Regina Geoghan, who shares many of her terrific butterfly images and landscapes with this blog, has a nifty article about the Meadowlands’ comeback on wildnewjersey.tv.

Here’s a sample:

“Each visit is a new adventure – depending on the season, the time of day, the weather, and the unique character of each park.  One might opt to visit River Barge Park along the Hackensack River for paddling or a pontoon ride, or visit one of several other parks for a hike through wetlands or woodland, guided bird watching and nature walks, or a variety of educational events held at the Meadowlands Environmental Center in Lyndhurst.

“Sometimes, I find myself alone on a trail; while other times I meet birders, photographers, joggers or folks simply out to enjoy what nature has to offer.  While the visits to these parks can indeed feel magical, the restoration of the Meadowlands that has occurred to date is a result of a great deal of dedication, commitment and hard work and will continue to be a work in progress.”

The link is here.

Gretchen Henkel, editor of The Secaucus Home News, did  a nice 2.5-page story on the NJMC’s last pontoon boat cruise of the year.  The story is below  — hope you can read it….

Our next free guided walk with Bergen County Audubon is next Tuesday — Oct. 15, at 10 a.m.  — at Losen Slote Creek Park in Little Ferry.

Now’s a great time of year to visit this little-known diamond in the rough. You gotta love those birches (above).

Don Torino of BCAS did some weed-whacking earlier this week to make the trails passable (thanks, Don!), but be prepared to navigate some trails that can be occasionally challenging, including a few fallen trees.More pix from earlier this week — including the downed trees you’ll have to navigate  — follow.

Tuesday might be a bit muddy as well, so dress accordingly.

Full listing below. Continue reading →

NJMC Naturalist Mike Newhouse and his Banders of Renown banded a rare Grasshopper Sparrow earlier this week at the banding site in North Arlington.

We thought this guys was too cool to save for a teaser.

Mike notes that the Grasshopper Sparrow has some yellow at the bend of its wing (right) — a nuance often overlooked in birding ID books.

Didn’t budge, hoping we’d overlook him.

Jim Wright, who maintains this blog for the N.J. Meadowlands Commission, also writes a twice-monthly nature column for the South Bergenite. His latest column is all about the recent big improvements to the blog:

Want to know what nifty events are coming up in the Meadowlands? Want to know what unusual birds are being seen in DeKorte Park or else nearby these days? Or just want to enjoy some wonderful local nature photography?

The answer to all those questions is simple: the N.J. Meadowlands Commission’s nature blog, www.meadowblog.net.

The NJMC created the blog more than five years ago to celebrate the region’s overlooked natural beauty and to remind folks that this is not your father’s Meadowlands anymore.

But you need to know about some pretty cool recent upgrades to the blog that make it the go-to website for all things nature-related in the Meadowlands. Continue reading →

Mike Maddaloni has a new YouTube video on the Meadowlands, featuring some really cool time-lapse photography by the World Trade Center Cove. You can watch it above, though Mike cautions….

“In the past few weeks I was able to put together seven or eight 10-minute-long slideshows on Youtube of some of my photos.  But honestly, even when I watch these videos I begin to doze off, very relaxing. The music is very soothing, almost too much so. Don’t trouble yourself to watch past the first 60 seconds, I just LOVE the WTC Cove footage.”

So do we. Definitely worth a look.

Part II of yesterday’s Teaser-palooza is (drum roll…) an American Kestrel from the banding station. This is one awesome bird. A gallery follows. (click to enlarge.)

Congrats to all who said “Northern Flicker” for the first part of the question. It seems even larger up-close. Continue reading →

Our next free guided walk with Bergen County Audubon is Tuesday, Oct. 15, at 10 a.m. at Losen Slote Creek Park in Little Ferry — a great time of year to visit this little-known diamond in the rough. You gotta love those birches (above).

Don Torino of BCAS did some weed-whacking this morning to make the trails passable (thanks, Don!), but prepared to navigate some trails that can be occasionally challenging, including a few fallen trees.

Some photos from this morning follow — just to give you an idea how amazing this place is — and that’s not even the wooded part.

Full listing below.

Continue reading →