Here’s a sneak preview of the new William D. McDowell Observatory in DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst.
The 2-minute video features an interview with Observatory Director John Sloan.
Free viewing sessions for the public begin next Monday night at 8.
Tag Archives: Meadowlands Commission
OBSERVATORY OPENING ON MONDAY
Starting next Monday (Sept.8), the William D. McDowell Observatory in DeKorte Park, Lyndhurst,
The viewings are free.
The observatory will be open for two hours each night, with 8 and 9 p.m. viewing sessions.
Click “Continue reading…” below for more info.
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.
TUESDAY TEASER 090208
Welcome to Tuesday Teaser, a new weekly feature of Meadowblog.net. As part of a continuing study, Meadowlands Commission naturalists take close-ups of dozens of birds.
We thought we’d challenge your birding skills by trying to identify these birds by their head shots.
We’ll post a different photo each Tuesday, and you can click "Continue reading …" immediately below for the answer and a link for more information on the species.
Which brings us to two questions. Who is this guy? And what do you think of the Tuesday Teaser?
(A thank you to NJMC naturalist Michael Newhouse for the idea.)
SECAUCUS: Schmidt’s Woods
A lot of warblers are heading south again, and Schmidt’s Woods in Secaucus is a good 
place to see them.
Last week, just beyond the park’s parking lot, we saw a black-and-white warbler (below) and a redstart high in a tree (right).
The park is on the small side, but the woods provide a great rest stop for the warblers.
The trails are nice and wide, with an exercise circuit along the way.
In years past, yellow-crowned night herons, a threatened species, have nested there.
All in all, a nice oasis for birds and humans alike.
SALTMARSH BULRUSH
The Meadowlands Commission is adding another weapon in its battle to increase 
biodiversity in the 30.4-square-mile district.
This week, Commission naturalists reintroduced saltmarsh bulrush, a valuable wetlands plant, at several sites in the Meadowlands.
The sites included the the Mill Creek Marsh in Secaucus and Harrier Meadow in North Arlington, with more sites planned down the road.
Click "Continue reading …" for more information and photos.
Measuring sea-level rise
The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission is participating in a federal program to measure sea levels as part of the commission’s efforts to assess the vitality of its marshes and to prepare for flooding that could result from global warming.
Measurements using a nifty gizmo 
called a sediment elevation table (pictured to right) are being taken by NJMC’s scientific arm, the Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute (MERI).
The Meadowlands Commission’s sea-level monitoring is one of the first of its kind in New Jersey.
Click "Continue reading" to learn more about sea-level rise and why it is significant to the region’s marshes.
NORTH ARLINGTON: Harrier Meadow
Harrier Meadow is a 70-acre Meadowlands Commission marsh restoration site in North Arlington. (The link includes a nice aerial shot of the site.)
Harrier Meadow includes high marsh, meadows, tidal impoundment areas and mudflats.
On a check of the site not too long ago, we saw many dragonflies, peeps by the thousands, a gadwall with ducklings, plus egrets and herons, pheasants and a northern flicker.
Yesterday, we saw peeps galore, dozens of great egrets and snowy egrets, great blue herons, laughing gulls and more.
Because of its location (you have to go through a landfill) and associated liability issues, the meadow is usually closed to the public.
HUMMINGBIRD MOTH
We saw this hummingbird moth outside the Meadowlands Environment Center in DeKorte Park this afternoon around 1:30 p.m.
By the time we got our video camera, it was gone. For now.
Click "Continue reading for a few more photos.
Blog in the News
We’d like to thank The Star-Ledger on-line (NJ.com) for making the Meadowlands Blog its blog of the day on Friday.
Read what The Star-Ledger’s Kelly Heyboer had to say here.