The Meadowlands Blog

Dennis Cheeseman's Latest from DeKorte Park

Dennis Cheeseman took this photo of a Baltimore Oriople this week at DeKorte. Images of male and female Redstart follow. (Thanks, Dennis!)

Whither the Waxwings?

Folks have been lamenting they haven't seen many Cedar Waxwings in a while...

Allan Sanford photographed this one at DeKorte last weekend. He also had a Chestnut-sided Warbler  -- not that he was rubbing it in...

 

Jersey City Peregrine Cam: At Least 1 Chick

Dave Rotondi reports: The Jersey City Peregrines have at least one chick!

The link to the video cam is here. (Thanks, Dave!)

Striking Photograph by Allan Sanford

Don't know about you, but we have always had absolutely no ability at photographing a lightning strike.

Not so, apparently, with Allan Sanford last weekend. (Thanks, Allan!)

Losen Slote: Warbler Capital!!

NJMC Naturalist Mike Newhouse was at Losen Slote Creek Park today and reports that it was the best songbird day he's ever had in the Meadwowlands.

Here's a sample: Ovenbird, Worm-eating Warbler, Northern Waterthrush,
Black-and-white Warbler, Common Yellowthroat (photograph at right
taken at Losen Slote earlier this month), American Redstart, Cape May Warbler, Northern Parula, Magnolia Warbler, Blackburnian Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Blackpoll Warbler, Black-throated Blue Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black-throated Green Warbler  and Canada Warbler.  (Thanks, Mike!)

Full list, with numbers, follows -- including a rare birdie from the walk earlier this month. (Not sure if Mike saw this one, but he doesn't miss much.)

Our Next Free Walk: Tuesday @Mill Creek Marsh, Secaucus

Mill Creek Marsh is one of our very favorite spots, and this time of year is especially delightful -- we just never know what to expect.

We could see anything from unusual shorebirds to ducks to egrets to Bald Eagles, as well as those centuries-old Atlantic White Cedar stumps.

Join the Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society for a free guided walk next Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.

Full details follow.

A Promising Osprey Nest

On a recent boat trip down the Hackensack River, we saw a promising Osprey nest on the Lift Bridge.

Last year an Osprey "starter nest" was in that same location.

At last count, we have four active nests -- still need to check on a fifth. A sixth nest appears to be lost in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

Robin Family: Two Views

Allan Sanford and Dennis Cheeseman both sent in American Robin family photos.

Thought we'd share both... (Thanks, Dennis and Allan!)

A Pair of Pipers

Ron Shields writes:

"A Solitary and Spotted as photographed on Disposal Road this past weekend."  (Thanks, Ron!)

Teaser Answered

Yesterday's Teaser involved rocks (for the second week in a row), but no butterflies.

We asked if anything was lurking besides rocks, and two sharp-eyed readers claimed to have found two Killdeer eggs in the photo.

Darned if they weren't right. Congrats to Dave Rotondi and Ian Garrison.

Close-up follows.

Ridgefield Mother's Day Walk: The Full List

We had a total of 45 species on our fifth annual Mother's Day Walk in Ridgefield last Sunday, at a variety of places -- Ridgefield Nature Center, Ridgefield Community Garden, the Monk Parakeet Colony, Skeetkill Creek Marsh and the Bald Eagle nest observation site.

(Great time, great group, great birds.)

Highlights included great looks at plenty of warblers, including the Yellow Warbler pictured here. Full list follows...

Tuesday Teaser 051413: More Rocks!

Anything lurking? (Nope, no butterflies this week.)

Answer tomorrow.

Meadowlands Red Phalarope Photo

Ray Duffy took a photo (above) and some videos of the Red Phalarope seen in the Meadowlands during the World Series of Birding.

Here are the video links:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rayduffy/8733472789/in/photostream

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rayduffy/8734593330/in/photostream/

It is listed as "rare" on the Birds of the Meadowlands checklist. Did not see it on a lunch-hour visit to Harrier Meadow today...

More on Red Phalaropes here.

Thanks, Ray!

 

Goose Exclosures @ Anderson Creek Marsh

NJMC Naturalists Gabrielle Bennett-Meany, Mike Newhouse and Brett Bragin install one of the new Canada Goose exclosures at Anderson Creek Marsh. It's part of a pilot program to see if the exclosures help keep marsh grasses away from hungry geese.

A Terrific Mother's Day Walk in Ridgefield

Our fifth annual Mother's Day walk in Ridgefield was a big hit -- more than 40 bird species (including lots of warblers and an appearance by Alice the Bald Eagle  -- we could see her antenna in some of the photos).

A big thanks to Karen and Bruce Riede from the Ridgefield Environmental Commission for hosting the walk.

The walk was sponsored by the environmental commission, Bergen County Audubon Society and the Meadowlands Commission.

We'll post more pix and the full species list later this week.

 

The Marsh Hawks Win! The Marsh Hawks Win!

For the second year in a row, the Meadowlands Marsh Hawks have won their division in The World Series of Birding.

The team racked up a record-setting 145 species -- or 84 percent of the possible birds -- in less than 24 hours. 

The team's previous best was 139 species, set last year.

Congratulations to the Marsh Hawks -- NJMC Naturalist Mike Newhouse and his teammates, Chris Takacs and Mike Wolfe -- and congratulations to all the other teams that participated and raised money for worthy causes.

Full results of the 2013 WSB are here.  We'll post the winning tally sheet later this week.

 

Marsh Hawks @ Work!

Saw the Marsh Hawks stepping up to the plate at the World Series of Birding this a.m. -- just long enough to take this photo.

They could not spare another second in their quest to see/hear as many species as they could in Bergen County today.

Some good news: They already have seen a Black-capped Chickadee, their nemesis bird from 2012.

We will post their entire list, including the chickadee, next week.

Go, Marsh Hawks!

DeKorte Park Is Closed Today (Sat., May 11)

Because of Hurricane Sandy-related electrical repairs, DeKorte Park is closed until approximately 4 p.m. today -- even to World Series of Birding participants. The park will reopen in time for the Saturday night concert at the Meadowlands Environment Center. If you need to contact Jim Wright, who maintains this blog,  use his home account -- wrightjamesb (at) gmail.com. 

Valley Brook Ave. also will be closed near DeKorte Park until roughly 4 p.m. as part of the landfill-closure work. Thank you for your patience.

Go, Marsh Hawks! Today Is the World Series!

Today, the prize-winning Meadowlands Marsh Hawks defend their World Series of Birding title against some strong competition.  Best of luck to our terrific team!