The Celery Farm & Beyond

Bird ID Help Requested

    The Meadowlands Blog today has a photo of a baby bird found in a handicapped parking spot in DeKorte Park.
     We are thinking it must be a Cedar Waxwing. Anyone have a different theory?
     Link is here.

Citizen Science: Tracking Nighthawks

                                                                      Photo courtesy of NJ Meadowlands Commission

    Common Nighthawks have been seen in Bergen County the past few months. I have seen a few by the Celery Farm, and one had been perching regularly above the stream by Halifax Road in Mahwah.
      Nonetheless, Nighthawks and other members of the Nightjar family aren't seen that often in these parts -- to the point where Bergen County is not included in the New Jersey Audubon Society's annual Nightjar study, a project done in cooperation with NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife's Endangered and Non-game Species Program.
   That status could change if enough Nightjars are seen and reported here this year.
   To report a Nightjar in Bergen County, or want more information about the Nightjar survey, please e-mail Kristin Mylecraine at this e-mail address.

   For more on the national Nightjar study, click here.

   For a list of the existing Nightjar survey points in New Jersey, click "Continue reading..." immediately below.

Killdeer Close Call

Photo courtesy of a Lenape Meadows dad
   Killdeer, those nifty-looking shorebirds that seem to pop up all over North Jersey's open spaces this time of year, seem to have a knack for laying eggs in the worst places possible -- on gravel roofs, next to active construction sites, or in the case of a  Killdeer in Mahwah, by the side of a playground at Lenape Meadows School.
   When someone at the school saw a pair of beautifully colored eggs and no Mom nearby, their first instinct was to protect the eggs by covering them with a traffic cone.
   But a bird-watching student and her dad wanted to make sure that this was a good strategy. The Celery Farm's marsh warden, Stiles Thomas, was consulted, and  he suggested they remove the cone as soon as possible in hopes that the Mom had not started incubating yet. 
   The students moved the cone so that the eggs were out in the open again but marked their presence so that young athletes would not accidentally step on them.
   The last we heard, Mom was back and sitting on three eggs, and students were giving her some breathing room during the expected nearly three-week incubation.
   As the bird-watching student's dad says, "It's going to be a stressful 20 days."
   Nice job so far, Lenape Meadows!
    More on Killdeer here, and why they often deserve an Academy Award for their acting here (scroll down to "Life History").

    For a look at four Killdeer eggs at a site in the Meadowlands, click here.

Who you callin' a ... ?

    The Marsh Warden and his sidekick Sis (or vice versa) had a couple of Wild Turkeys in their yard over the weekend.
    The male was hot to do the turkey trot, judging from his featheration and displays.
    By the time I got there, the pair were taking dirt naps in the underbrush -- which made photography difficult.
   I stayed in my car, focused manually, and waited for Tom to give me a clear view.
   I then put the car the car in reverse and left, without flushing either bird.
   I find that if you see a bird and can stay in your car, that's often the best way to photograph a bird.
   More on Wild Turkeys here. They are occasionally seen at the Celery Farm.

Rob Fanning Reports....

 Two drake BLUE-WINGED TEAL arrived at the Allendale Celery Farm this morning in the fog. Interestingly 2 drakes arrived on the same date last year.
   Yesterday there was a PB GREBE and ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW arrived back on 3/30.
   A singing male RUSTY BLACKBIRD continues from yesterday, and a few YR WARBLERS, PHOEBES, SISKINS, and CREEPERS were about--heard the latter sing once.

  Click "continue raeding..." for Rob's complete list.

Swan cools it as ice melts

   Mute Swan, 8 a.m., Saturday, by the Warden's Watch.

Help Wanted: Heron Rookeries Study

Christina Kisiel of New Jersey's excellent Endangered and Non-game Species Program is looking for volunteers to conduct ENSP's Inland Great Blue Heron and Night Heron Colony surveys.

   Click "Continue reading..." to learn more.

Kane Photo Show extended

 

    Bob Kane's photo exhibit at at the Ho-Ho-Kus Library has been extended through March.  The photos were taken at the Celery Farm over the past three years, most of which show the place in a light that Fykers often see but the casual visitor will not. 

  The Library is on the northwest corner of Franklin Turnpike and Warren Avenue in Ho-Ho-Kus, a block north of the intersection of Franklin Turnpike and North Maple Ave.  Hours are: MWF 10-5, TTh 1-5, 7-9, and Sat 10-1 (closed Sunday).  

   As birder Nancy Drabik raves: "I stopped by a week or so ago and had a Zen moment viewing the beautiful photographs on my way home from a crazy day at work."

  Pictured above: Bob's photo, "Stalking Bittern."

Sunday visitor

  This Red-tailed Hawk stopped by the Celery Farm this morning just long enough to have his photo taken.
   One big beautiful buteo, and a most appropriate visitor this weekend as Kevin Watson and I look over the page proofs for our upcoming large-format book on Hawk Mountain.

First Wood Duck of the Year?

    On a walk around the Celery Farm on Sunday, my good friend Seymour Drakes and I saw this lone female Wood Duck.

   Our first reaction: Could this be the female that was hanging around with the male Mallard last fall?  Click here for link. We think you'll find the proof fairly persuasive.  The tilt of the head, the arch of the eye...