The Meadowlands Blog

Tuesday Teaser 013112: DeKorte Ducky Daily Double

 
Dennis Cheeseman offered this DeKorte Ducky Daily Double. Both pix taken earlier this month. Can you ID them?

Answers tomorrow.

 

 

Meadowlands Mystery Gull

We came across the above gull at the Keegan Landfill last week, and took it to be an Iceland Gull.

We believe the bird was seen again on Saturday, since a birding group pointed out what they ID'd as an Iceland Gull to Doug Morel, who took the photo below.

Chris Takacs posted the landfill photo on his blog, which elicited an interesting comment from a knowledgeable birder, who suspects the bird is actually a leucistic Herring Gull. (More on leucistic birds here.)

What do you think? Post a comment or e-mail Jim Wright -- jimwright (at) njmeadowlands.gov.

Another pic follows on the jump.

Flyway Gallery: February (Tom Yezerski)

 The striking, original illustrations for Thomas F. Yezerski’s acclaimed children’s book, “ Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story,” will be on display for the first time ever at the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission’s (NJMC) Flyway Gallery in the Meadowlands Environment Center (MEC)  today through Friday, March 30.

To celebrate the gallery showing of these full-color illustrations, Yezerski is presenting a free talk and slide show on “Meadowlands,” followed by a book signing in the MEC on Sunday, Feb. 5, from noon to 1:30 p.m. The talk is sponsored by the NJMC and the Bergen County Audubon Society.

Duck Season at DeKorte

 
Jana Brusich writes:

"I hadn't been to DeKorte since September, so I stopped by [last week].  So many wintering ducks ... My camera was so happy!

"I came across the Common Merganser (below), Shoveler, Gadwall, a large group of Canvasback resting in the Sun (above) and a single Bufflehead  diving in the Teal Pool.  What a good day!"

TOMORROW: Tuesday's Teaser is a Ducky DeKorte Daily Double.

Great Birds @ DeKorte Today! Bittern plus!

 
"Nice day & nice birds at DeKorte Park today: Iceland Gull (below), Am. Bittern (above), male Ring-necked Pheasant, Marsh Wren.

 "Saw Iceland in flight, was pointed out to me by a group that was there as I came up to them. It then landed in water, right near the main building. I hustled over from Transco trail and got photo just as it took off.

"Bittern was at edge of Phrags opposite the parking lot near entrance to park, was scanning for Yellowlegs & Surprise!

"Pheasant was also right place right time, was driving out & the bird was right at the entrance to the park. Just mosied into the thick forsythia there. Waited for a bit to see if it would come out for photo but didn't, so I moved on.

"These were all 1st of 2012 for me.

"Plenty of others around as well including 12 species of ducks, Gr.Yellowlegs, Harrier & RC Kinglet."

(Thanks, Doug!)  

There may be a controversy brewing on the gull. More on Monday!

Lesser Scaup at DeKorte

Lesser Scaup is currently chilling in the middle of a raft of 100+ Canvasbacks at DeKorte in the Saw Mill Creek tidal impoundment...

(Thank you to Ray Duffy for pointing her out!)

Our Latest 'Wild N.J.' Post: Great Black-backed Squirrel

Our latest weekly "Focus on the Meadowlands" post for the wildnewjersey.tv blog features pix of:

* A Great Black-backed Squirrel in Rutherford.

* A Great Black-backed Gull in Lyndhurst.

* The NJMC's fall 2012 bird-banding results from the closed Erie Landfill.

The link is here.

DeKorte: Smallest, Largest

Dennis Cheeseman pulled off a rare feat this week -- nice photographs of both a Ruby-crowned Kinglet and a Great Blue Heron at DeKorte Park on the same day.

The Ruby-crown is probably the smallest bird in the park (it weighs less than a quarter ounce), and the GBH, well, they don't call it "great" for nothin'. It weighs more than 336 times as much. Sorry about the bad math when I first posted (Thanks, Rick!)    :- ) 

You can see kinglets and photograph Great Blues on many days, but getting pics of both -- especially the hyper-active kinglet -- is a challenge. (Thanks, Dennis!)

 

 

New South Bergenite Column: Interview with Tom Yezerski

Jim Wright, who keeps this blog, also writes a twice-monthly nature column for The South Bergenite. Here's his latest, an interview with "Meadowlands" author Thoms F. Yezerski.

