Tag Archives: meadowblog.net

MARSH RESEARCH: Innovations

    

   One of the Meadowlands Commission’s missions is to revitalize and diversify the region’s wetlands.

   To replace the invasive species phragmites, a tall inhospitable reed that tends to dominate a marsh, NJMC has been planting all sorts of native marsh grasses in marshes throughout the 14-town district.

   To measure the success of those efforts, the NJMC’s Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute has been using some innovative methods, including the use of helium-balloon photography (see video above).

   On Thursday, MERI is holding a workshop for wetlands professionals on the use of such remote techniques to monitor marsh vegetation.

    More about the workshop here.


HARBOR HERONS: The latest findings

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  The Meadowlands Commission hosted a press conference on the Harbor Herons Project today, featuring speakers from New York City Audubon and the New Jersey Audubon Society talking about the preliminary findings from this summer’s research.

  Click "Continue reading"  to learn more.

  Click here for all Harbor Herons posts.

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ARTISTS & PHOTOGRAPHERS WANTED

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   Are you an accomplished artist or photographer from the Meadowlands District?

  Then the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission wants to give you an opportunity to show your work at the NJMC’s Flyway Gallery in 2009.

   Click "Continue reading …" immediately below for more information on how you can qulaify.

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EGRET FEST

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    More than 100 egrets couldn’t wait for tomorrow’s Meadowlands Festival of Birding.
   They were milling around the tidal impoundment beyond Commission HQ this afternoon. They even flew up to the elevated boardwalk by the Environment Center rotunda and hung out.
   Mudflats were packed with peeps, yellowlegs and other shorebirds.
   We told them to make sure to come back tomorrow.
   Click "Continue reading" for a passel of great egret pix taken today.

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MEADOWLANDS FESTIVAL OF BIRDING

Img_5943_2     Just a reminder that the big Bird Fest convenes at DeKorte Park tomorrow.

   The Meadowlands Commission’s Michael Newhouse will be doing a bird-banding demonstration from 7 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. at Harrier Meadow.

    There will be guided  bird walks of Harrier Meadow — usually closed to the public — at 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Saturday as well.

   Click here for more about Harrier Meadow, including a video.

    For the early a.m. bird-banding, you’ll need to go to the Harrier Meadow site on your own. NJMC staffer Jim Wright will park his silver Honda hatchback on Disposal Road near the Harrier Meadow Entrance.

   (At the entrance to DeKorte Park at the end of Valley Brook Drive, bear right just after the train tracks and onto Disposal Road and follow it past the Amvets Carillon. Harrier Meadow entrance is on the left, just past the stop sign by the PSEG electric gizmos.)

    The guided bird walks meet at DeKorte and go by bus.

       If you can’t attend the bird fest but would like to go on a guided birdwalk in Harrier, e-mail Jim Wright (link above).

ENVIRONMENT CENTER: Fall programming

The Meadowlands Environment Center offers some top-notch family programming, and the new fall lineup posted this week is no exception.
   These include programs about honeybees (Sept. 20, ages 5-10), the moon (Oct. 11, ages 10-16), and  environmental shopping (Nov. 1, ages 10 through adult).
   An annual big draw is Halloween in the Meadowlands (Oct. 30, ages 5-10).
   For a pdf of the schedule, click here. (Note: It may take a little time to load.)
   To register, click here.

HARRIER MEADOW: The Video

   Harrier Meadow in North Arlington is a 70-acre wetlands mitigation site restored by the NJ Meadowlands Commission.
    Once a year, for the Meadowlands Festival of Birding (Sept. 13 and 14), the site is open to the public.
    Here’s a sneak preview, with an interview with NJMC naturalist Michael Newhouse.
    Click here for a previous post on Harrier Meadow, with information on plans for guided tours that you can sign up for.

KEARNY MARSH

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    A quick visit to the Kearny Marsh last week in hopes of seeing a harbor heron (great egret with a gray band on its right leg and small transmitter on its left) brought none of those special birds.
    But we did see several other great egrets, a bazillion dragonflies, some jewelweed, pennywort and foxtails.
   We also saw a least bittern (below) zip past — always a nice bird to spot. Read more about the least bittern here.

   Click "Continue reading…" below the photo for more photos.

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