesterday] morning, The colors were unbelievable. This has to be the most beautiful time of year to visit.

     The yellows of the Goldenrods full of Bumblebees and Monarch butterflies, the faded pinks of the Fleabane and Smartweeds, the purples and blues of the Pokeweeds and the Cedar Berries, and the Whites of the Snakeroot and Sea Myrtle.

No painter could ever put anything on a canvas that would come close to how wonderful it looked Tuesday morning.

 The Savannah Sparrows and Yellow-rumped Warblers seemed to be everywhere ! I hope all your readers get a chance to visit there real soon.

HARRIER MEADOW: Sign up now for free guided walks planned

  The Meadowlands Commission is planning three guided walks through Harrier Meadow during the month of October.

   All are free and open to the general public.

   The dates and times are:

   Wednesdays Oct. 8 and 15 at 12:30 p.m. (hour walk.)

  Saturday Oct. 25 at 8:30 a.m. (90-minute walk.)  — This one is now wait-listed.

   Please e-mail NJMC Staffer Jim Wright to sign up or to get your name on the Harrier Meadow mailing list.

KESTRELS in North Arlington

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   American Kestrels have been putting on a great air show on the Erie Landfill in North Arlington in recent weeks.
   We saw at least four working the Img_92791_2 site last week, zipping about and then hovering when they eyed prey.
   The Meadowlands Commission has put up kestrel nesting boxes at Erie in hopes of getting them to breed here.
   Kestrels, a small falcon, have declined at an "alarming" rate in New Jersey, according to the state’s Img_8575 Endangered and Non-Game Species Program.
   It is particularly encouraging to see so many of them at once.
   More on kestrels here.
   More on kestrels in New Jersey here (click American Kestrel).

RACING PIGEON UPDATE

Img_8116 The last we saw of the racing pigeon was last Friday, but we did get a call from the secretary of the local pigeon racing association.

   He said that this pigeon-racing season, and the pigeon who hung out at deKorte Park for a couple of days last week was probably just taking a prolonged pit stop because he was exhausted.
   His advice to anyone who sees a racing pigeon just hanging around: Make sure it has a good source of fresh water.

BIRDS, BANDS & BEYOND

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    We thought this guy was one attractive pigeon when we photographed him with a telephoto lens late yesterday afternoon.
   When we looked at the photo closely (see below), we realizeImg_80221_2d he was a real thoroughbred  — a racing pigeon or a show pigeon.
   He was seen atop the pavilion at the Meadowlands Environment Center.
If you can tell us more, please do!

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RAPTOR MORNING

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   From Disposal Road in North Arlington around 9 this morning, we saw three harriers working the Erie Landfill.
   When we looked over the photographs we took (from quite a distance), we noticed a falcon perched on a rock on top of the landfill.
     Not long after, NJMC naturalist Michael Newhouse saw seven distant accipiters gaining altitude to the south of Harrier Meadow.
    With winds out of the northwest this morning, today should be a solid migration day.
    Footnote: Just before lunch, we saw two ospreys hunting the tidal impoundment by NJMC Headqurters in DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst.
    A great raptor morning.

MEADOWLANDS FESTIVAL OF BIRDING

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  The Meadowlands Festival of Birding had a great turnout today, including this female Blue Grosbeak who showed up for the bird-banding demonstration in Harrier Meadow.
    Also making several appearances: Peregrine Falcons, Ospreys, Green herons, Black-crowned and Yellow-crowned and Great Blue Herons, umpteen egrets, Stilt Sandpipers, yellowlegs and so on.
   Oh, and an estimated 240 birders.
   Some 50 birders went on the Harrier Meadow morning bird walk, and more than three dozen attended the early morning bird-banding, which provided up-close looks at  a Red-eyed Vireo, Ovenbird, Magnolia Warbler and Redstart.  A total of 36 birds were banded and released.

EGRET FEST

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    More than 100 egrets couldn’t wait for tomorrow’s Meadowlands Festival of Birding.
   They were milling around the tidal impoundment beyond Commission HQ this afternoon. They even flew up to the elevated boardwalk by the Environment Center rotunda and hung out.
   Mudflats were packed with peeps, yellowlegs and other shorebirds.
   We told them to make sure to come back tomorrow.
   Click "Continue reading" for a passel of great egret pix taken today.

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MEADOWLANDS FESTIVAL OF BIRDING

Img_5943_2     Just a reminder that the big Bird Fest convenes at DeKorte Park tomorrow.

   The Meadowlands Commission’s Michael Newhouse will be doing a bird-banding demonstration from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at Harrier Meadow.

    There will be guided  bird walks of Harrier Meadow — usually closed to the public — at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday as well.

   Click here for more about Harrier Meadow, including a video.

    For the early a.m. bird-banding, you’ll need to go to the Harrier Meadow site on your own. NJMC staffer Jim Wright will park his silver Honda hatchback on Disposal Road near the Harrier Meadow Entrance.

   (At the entrance to DeKorte Park at the end of Valley Brook Drive, bear right just after the train tracks and onto Disposal Road and follow it past the Amvets Carillon. Harrier Meadow entrance is on the left, just past the stop sign by the PSEG electric gizmos.)

    The guided bird walks meet at DeKorte and go by bus.

       If you can’t attend the bird fest but would like to go on a guided birdwalk in Harrier, e-mail Jim Wright (link above).

ALERTS & BIRD SIGHTINGS

A wintery mix kept me in the car this morning, but I got my best species
Mehrhof count this winter at the ice-free pond in Little Ferry.  I was
“camped out” in the car where I could view and scope the pond from the
road.   1500+ Ruddy Ducks were very active in the falling snow, skittering
across the water every couple minutes.   Also had Great Egret, 9 Lesser
Scaup, 8 Common Mergs and 10 Hoodies
Location:     Mehrhof Pond
Observation date:     12/21/08
Number of species:     25

Canada Goose     14
Gadwall     1
American Black Duck     1
Mallard     3
Northern Shoveler     6
Green-winged Teal     4
Lesser Scaup     9
Hooded Merganser     10
Common Merganser     8
Ruddy Duck     1500
Double-crested Cormorant     1
Great Blue Heron     1
Great Egret     1
Red-tailed Hawk     1
Ring-billed Gull     30
Herring Gull     5
Great Black-backed Gull     6
Downy Woodpecker     1
Black-capped Chickadee     3
American Robin     1
European Starling     5
Song Sparrow     2
White-throated Sparrow     1
Northern Cardinal     1
American Goldfinch     8

Click “Continue reading” for  bird reports.

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