John Pastore writes:

“I thought you might enjoy this.  It represents about 20 visits to the Meadowlands, between 2009 and this year, set to music.”

Thanks, John!

Sunday was an amazing Butterfly Day at DeKorte Park — more people and more butterflies than we could have hoped for, given the uncertain weather.  Reposting after trouble with blog software.

Full list follows. Continue reading →

DeKorte Park, bursting with blooms, is particularly beautiful this time of year.

Our next free walk is this Sunday at 10 a.m. in DeKorte Park.

The walk runs two hours (if a walk can run). We will be looking for shorebirds, butterflies, and whatever we come upon.  Sponsored by the Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society.

Full details follow. Continue reading →

Eleven days ago, we introduced you to Joey the Tobacco Hornworm (link is here). Soon after his arrival, Joey went underground to pupate (link is here).

We checked in Joey this morning — he’s living at DeKorte Park’s Center for Environmental and Scientific Studies (the building with the observatory) — and he is  tucked away in  his homemade sleeping bag (photo above).

We also have a new Tobacco Hornworm (above), just 4 centimeters long.  We have not named him. Someone suggested George Alexander Louis, but that’s probably a better  name for a Monarch caterpillar.

Any suggestions for a name? So far, we have “Chester.”   Leave a comment below.

More on hornworms here.

Despite threatening skies, yesterday’s Fourth Annual Butterfly Day at DeKorte Park was big hit.

Nearly 600 folks attended and got some up-close looks at some cool butterflies, plus face-painting, scavenger hunts, a costume contest, and some nifty information tables to help them better connect with nature.

We will post more pix, links, and full list of butterflies seen yesterday as time allows, but wanted to post a couple of links now.

The Record’s coverage is here.

Photos from yesterday on the nj.com website are here.

The Meadowlands Commission would like to thank the Bergen County Audubon Society, the North Jersey chapter of the North American Butterfly Association,and the Lyndhurst E.M.S. for all their help! We’d also like to thank the NJDA-Forest Pest Outreach Program for participating.

Rich Romano shared these two pix — of a dragonfly and a gullet’s eye view of a Yellow-crowned Night Heron eating a Blue-clawed Crab in a tree.

Both pix were taken in Secaucus.

(Thanks, Rich.)

We are proceeding as planned with the Fourth Annual Butterfly Day at DeKorte Park this Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.  And it’s free

The highly popular, family-friendly event includes butterfly walks and talks, a scavenger hunt and butterfly costume contest for kids, and information tables.

The Butterfly Day schedule includes frequent butterfly walks and an hourly slide show and talk on the butterflies of DeKorte Park. A native plant walk is scheduled for 11:30 a.m. There are also Day-long scavenger hunts tailored for children.  Bring your own lunch and beverage.

This year the Commission has added a Butterfly Costume contest, inspired by the many children who have attended past events dressed in butterfly regalia.

Continue reading →

We had an eventful birding by boat trip yesterday — including a balky engine, an extremely high tide, and solid looks at a vehicle-carrier fire along the Turnpike.

Had lots of great looks at cool birds as well, including quite a show by hundreds of Semipalmated Sandpipers hanging out by the River Barge Park docks at high tide.

A link to John Pastore’s photos of the adventure cruise is here. (Thanks to John for the photo above as well.)

Stay tuned: A second “birding by Boat” pontoon-boat cruise is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 27.

Denise Farrell’s list of birds seen along the way follows. (Thanks, Denise!) Continue reading →

Rob Fanning was at DeKorte Park this morning, he reports:

* Black Skimmer–2 roosting on flat w/ Corms and Gulls

* Peregrine Falcon–sitting on tower–being dive-bombed by a Kingbird!

*Forster’s Terns–7+

* Semi Sands–250+

* Marsh Wren–1 seen, several heard

*Yellow Warbler–4

* BC Night Heron  (Thanks, Rob!)

Repairs to DeKorte Park’s  World Trade Center Memorial Cove — badly damaged by Hurricane Sandy  — are now completed. The area will get new plantings next.

An earlier post about the repairs is here.