The Record's Mike Kelly interviewed Mike Maddaloni — who organized tonight's informal gathering at DeKorte Park to view the Twin Beams of Light — for the columnist's front-page column on Lower Manhattan's new skyline.
The link is here.
A link to Mike Maddaloni's photo from the column, of 1 One World Trade Center from DeKorte Park, here. Another of Mike Maddaloni's photos of the new skyline is featured above.
Tonight around 8 p.m., a few folks are planning an informal, unofficial gathering in the Visitors Parking Lot at DeKorte to look at the Twin Beams of Light in Lower Manhattan.
Mike Maddaloni writes:
"Thursday night I stayed a bit after dark, chatting with a few other photogs, and lo and behold I saw a sliver of light in the sky.
"We waited until it got darker, and sure enough they were testing the beams; they seemed a bit duller than usual so I'm holding out till Tuesday for a proper shoot. But I was able to test it, and with the still water from the parking area, its a GREAT spot, reflection in the water, the turnpike really doesn't do much damage to the shot.
"I'm looking forward to gathering with whoever wants for as long as we're permitted Tuesday night." (Thanks, Mike!)
Only two days until the free 
screening of the acclaimed new documentary film, "The Lost Bird Project,"about the stories of five birds driven to extinction in modern times and sculptor Todd McGrain’s project to memorialize them.
The event is on Thursday, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Meadowlands Environment Center in DeKorte Park, Lyndhurst, New Jersey.
The Meadowlands Commission, Bergen County Audubon Society, Ramapo College and the New Jersey chapter of The Nature Conservancy are proud to sponsor this special screening, along with a question-and-answer session afterward.
More information follows.
Regina Geoghan photographed this moth at the Butterfly Garden — about the size of a Silver-spotted Skipper and fast-moving.
What is it?
DeKorte Park is home to the World Trade Center Memorial Cove, next to the NJMC Administration Building and facing a Manhattan
skyline that once prominently featured the Twin Towers.
(Photo at right is from the NJMC archives.)
The memorial features two wooden piers suggesting the fallen towers. Each pier is composed of 110 boards, each symbolizing a floor of the buildings.
Nearby, a steel silhouette of the pre-9/11 skyline recalls the view before the attacks.
A plaque with the following quote accompanies the memorial:
"In the night of death, hope sees a star, and listening love can hear the rustle of a wing." — Robert Ingersoll.
Below, a time-lapse photo of the Memorial Cove at night from 2009.
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Ron Shields photographed this Virginia Rail yesterday at DeKorte:
"Photographed around noon off the Marsh Discovery Trail. The rail has been seen with and without the Sora(s)." (Thank, Ron!)
Roy Woodford writes:
"I found this little guy was hanging around on the side of the Marsh Discovery Trail last week about 150 feet past the first floating platform.
"Once he got used to the sound of a Nikon's shutter, he decided he didn't mind me too much. I actually had to back up several times while he was feeding … he kept walking inside my minimum focus distance of 18 feet (that rarely happens … lucky day for me)." (Thanks, Roy!)
Ron Shields writes:
"Caught this guy one morning earlier this month, crossing Disposal Road and acting as if he owned the place." (Thanks, Ron!)
Not necessarily good news. :- ) — also saw one crossing Valley Brook Avenue just outside DeKorte today, taking its own sweet time.
Chris Takacs writes:
"Sunday morning at DeKorte, I saw 2 Soras, 1 Virginia Rail and only 70 or so Great Egrets. I had the Virginia Rail and 1 of the Soras feeding together, It was rail-ly cool! Photo was tough with low light but they're both there.
I also had a Connecticut Warbler by the entrance to the marsh Discovery Trail." (Thanks, Chris!)
We will post other Virginia Rail and Sora shots from the past few days as time allows.