The last time we checked in with children’s author/illustrator Tom Yezerski, his marvelous book “Meadowlands, A Wetlands Survival Story” had just been published. Since then, the former Rutherford resident’s book has been named a notable book of 2011 by both The New York Times and the New York Public Library.

The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission is pleased to host Tom’s first gallery show of the paintings from the book, including a talk and signing by Tom, followed by a reception, on Sunday, Feb. 5, in the Flyway Gallery in DeKorte Park.

We caught up with Tom again recently to talk about subjects ranging from having his first show in the Meadowlands to his advice for aspiring illustrators.

How is the book doing?  Very well. The book has gotten great reviews from as far away as Los Angles, which gave it national attention.  All the kids I have shown it to seem to love the animals and the comeback story.

Eurasian Teal Back at Mill Creek

Chris Takacs reports:

"I took a lunchtime trip to Mill Creek Marsh in Secaucus on Tuesday. Most of the ice was gone and ducks have come back to the impoundments.  It doesn't have great duck diversity but we had very nice looks at many  Green-winged Teal and the Eurasian Green-winged Teal. It was seen in the  back impoundment. A photo can be seen here."

http://americanchris2012birdaday.blogspot.com/

(Thanks, Chris!)

Teaser Answered

A big thank you to Deedee Burnside for identifying the above Tuesday Teaser as Reindeer Lichen.

More on Reindeer Lichen here.

Our Next Walk: SuperBird Sunday [Feb. 5]!

Want to get outside and get some exercise before the big game? Don't miss the third-annual SuperBird Sunday guided walk, a free event that takes place at DeKorte Park at 10 a.m. on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 5, at 10 a.m.

The two-hour walk, sponsored by the N.J. Meadowlands Commission and Bergen County Audubon Society, includes valuable prizes for the first person to see a bird that an NFL team is named for -- Raven, Cardinal, Eagle, Falcon or Seahawk. (Not to worry: legendary birder Bob O'Link, pictured above, will not be on this walk.)

Following the walk will be a free talk and artist's reception for Thomas F. Yezerski, the author/illustrator of the acclaimed children's book "Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story." A link to that post is here.

Full details on both events follow.

Tuesday Teaser 012412

Bruce Riede took this shot of mushrooms in the Ridgefield Nature Center in November.

Can you ID them? (Thanks, Bruce!)

Goldeneye at DeKorte Park

Saw a female Common Goldeneye in Teal Pool at 11:45 a.m. today on our lunchbreak. We know the pic above stinks, but the lighting was poor and the duck was distant.

Around noon she flew and landed fairly close in the nearby Saw Mill Creek Tidal Impoundment. This is just for ID purposes.

Did not see Friday's Pied-billed Grebe, but found Common Mergs, Hooded Mergs, Bufflehead, Shoveler and lots of Canvasbacks on quick inspection. A spotting scope and patience would have likely yielded more species.

 

Mystery Pods Demystified

Deedee Burnside correctly ID'd the mystery pods photographed by Mickey and Elaine Raine near DeKorte Park, posted last week.

They are wild cucumbers.

About three years ago (how time flies), we posted a different ("greener") shot of them, in Harrier Meadow.

That link is here. (Thanks, all!)

Our 2012 Events and Guided Walks Schedule!

For the past three years, the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission and the Bergen County Audubon Society have joined forces to offer a wide range of nature programs to the public, including twice-monthly guided nature walks – plus two inexpensive birding-by-boat trips.

 We are pleased to announce our tentative schedule of more than three dozen events for 2012, with an eye to adding another exciting event or two to the schedule if possible.

Be sure to set aside some very important dates now -- such as Butterfly Day, Kevin Karlson Shorebird Day, Birding for Beginners classes, a special April Fool's Day (you'll be perfect for this!), and other must-see events. Not too mention our first-Sunday and third-Tuesday walks.

Click below for full schedule, or download it here:

Download 2012 Schedule for NJMC-BCAS

Bird Report 012212

Mike Britt reports:

"Hit Mill Creek Point early this morning...no Roughlegs...three adult female Northern Harriers.

"The DeKorte area had a Wilson's Snipe (observed flying off Valley Brook Ave.), 3 Northern Harriers...two adult females working the 1-E landfill and an immature that came from the Kingsland and headed over Erie.

"An adult Bald Eagle looked picturesque perched in a tree on the snowy 1-E landfill. Sixty to seventy percent of the water here was frozen."

(Thanks, Mike!)