MEC’s Maria Manzo found this large and wonderfully camouflaged moth chilling on the side of Meadowlands Environment Center in DeKorte Park last week. It was roughly two inches from head to stern.

What is it?

Mike Maddaloni, also known as “Sunset Mike” was in the Meadowlands recently for both the Sept. 11 Tribute in Light and a lightning storm. He was nice enough to share some of his photos, Thanks, Mike!:

Totally insane thunderstorm with lightning all over the place
passed through late last week.

Got some long exposure shots of it, each one you see is about 30 seconds
of letting the camera stay open before it takes a new shot.  The fact that
there’s this many bolts per shot is a testament to how much lightning
there really was.  Probably the best lightning shots I’ve gotten in the
Meadowlands in my life, wish it happened more often. Enjoy.

Also attached are the shots from DeKorte and Disposal Road of the Tribute
in Light, truth be told the days when they were testing them on the 9th
and 10th we had better conditions for the distance we were at.  Win some,
lose some.  (Thanks, Mike!)

Links to other posts featuring Mikes images and video are here, here, here and here.

Mike Newhouse and others saw the Wilson’s Phalarope this afternoon, and Ray Duffy and Chris Takacs saw the Sora.

We have created a crude map to help folks find the birds.  Where the map says “.33 mile” is where you stand looking out from the Shorewalk.  The Big O is the vicinity of where the birds are being seen… The visitors parking lot just after the guard booth is between the “.25 mile” and the “.33 mile.”

Best to bring a scope…

Two Kingfishers and a Coop were seen around 5 today.

Our next free guided walk with Bergen County Audubon is on Tuesday, Sept. 17 from 10 a.m. to noon, and it’s a terrific Tuesday two-fer — a walk in Harrier Meadow, plus a bird-banding demonstration there by NJMC Naturalist Mike Newhouse.

Harrier Meadow — where we recently saw that wing-tagged Great Egret — is usually closed to the public, and Mike’s bird-banding demos are always the best. Mike banded the mystery warbler pictured earlier this month  — the same day we saw the tagged egret.

Details — and ID of mystery warbler — follow. Continue reading →

Marc Chelemer posts:

Chris Takacs’ find Thursday of a Stilt Sandpiper and a Sora at DeKorte’s Shorebird Pool brought me back to that location.  [Not only did I see the Phalarope, but] the Stilt Sandpiper was present in beautiful fresh plumage, especially the bright rufous primaries…visible even in the limited light. The voracious bird occasionally lifted its head enough out of the water to show the droopy bill.  After at least four misses of this species at Forsythe and even more misses elsewhere, it was nice to see this First-of-Year species.   (Thanks Marc and Chris!)

Patrick Carney writes:

I was  in Mill Creek Marsh on Saturday and I came across both an Orange-Crowned Warbler and a Bobolink!

The Orange-Crowned Warbler was found at around 8:45 towards the very beginning of the trail, and the Bobolink was found flying around the general area of the first fork in the trail around noon. A good bird at the start, and at the finish!

Thanks, Patrick! Sorry for the delayed reporting — still catching up on e-mail during a hectic week.

Yesterday evening was too a bit too hazy for an eye-catching Tribute in Lights in Lower Manhattan as part of the Sept. 11 commemoration, but you could see the twin beams from Lower Manhattan, just south of the new One World Trade Center.

The memorial wreath stood vigil at DeKorte Park’s World Trade Center Memorial Cove.

Roughly 18 folks came to see the lights from DeKorte Park — a few of us were lucky to also see a Black Skimmer working the Shorebird Pool after dark, and three raccoons crossing the shallows to one of the islands.

We could not confirm whether the phalarope was here to see the lights, but it was still here this morning.

Rob Fanning saw the Wilson’s Phalarope in the Shorebird Pool at DeKorte as of 8:20 a.m. today. It has been confirmed as a Wilson’s after some wavering yesterday — difficult bird to ID at a distance on a hazy day with back-lighting. Earlier post give some idea of location.

(Thanks to Judy Cinquina for spotting the bird originally.)

Jim Wright, who maintains this blog for the Meadowlands Commission, also writes a twice-monthly column for the South Bergenite. His latest is on DeKorte Park:

More than 10 months ago, Superstorm Sandy ripped through the Meadowlands, leaving a wide swatch of destruction.

One of the region’s hardest-hit natural areas was the N.J. Meadowlands Commission’s DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst, which suffered roughly $2 million in damage.

Most of the square-mile park has made a remarkable rebound since then. Early fall — with its cooler temperatures, changing foliage and migrating birds — is a perfect time to see for yourself. Continue reading →

Mike Girone writes:

I was on Saw Mill Creek Trail late Saturday afternoon and observed a juvenile Peregrine wearing only a silver federal band (no color auxiliary band on this one).

I believe this brings the count up to 5 in the banded juvie Peregrine department! It had a huge (full) crop, and spent almost 2 and a half hours loafing on the tower.

When it flew off, it headed west along the trail and dove down, flushing an unbanded juvenile Peregrine!

The two chased each other up and down the trail and out over the tidal flats, with the unbanded falcon vocalizing angrily! The duo eventually split up near the Carillon on Disposal Rd, with the unbanded falcon claiming a set of towers. One of the pair later nailed a pigeon.

Link is here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/80696806@N06/sets/72157635472155930/ .

Not recommended for folks who love pigeons  (which, unfortunately for the pigeons, are a link or two down on the food chain).  Thanks, Mike!