Ray Duffy reported a seldom-seen-in-New-Jersey Yellow-headed Blackbird at DeKorte Park yesterday between 6 and 7 p..m. between the MEC and the Kingsland Overlook:

“It was with a pretty big flock of Brown-headed cowbirds and Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackles.  I found it because I heard a different call before I located it in the tree.  Not really sure if it will hang around. ”

He pointed the bird out to Muhammad Faizan, who took the accompanying photos.

(Thanks, Ray! Thanks, Muhammad!)

More on Yellow-headed Blackbirds here.

As you likely know, owls are flying, hunting, roosting and nesting here in the Meadowlands.

The Flat Rock Nature Center will bring artifacts and live birds — one or two Screech Owls, a Barred Owl and possibly a Great Horned owl — to the MEC on Sunday, April 6, from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

A Flat Rock staffer will talk all about these feathered ambassadors, including their behavior, physiology, adaptations, and natural history — including pix of several species of owls photographed in the Meadowlands.

Registration is recommended and appreciated. For more information: 201-460-8300.

Cost: $5; $4 MEC Members.

Also at DeKorte Park on Sunday April 6: a free First Sunday of the Month Walk, 10 a.m. to noon., and Birding for Beginners, a free class from 1 to 3 p.m., including a walk.

We had our first Snowy Egret back at DeKorte yesterday, and we haven’t seen our Snowy Owls at DeKorte in a bit, so maybe it’s a changing of the guard (and season).

(Thanks to Muhammad Faizan for the photos!)

Jim Wright, who keeps this blog for the Meadowlands Commission, also writes a twice-monthly column for the South Bergenite. His latest is on an exciting new project — a crowd-sourced eBook about Disposal Road — and how can you can help.

What ‘s the best birding location that almost nobody knows about in all of North Jersey?  As they like to say on TV, the answer may surprise you.

Here are a couple of hints: It’s 1.1 miles long and 28 feet wide. And it has a landfill on each side.

Give up?

The answer is Disposal Road, a ribbon of asphalt that connects Schuyler Avenue in North Arlington and Valley Brook Avenue in Lyndhurst (at the entrance to DeKorte Park). Continue reading →

Chris Takacs writes:

Took this one last night at DeKorte. I spent some time on my belly on the Kingsland Overlook Trail; and was lucky enough to get a window through the branches to photograph one.

(Thanks, Chris!)

Mickey Raine shared these recent Cedar Waxwing shots from Mill Creek Marsh, plus a sweet Sweetgum shot.

(Thanks, Mickey!)

There was a raging controversy (some would say “mild debate”) last week over whether the turtle above was a Red-eared Slider of a Painted Turtle.

We came across this additional pic of the little guy, and we now conclude that it’s a Painted Turtle, as Patrick Carney suggested.

There’s no red ear stripe, and it isn’t on a bun.

Link to earlier post is here.

Five years ago, as part of the N.J. Meadowlands Commission’s Oral History Project, we interviewed lots of folks about the region in the old days. We are reprinting the best of them here, every Tuesday, for 11 weeks. Today: The Muskrateers of the Meadowlands.

In late June 2009, a bunch of long-time hunters and muskrat trappers from Little Ferry got together at a Carlstadt restaurant to talk about the old days, when muskrats and pheasants abounded.
We were on hand to record their candid conversations.

The Muskrateers are:

Top Row (l to r): Mel Lana Jr., Andrew Zappetelli, Joe Lana, Steve Royka, Larry Russo, Mel Lana, Pete Crecco, Bernie Sobolewski, George Stoft, Brian Smith, Greg Smith, Don Smith.
Lower Row: Ronald Donaldson, Mario Mariani, Ray Kooman, Jimmy Frattarelli, Romalo Faustini, Larry Zappetelli

 Short videos of trappers Don Smith, Bernie Sobolewski, Pete Crecco, Larry Russo, Ray Kooman and Roland Donaldson follow. Continue reading →

Sandy Sorkin says:

Mill Creek had a little sun on Saturday morning, and a short walk brought us to a Common (Eurasian) Teal.

But wherever you go there is usually  a Northern Mockingbird posing for a picture.

Bergen County Audubon Society President Don Torino stopped by the Meadowlands Commission office in DeKorte Park last week to deliver a donation for $3,700 for native plants in the park.

Accepting the check on behalf of the Commission was Executive Director Marcia Karrow.

The donation was the result of a collaborative grant between the BCAS and the National Audubon Society.  The Meadowlands Commission can’t thank them enough!