The legendary Meadowlands Marsh Hawks are competing in the World Series of Birding this Saturday, in part to raise money for a new native plant garden for birds and butterflies by the AmVets Carillon on Disposal Road.

We already have a design for this wonderful new place — with plants including Bayberry, Buttonbush, Spicebush, Red Twig Dogwood, Inkberry "Shamrock," Nannyberry and Cornus Seneca.

Your donation to the Marsh Hawks will help this dream garden come true.

For more information on supporting the Marsh Hawks, download the Pledge Sheet here: Download Pledge sheet

Or e-mail Team Captain Mike Newhouse at michael.newhouse (at) njmeadowlands.gov.

If you contribute $25 or more, you will have a chance to win a spiffy official Meadowlands Marsh Hawks cap and T shirt.

Make checks payable to the N.J. Meadowlands Commission and send them to Mike Newhouse, NJMC, One DeKorte Park Plaza, Lyndhurst 07071.

Thank you!

A while back we posted a Teaser that turned out to Cedar Apple Rust. Here's what this stuff is looking like nowadays.

Link to what it used to look like, and more about the stuff, is here. (Thanks to Ray Duffy and Mickey Raine.)

Help the legendary Meadowlands Marsh Hawks! 

They are preparing for their second World Series of Birding this Saturday. They will be competing in the county-wide category, trying to see as many species of birds in Bergen County in 24 hours as they can  — and raise money for a new native butterfly/bird garden planned for the Carillon area on Disposal Road.

Last year, the Marsh Hawks raised hundreds of dollars for bird research in the Meadowlands.

For more information on supporting the Marsh Hawks, download the Pledge Sheet here: Download Pledge sheet

Or e-mail Team Captain Mike Newhouse at michael.newhouse (at) njmeadowlands.gov.

If you contribute $25 or more, you will have a chance to win a spiffy official Meadowlands Marsh Hawks cap and T shirt.

Make checks payable to the N.J. Meadowlands Commission.

We had a nice Meadowlands Environment Center guided walk Sunday afternoon that featured 32 species of birds, including two great birds that begin with "bal" — Baltimore Oriole and Bald Eagle.

Also saw butterflies galore — Red Admirals, American Ladies and Question Marks by the dozens.

Full list of birds follows.

Continue reading →

Ron Shields asks: 

"What has one beak, two eyes, ten legs and squawks like heck?"

Will post the answer this afternoon.

Our next two walks are certified crowd-pleasers. 

* Our fourth annual Mother's Day walk in Ridgefield features a nature tour of the 5.4-acre Ridgefield Nature Center, the nearby community gardens, a stop to see the Monk Parakeets (above), and a visit to the Skeetkill Creek Marsh.

* On Tuesday, may 15, we visit the Mill Creek Marsh in Secaucus, then drive to Laurel Hill County Park for lunch and a look for the ravens.

Details of both walks follow.

Continue reading →

We have had lots of warblers (and butterflies) moving through the past few days. Dennis Cheeseman got this female Yellow-rumped Warbler at DeKorte. (Thanks, Dennis!)

The New York Times recently published an article about an Osprey at Jamaica Bay NWR that was equipped with a GPS.

Says The Times:

The transmitter conveys a bird’s exact location, altitude, speed and direction at any moment.

The wildlife refuge at Jamaica Bay in Queens is part of Gateway National Recreation Area, one of the few urban National Park Service properties in the country, and the banding operation was spearheaded by the National Parks of New York Harbor Conservancy, a nonprofit group.

The conservancy, which paid for the transmitter, plans to start a new Web site, Jamaicabayosprey.org, in June to follow the bird’s progress.

Rest of story and link follow.

Continue reading →