The Meadowlands Blog

Small-Mouth Bass in the Kearny Marsh

   When we were kayaking in the Kearny marsh last week, we saw many great examples of nature on the rebound.

   Now that the Meadowlands Commission has spent tens of millions of dollars to overhaul the old Keegan Landfill, leachate no longer seeps into the marsh, and catch-and-release fishing is thriving.

  The fish are not safe to eat yet, but they are another indication that the marsh --and the Meadowlands are  coming back strong.

  We watched as the gentleman who caught this fish gently released it back into the marsh.

   We also saw another angler broke his reel when he tried to catch one of these big boys -- the old "one that got away."

Tuesday Teaser 092209

    We got this guy out of the Hackensack River recently.  Who is he?

   Click here for more Tuesday Teasers.

   What do you think of this sort of Teaser? (Trying to take a break from the bird posts.) E-mail us here.

   Click "Continue reading for the answer and more info.

More Cormorant Antics

      This summer has been a bumper season for bizarre Double-crested Cormorant shots -- from one being rescued after getting its neck wedged in an old  tide gate to one getting into a wrestling match with an eel.    

   This time around, we thought we'd show a sequence of what D.C. Cormorants do best -- eat fish.

     The sequence was photographed last week at DeKorte Park out by the Saw Mill Creek Trail.    

   Click "Continue reading..." to see the sequence.

Cormorant vs. Eel

   Every once in a while you run across a strange encounter -- like this battle between a Double-crested Cormorant and an eel at  Mill Creek Point on the hackensack River last week.
  At first, it looked like the cormorant had things under control. Then the eel wrapped itself around the cormorant's neck.
   Click "Continue reading..."  below the picture to see the entire sequence.

RARE FLYING FISH

   We are thinking that this flying fish must have been taking a swim when it was snagged by an enterprising Osprey.

   The pair were photographed over the Saw Mill Creek Trail in North Arlington. BTW, an NJMC naturalist said the fish in question is likely a weakfish.  (And getting weaker by the minute.)

   Click here for a couple more shots of the Osprey and his finny find.

RIVER: Mud dwellers on the rebound

   

   The Hackensack River is slowly getting better in ways that most people never think of.

   It's not just more fish and more species of fish -- or more birds, and more species of birds. It's what's happening in the mud on the river's bottom.

   Today, the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission's scientific arm is announcing some encouraging news about the health of those little mud dwellers.

    Research by the Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute shows that the snails, worms and other tiny organisms that live on the bottom of the river  are making significant gains in both numbers and biodiversity.

   (In the photo at left, researchers are gathering mud samples from the river bottom with a giant scoop. The creature pictured here, meanwhile is a Nereis succinea -- or clam worm.)

  Click "Continue reading..." to read more.