Due to circumstances beyond our control, Meadowblog was off-line for most of the day today. We apologize for the inconvenience.

Had great views of six Black Skimmers on the dock at River Barge Park this morning. They were just sitting on the dock chilling, and were unfazed by our passing pontoon boat…  You can really see the disproportionate-sized lower mandible…  Needless to say, these are awesome birds.

Our next free guided walk is Tuesday, May 20, at 10 a.m. at Mill Creek Marsh in Secaucus.  The photo of the Snowy Egret above was taken on last year’s May MCM walk.

For a list of birds seen on that walk, click here.

Full details follow.  Directions to Mill Creek Marsh are on the right side of this blog. Continue reading →

Thinking of visiting DeKorte Park or nearby Disposal Road this weekend?

To see what’s being reported at DeKorte on eBird Hotspot Explorer, click here.

To see what’s being reported along Disposal Road on eBird Hotspot Explorer, click here.

We’ve been running a lot of bird shots because of the recent rash of avian activity, so to placate our mammal aficianados, a rabbit photo herewith. Certainly nothing to sniff at.

NJMC staffer Gabrielle Gornelli took this shot of a Common Grackle nest on an old Meadowlands tidegate.  (Thanks, Gaby!)  (reposting after it was misdated…)

Our next free guided walk is Tuesday, May 20, at 10 a.m. at Mill Creek Marsh in Secaucus.  The photo of the Snowy Egret above was taken on last year’s May MCM walk.

For a list of birds seen on that walk, click here.

Full details follow.  Directions to Mill Creek Marsh are on the right side of this blog. Continue reading →

Jim Wright, who keep this blog for the Meadowlands Commission, also writes a twice-monthly column for the South Bergenite, His latest column is on the new Flyway Gallery show that features images from the NJMC’s coffee-table book, “The Nature of the Meadowlands”:

An American Avocet grabbing a bite at DeKorte Park. A Secaucus pig farmer with his swine on his farm’s last day. A common buckeye butterfly, 25 times larger than life.

Starting today, the Flyway Gallery in DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst is hosting an exhibition of nature photography, illustrations and archival photographs that all have one thing in common — they were all showcased in “The Nature of the Meadowlands,” the coffee-table book I wrote for the N.J. Meadowlands Commission in 2012.

All the photography and artwork in the book is so striking that we decided to assemble a gallery show around some of the best of the bunch. Roughly a fourth of the book’s 175 images will be on display, and all will be presented in a larger format than they appeared in the book.

The goal of the exhibition is the same as the goal of the book itself — to celebrate and document the incredible environmental comeback that this region has experienced in recent years. Seeing is believing — especially when you see these images.

Continue reading →

Earlier today, this blog asked photographers to try for a photo of one of the Wilson’s Warblers seen at DeKorte today.

Instead, Ron Shields sent us a shot of a Wilson’s Warbler taken in the Kearny Marsh today just before 4 o’clock, along the cinder trail behind Gunnell Oval. So please don’t look at the photo above. It is not from DeKorte.

The original request still stands.

We will send Ron some directions to DeKorte forthwith.

Anyone missing a Cockatiel? Muhammad Faizan reports seeing one yesterday around 6 p.m. in the Lyndhurst Nature Reserve and near the admin building parking lot.

We’ve had no other reports. as yet.  (Thanks, Faizan!)