Thanks to Joe Koscielny for these shots of some hungry Snowy Egrets taken during last Sunday’s Bergen County Audubon Society DeKorte Park walk!

Ring-billed Gull and Semi-palmated Sandpiper

We’ve got a variety of great photos from Joe Koscielny taken during this past Sunday’s Bergen Audubon walk at DeKorte Park. More from Joe for your viewing pleasure tomorrow morning!

The next Meadowlands BCAS walk is Tuesday, Aug. 21, from 10 am to noon at Mill Creek Marsh in Secaucus. For more info contact Don Torino at greatauk4@gmail.com or 201-230-4983.

Northern Mockingbird

Least Sandpipers

Monarch Butterfly

Monarch Butterfly

Silver-spotted Skipper

Red-tailed Hawk Feather Credit: Don Torino

After having a tough, exhausting day I thought I would try to relax and wind down for a while at our butterfly garden. Pondering the days ahead, stressing more than a little about all I needed to get done and wondering how I could ever do it I glanced down and saw something moving ever so slightly in the afternoon breeze.

Lying in the grass like some surreal message set in a grassy frame there sat a feather. Not just any feather but a wonderful russet, ash and black almost mystical feather. A Red-tailed hawk feather in all its enchanted grandeur.

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Thanks to Mickey Raine for these wonderful photos taken a couple weeks back at DeKorte of Forster’s Terns and Great Egrets in mid-flight. The adjectives graceful and majestic come to mind.

Looks like this Least Bittern is posing in profile for a pretty important picture. Thanks to Dennis Cheeseman for these great shots taken recently at DeKorte Park!

We don’t get too many Dragonfly and Damselfly photos, so many thanks to Mickey Raine for providing these wonderful shots from DeKorte (Damselfy above, Dragonflies below). As Mickey notes, these insects are considered extremely efficient predators and have even been studied by the military for their incredible flying skills and ability to hone in on targets!

Great photos by Mickey Raine at DeKorte of this flock of Sandpipers!  As a bonus, we’ve got more photos of the Praying Mantis previously posted this morning. Thanks Mickey!

Some Praying Mantis photos from Mickey Raine. Mickey writes: You can see the incredible beauty of its physical traits, but also, the deadly tools as one of the leading predators inside the world of heavily vegetated areas.  The sheer power and strength it exerted when first lifting it into my hand while the initial execution of resistance occurred, was unmistakable, and the thought of how overwhelmingly strong this would be for a prey/victim was rather chilling.  

We’re thrilled to launch registration for the Meadowlands Birding Festival on Saturday, Sept. 15. The free event runs from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm and will include a family-friendly day of bird walks, talks, raptor visits, kids activities, optics for sale and more celebrating the Meadowlands amazing bird population.

Highlights include a keynote talk by renowned field guide author David Sibley, a walk led by prominent birding author Rick Wright and a live raptor demonstration. Kids activities include a scavenger hunt, bird migration game, and making an ice cream cone bird feeder.

To register, click here

Look for a detailed schedule soon, including information on a special early bird walk. There will also be boat rides for birders, with registration beginning next week. Watch this page for details.

Join the Bergen County Audubon Society this Sunday, Aug. 5, from 10 am to noon as they lead a nature walk at DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst. They’ll be looking for breeding birds such as Least Bitterns as well as migrant shorebirds such as Semi-palmated Sandpipers, Least Sandpipers and others.

For more information contact Don Torino at greatauk4@gmail.com or 201-230-4983.