Tomorrow: Tuesday’s Bird Walk

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   Yes, we had a walk in the rain, and yes, we actually had two brave souls join us for the first monthly third-Tuesday bird walk with Bergen County Audubon Society and the Meadowlands Commission.
   We will post pix and a bird list tomorrow, after we have dried out.
   At upper right are Forster's Terns hanging out in the rain along the Transco Trail. (Juvenile is in the foregound.)

The Butterfly Walk Report

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  Sunday's Butterfly Walk at DeKorte Park, sponsored by the Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society, was by all accounts a great DSCN5058_2 success.

   We had beautiful weather and a great turnout — roughly 75 people and 15 species of butterflies, including the Viceroy pictured at left.  (Photo courtesy of Deedee Burnside.)

   As one experienced butterfly aficionado reported:  "It was the most butterflies I've seen in one spot yet this year."

   Click "Continue reading…" for a photo of a Broadwing Skipper and a full list.

Continue reading →

Remembering Jill Ann

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     As we get ready for our butterfly walk on Sunday, we'd like to take a moment to honor Jill Ann Ziemkiewicz, in whose memory the butterfly garden outside the Environment Center in DeKorte is named.
  IMG_1377-1   Jill Ann Ziemkiewicz of Rutherford died on July 17, 1996. She was 23, and the youngest flight attendant on TWA Flight800, which crashed into the ocean off Long Island.

   The garden is designed around a sunflower-shaped fountain, is filled with colorful flowers that attract butterflies from late spring into autumn.

   The New York Times article on her memorial service at St. Patrick's Cathedral is here.

Reminder: Butterfly Walk on Sunday at 1 p.m.

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     We are expecting a solid turnout for Sunday's Butterfly Walk at DeKorte Park at 1 p.m., so please register ahead of time (by day's end Friday).

    Click here for details and how to register.

    The butterfly above, by the way, is a Delaware Skipper, photographed at the AMVETS Carillon in DeKorte Park.

Happy first anniversary to us!

IMG_2976    Hard to believe, but today is the Meadowlands Nature Blog's first anniversary, and it's our opportunity to thank you for your interest in all the neat birds and bugs and critters and plants that make their home here.
   Thanks to you, in the past 12 months, this blog has had  more than 63,000 hits. We are  averaging 175 hits a day. (When the blog started, we had 140 hits total over the first five days.)
   We were going to compile a whole bunch of links to earlier posts over the past year that would bring your attention to some of greatest hits, but we thought we'd keep it simple.
   Just click here to see previous posts on Snowy Owls, Black-necked Stilts, Tri-colored Herons, butterflies, dragonflies, flora and other wonders. That's what you've been missing if you haven't been to the Meadowlands  or haven't followed the Meadowlands Blog.

    For nostalgia's sake, here's the first post we did when the blog was officially launched. 

Osprey Nest #042-A-002 in Kearny

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   We have been in contact with the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey regarding the successful Osprey nest in Kearny not far from Laurel Hill County Park, and the nest is now official — with its own number and everything.
   Next thing you know, the Osprey family (two adults, two kids) will be paying taxes. :- )

   Click here for a link to the New Jersey Osprey Project's blog and its  banding of two young Osprey in Jersey City.

Butterfly Report 071309

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   Monday morning at the butterfly gardens at DeKorte Park and the AMVETS Carillon, we had seven species of butterflies.

   The butterflies included Eastern Swallowtail, Eastern Black Swallowtail, Monarch, Sulphur, Cabbage White, a Broadwing Skipper (left) and a guy that will be tomorrow's Tuesday Teaser.

 Click here for more posts on Butterflies and Moths.