Can't get enough of the Celery Farm but can't pay a visit? The Fyke Nature Association has a great photo site -- with shots by Tom Burr, Phil Lombardi, Matthew Reilly, Michael Tarkhan-Mouravi and Kevin Watson.
Check it out here.
Meet at the end of Green way at 9 a.m. for a few hours of active conservation. We hope you will join us to help spruce up the preserve (many hands make light work). Deputy Marsh Warden Mike Limatola is the coordinator. Rain date is April 18.
Remember those strong winds of last week? They knocked down a tall Ash tree in the Celery Farm and created a domino effect.
Branches covered the boardwalk by the Dead Zone until Deputy Marsh Warden Mike Limatola (above, right) cut them away and removed as many of them as he could.
The good news is that the boardwalk was not damaged, and the path is passable again thanks to Mike, with a minor assist from Seymour Drakes.
At left is a shot of the cleared path (sorry for the black-and-white shot, new camera, wrong setting).
If the trees' fall had not been blunted when they lodged in the crook of another tree.
Mike, by the way, can usually be seen on weekends walking the trails and keeping everything (and everyone) in order.
Thanks, Mike!
Walked around the Celery Farm on Sunday before the snow deteriorated into rain.
The trails were quiet, and the snow helped dampened the distant sounds of civilization -- a gentle introduction to winter weather to come.
For the past few weeks, there's been an interesting duck pairing on Lake Appert -- a male Mallard and a female Wood Duck, who seem inseparable.
In addition, the female Wood Duck seems far less skittish around humans than your average Wood Duck.
I have had little success looking up smiliar pairings on-line.
Any thoughts?
Photographer Jerry Barrack and I will be speaking at the Upper Saddle River Library on Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.
We'll be talking about our favorite place -- the Celery Farm -- as well as showing some of Jerry's amazing photos and showing videos of the screech owls and Celery Farm on a big screen.
Admission is free, and Jerry and I will have our books for sale. We can sign and inscribe any of our books if you want to do some early holiday shopping.
There's been a pretty decent air show at the Celery Farm's Lake Appert around 
6:45 a.m., with mixed flocks departing in droves.
An osprey has been fishing several dawns, with mixed results.
Part of his probelm: He sometimes gets harassed by dozens of starlings and crew at a time.
Rob sez: "Wonderful looks at a Virginia Rail in the open (Scout Platform).
"Fred reports a Sora from there as well."
Click "Continue reading ..." for Rob's full list.
It was about 4:30 a.m. today, and a screech owl called for about a minute outside the bedroom window.
For some reason, he thought my name was "Winnie."
When another screech owl, began to drum, they both stopped...
Yesterday, after several dickie birds mobbed the owl box, I activated the screech owl for the first time this fall. Nothing -- as nothing is expected for another month at least.
In the past four years, we have had a male screech owl move in anywhere from late October to early December, with the date getting slightly later each year.
COMING TUESDAY: Mount Peter Hawk Watch pix and report.
