Do you have a burning desire to see a few dozen shore birds? Ever wonder what a Hooded Merganser looks like?
If so, the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) has an event schedule chock full of guided bird walks, butterfly sightings, and other opportunities for you to get up close and personal with nature.
The New Jersey Meadowlands is on the cusp of peak bird watching season, thus “birding” is a major staple of the NJMC’s late summer/early fall calendar, as it is each year during migration season.
Jim Wright, who leads guided bird walks through the state agency’s campus along the Hackensack River in Lyndhurst, said this is a particularly exciting time for the hobby.
This weekend, on Saturday, August 20, the NJMC will co-host a day of birding events with noted shorebird expert and nature photographer Kevin Karlson.
____________
This weekend, on Saturday, August 20, the NJMC will co-host a day of birding events with noted shorebird expert and nature photographer Kevin Karlson. This is the third year the NJMC will co-host, with the Bergen County Audubon Society, its annual “Kevin Karlson Day.” Beginning at 8:30 and 10:30 a.m. Karlson, co-author of “The Shorebird Guide,” will lead two 90-minute bird walks. Later that day, at 1 p.m., he’ll give a talk on how nature lovers can improve their bird watching skills.
“He’ll give tips on how to identify specific birds better, how to see better,” said Wright. “When you’re bird watching you have to have a different pair of eyes than what you use when you’re just walking around. You have to be much more aware and focused on details.”
Karlson will finish up the day with a discussion of his nature photography and a photography workshop with Lloyd Spitalnik at 2 and 2:45 p.m., respectively.
All of the events with Karlson are free, although the NJMC requests that those interested in participating register to participate.
Bird watching in the Meadowlands doesn’t end here, however. The NJMC and the Bergen County Audubon Society will offer guided nature walks and birding opportunities the first Sunday and third Tuesday of each month through October. These outings all begin at 10 a.m. In October there will also be a bonus nature walk held on Sunday, October 23 and special impromptu walks are scheduled whenever there’s a rare bird sighting in the area.
Participants can expect to see butterflies, migrating raptors, egrets, waterfowl, and other birds of interest during these two-hour free outings.
On August 23, the NJMC will host a “birding by boat” cruise.
“We did one earlier in the year, and we saw a lot of great birds. But it was high tide,” said Wright. “This time when we go out it will be low tide. We’re going to go into some of these marshes and get some of these neat shorebirds as they migrate. They hang out on the mud flats.”
The two-hour cruise costs $15.
As if that weren’t enough to flock to the Meadowlands, the Hackensack Riverkeeper and the New Jersey Audubon Society will co-host the 8th Annual Festival of Birding on September 10 and 11 at the NJMC’s campus in Lyndhurst for $40.
Not just for the birds
Birding isn’t all the Meadowlands has to offer.
For those who couldn’t give two feathers about the difference between a parakeet and a pigeon, the NJMC has many other interesting events on tap, notably its fall line-up of programming in the William D. McDowell Observatory. Part of the NJMC’s Meadowlands Environment Center, the observatory features a 20-inch Cassegrain Telescope.
Beginning Sept. 21 and continuing through the fall, the NJMC will present Astronomy and the Universe, a line up of programs that offer a history of astronomy.
Residents are invited to celebrate the fall equinox on Wednesday, Sept. 21 by viewing the documentary “A Sidewalk Astronomer: John Dobson.” The screening starts at 7 p.m.
Then, on Tuesday, Oct. 4. astronomer John Sloan will give an overview of astronomy and astronomers of the Colonial era in the United States. As a follow-up to this program there will be another one, on Wednesday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. that will introduce participants to the geysers of Enceladus and the “kissing lakes of Titan” as part of a more in-depth introduction to our solar system.
The Astronomy and the Universe series will also include a musical concert on Saturday, Sept. 24 at 1 p.m. and an intermediate art class on Sept. 24 and Saturday, Oct. 1 from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
These programs, which are held in the NJMC’s Meadowlands Environment Center, are $4 for MEC members and $5 for nonmembers. The art class fee is $20 for artists who bring their own supplies, $30 for those who do not.
There will also be a Halloween party for children ages 5 through 10 on Oct. 29, complete with hay rides, games, food, and a “mystery walk.”
Registration for these programs – which can be done online and in-person – is expected to begin next week.
For more information about these programs, visit www.njmeadowlands.gov, or call (201) 460-1700.
E-mail E. Assata Wright at awright@hudsonreporter.com.