Butterfly Report: 072809
The improving butterfly season continues at DeKorte Park.
Yesterday at DeKorte's butterfly plantings we saw Monarchs, Viceroys (above), Red Admirals, Eastern Swallowtails, Black Eastern Swallowtails, Summer Azures, Wild Indigo Duskywings, Silver-Spotted Skippers, assorted other skippers, and Cabbage Whites.
Yesterday in The Record, Environmental Writer Jim O'Neill wrote about this being a tough year for butterflies in North Jersey. (Link is here.)
At DeKorte at least, things have really been picking up in the last two weeks.
Tuesday Teaser 072809
When it comes to butterfly identification, this one is always a big question mark.
More Tuesday Teasers here.
Click "Continue reading…" for answer, and a shot of this butterfly in flight.
Bird Reports: July 2009
Monday, July 27: Birder Rob Fanning reports that on a visit to DeKorte Park yesterday, it "was mostly low-tide during my stay. Decent #'s of shorebirds. Water in the "shorebird pool" too high for any shorebirds — but still had 6 species on the flats. Clay Ave only had 1 lesserlegs.
Nice looks at Forster's and Least Terns, incl. a Juv. Least. A singing Blue Grosbeak (on the landfill across the AmVets flagpole area) and a flyover Bobolink were the other main highlights.
Click Continue reading to read Rob's full list and other July reports.
Fighting Phragmites
A huge expanse of wetlands along the western spur of the NJ Turnpike was once slated for development for a mega-mall, the Meadowlands Mills project.
Instead, it was preserved as open space — the Richard P. Kane Natural Area. Now, the square mile of marsh — covered mostly by the invasive reed Phragmites — is slated for an extreme makeover.
To read the front-page story in The Record today by Staff Writer Jim O'Neill, click here.
To see The Record video by Staff Videographer Tom Franklin on the wetlands project, click here.
To hear an interview with Richard P. Kane, check out the Meadowlands Oral History Project blog. The link is here.
Harrier Meadow Walk this Sunday
Don't forget: The Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society are sponsoring a free nature walk at Harrier Meadow in North Arlington on Sunday, Aug. 2, at 1 p.m.
Because Harrier Meadow is ordinarily closed to the public, you will need to sign a standard release to visit the site. Download it here: Download HARRIER Release
We are limiting the walk to 50 people (broken into smaller groups), so please rsvp here.
By the way, if you are wondering what the attraction of Harrier Meadow is, be aware that the photo on the top of this blog was taken at Harrier early one August morning last year.
Click "Continue reading …" below for directions to Harrier Meadow.
Noted Photographer Kevin Karlson Coming to DeKorte: August 22
The Meadowlands Commission is pleased to announce that noted birding photographer and author Kevin Karlson will be at DeKorte Park for three free special events on Saturday, August 22, starting with a Shorebird Walk at 8:30 a.m.
The events are part of the Meadowlands Commission's 40th Anniversary Celebration.
We will post the details about Kevin's Meadowlands Shorebird Extravaganza on this blog next week, with examples of Kevin's amazing photography, so stay tuned.
Muskrateers of the Meadowlands
Late last month, several old-time Muskrat hunters convened at a Carlstadt restaurant to talk about the good old days of muskrat hunting — as far back as 60 years ago.
We were on hand to video-record their reminiscences, and we have posted them on our sister blog,
The Meadowlands Oral History Project. Click here for the link to the post.
If you have not checked out the blog yet, it's worth seeing (and hearing).
Several of the posts are audio files, and you can listen to long-time Meadowlands resident talk about the region, in their own words, in their own voice. Link to the blog is here. www.meadowpast.net.
Wet Walk Went Well
We are declaring yesterday's boardwalk bird walk at DeKorte Park a success, even if we did have a pouring rain and a low turnout. (A coincidence? We think not.)
Highlights included four Forster's Terns, a Black-Crowned Night Heron, Snowy Egret, Great Egret, two Kingfishers, several peeps, Black Duck, Mallard, Gadwall, and more than swallows than we could count scooping up bugs along the Transco Trail (above).
The hour-long walk went along the Marsh Discovery Trail to the Transco Trail and back along the main drive, with a stop at Teal Pond.
Wild Turkey Seen in Rutherford
Joe Barnaskas of Rutherford called to say he saw a huge Wild Turkey hen with a baby in his backyard last week.
"To see a Wild Turkey, especially one that size, down here is really something," said Joe.
The first record of Wild Turkey in the Meadowlands in recent memory was during an avian study done here a few years back.
A link to a South Bergenite story on the study, mentioning the previous rarity of Wild Turkeys, is here.