The Meadowlands Blog

Anderson Creek Marsh, Secaucus

   We visited Anderson Creek Marsh recently and found some exceptional birding.

   We saw hundreds of peeps, a few Caspian Terns, several Yellow-crowned night herons, plus Snowy and Great Egrets and yellowlegs.

  We also saw a Northern Harrier have a run-in with several terns -- all in all, a good day to be on the marsh.

   The marsh is located on the Hackensack River just south of Harmon Cove in Secaucus.

   For more information on Anderson Creek Marsh, click here.

  For more photos, click "Continue reading..."

Fighting Phragmites

 

  A huge expanse of wetlands along the western spur of the NJ Turnpike was once slated for development for a mega-mall, the Meadowlands Mills project.   
    Instead, it was preserved as open space -- the Richard P. Kane Natural Area. Now, the square mile of marsh -- covered mostly by  the invasive reed Phragmites -- is slated for an extreme makeover.

   To read the front-page story in The Record today by Staff Writer Jim O'Neill, click here.

   To see The Record video by Staff Videographer Tom Franklin on the wetlands project, click here.

    To hear an interview with Richard P. Kane, check out the Meadowlands Oral History Project blog. The link is here.

MARSH RESEARCH: Innovations

    

   One of the Meadowlands Commission's missions is to revitalize and diversify the region's wetlands.

   To replace the invasive species phragmites, a tall inhospitable reed that tends to dominate a marsh, NJMC has been planting all sorts of native marsh grasses in marshes throughout the 14-town district.

   To measure the success of those efforts, the NJMC's Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute has been using some innovative methods, including the use of helium-balloon photography (see video above).

   On Thursday, MERI is holding a workshop for wetlands professionals on the use of such remote techniques to monitor marsh vegetation.

    More about the workshop here.

KEARNY MARSH

    A quick visit to the Kearny Marsh last week in hopes of seeing a harbor heron (great egret with a gray band on its right leg and small transmitter on its left) brought none of those special birds.
    But we did see several other great egrets, a bazillion dragonflies, some jewelweed, pennywort and foxtails.
   We also saw a least bittern (below) zip past -- always a nice bird to spot. Read more about the least bittern here.

   Click "Continue reading..." below the photo for more photos.

MARSH MADNESS: Fiddler crabs

  If you're in a boat by the Hackensack River's marshes at low tide, keep your eye out along the banks for a tiny critter called a fiddler crab.
   One claw is oversized, to the point it almost looks like the crab is wielding a fiddle -- hence the name.
   Very strange. Very cool.
   The fiddler crabs pictured here photographed at the Saw Mill Creek Wildlife Management Area.

   More on fiddler crabs here.
 

RIDGEFIELD: Skeetkill Creek Marsh

 

  We'd like to think that Pleasantview Terrace in Ridgefield was named for the view of Skeetkill Creek Marsh, a nice natural oasis amid a commercial district.      This 16-acre marsh was once all phragmites, and heavily littered.
   The Meadowlands Commission overhauled the site a decade ago, creating tidal channels, open water, and islands of vegetation.
   It is now owned by the Meadowlands Conservation Trust.
   Local volunteers, with the help of a nearby Ridgefield business that has adopted the site, keep the site clean. The Riverkeeper has done clean-ups here as well.

   Peeps and other shorebirds love Skeetkill Creek Marsh at low tide, and  egrets and  great blue herons fly in to feed as the tide rises.

   Click "Continue reading" for more images and information.

MILL CREEK MARSH: Snowy egret heaven

   

Mill Creek Marsh is a little hard to find, but it is definitely worth the effort.
  It is the one place I'd go if I had to get a photo of a snowy egret in a hurry.
   They are abundant and are typically in range of a decent telephoto lens.

   Mill Creek Marsh is also amazing because it is home to a "forest" of cedar stumps -- including some that are hundreds of years old.

   Click here for directions and more information.
   I was there at low tide the other day and took a bunch of shots.

Click "Continue reading" for more photos.

KEARNY: The Kearny Marsh

   The Kearny marsh is a gem located just off Schuyler Avenue in -- where else -- Kearny. You access the marsh by turning into Gunnell Oval Park and driving around back.
   The 300-acre marsh is significant because, as the only freshwater wetlands in the Meadowlands District, it provides a major stopover for migrating waterfowl.
   This time of year, it is decidedly laid back, with dragonflies a-plenty, painted turtles sunning themselves, and some nifty plants -- Meadow salsify and black raspberries.
   For directions and more information on Kearny Marsh, click here.

   Click "Continue reading" to see more images and read more about the marsh.

WETLANDS: Marsh wren

 

This tiny bird is the one you hear calling in the phragmites -- but seldom see.
  The marsh wren is secretive -- except when it sings.
  Listen to the call here.
  Learn more about the marsh wren here .