The Meadowlands Blog

Three Active Osprey Nests!

On Friday and Monday, we surveyed the three known Osprey nests in the Meadowlands.

All three, we are happy to report, are active.

At the nest in Carlstadt, we saw the female on the nest and the male nearby.

 At the nest in Kearny, opposite laurel Hill, we saw two adults on the nest (above).

At the Jersey City nest, by the PSE&G generating plant, we saw one adult on the nest with two babies.

The Jersey City nest, the oldest of the three, played a key role in Tom Yezerski's new children's book, "Meadowlands."

Jersey City Peregrine Cam

 
The Jersey City Peregrine Falcon Webcam is  up and running -- that's a still image from the cam taken today..
    Here's a report from earlier today from the Web site's "Nest Box News":
   "Exciting times at the Jersey City nest box! The peregrines are in the midst of laying eggs. The second egg was observed on Saturday morning, and a third is due today. Viewers will notice that one adult is always close by, either covering the eggs and providing some warmth, or perched nearby.
   "Full incubation will not commence until the clutch of eggs is complete, that way the eggs will hatch very close together – on the same day or within two days – minimizing the size difference among nestlings. The eggs can withstand some chilling, just not freezing temperatures. On these chilly, rainy days, the adults will want to keep them covered and safe from the weather."
    Link to the Webcam Web Site is here. (Webcam was acting a little wacky last we looked.)

 

Jersey City Peregrine Cam update

   Birder/photographer Dave Rotondi reports:  

   "The falcon eggs at 101 Hudson in Jersey City have hatched, and you can see the male and female caring for and feeding the young falcons.  It's fascinating to watch."
  ... But you have to check back a few times if things are slow.
   The link is here.

Record article on Ravens and a new Osprey nest

                                                                           NJMC photo by Angelo Urato
    As Environmental Jim O'Neill of The Record writes in today's editions, there appears to be a very good chance of a successful Osprey nest in Kearny this spring -- the first in recent memory, and only the second along the lower Hackensack in decades. The other is in Jersey City near the PSE&G plant.

     The Record's story, which also goes into fascinating detail about the Common Ravens of Laurel Hill in Secaucus, is here.  It's an excellent read.

Peregrine Web Cam in Jersey City

    The Peregrine Falcons under the Route 3 Bridge aren't the only game in town. Jersey City has nesting Peregrine Falcons -- and a live Webcam to boot.

   (Note: To see the streaming video, a Windows Explorer browser seems to work best.)

   The link is here.

BLACK HISTORY WEDNESDAY: Underground Railroad

  The Meadowlands Commission is honoring Black History Month with a weekly post on this blog. Today the focus is on the Underground Railroad in Jersey City. 

      Runaway slaves from the South took were several routes through New Jersey before and during the Civil War, but those escape routes all had one thing in common: They converged at Jersey City.

  By one estimate, as many as 70,000 runaway slaves escaped through Jersey City.

    If you click on the map on the right (from the state of New Jersey's Web site), you can see the major New Jersey stops on the Underground Railroad.

   More on Jersey City's role in the Underground Railroad here.

    More about New Jersey's role here.

   For a glimpse of slavery in late 18th Century Bergen County, click here.

   And in honor of Abraham Lincoln's birthday tomorrow, here is a link to information on the Emancipation Proclamation.