I have a story on warblers on Page L-3 of The Record, with a great photo of a black-throated blue, taken by Jerry Barrack.

  Bottom line is the warblers should be arriving in numbers soon, although winds from north this weekend may slow them down.

  Among the best places to see them: Garret Mountain in West Paterson, along the Saddle River in the linear county park, along the Ramapo and the Palisades, and a place called the Celery Farm.

  The Record's EnviroWatch calendar every Friday on Page L-3 will be listing several warbler watching outings at Garret, the Celery Farm and elsewhere.

  For some reason, the story I wrote for today's paper is not on line yet, but an essay I wrote for The Record on warblers five years ago is still available here.

 

   For Celery Farm birders, one of the niftiest resources on the Web is Rob Fanning's Birds of the Celery Farm  with Arrival Dates for the past 10 years.
   What a huge amount of work -- and what an amazing resource.
   Quick example: I have been complaining that I haven't seen or heard any Baltimore orioles yet this year, and wondering why they are late.
   Wrong, Owl Boy.
   Turns out that the Baltimore oriole has arrived before April 23 only once in the past 10 years. It arrived on April 16 in 2002.
   It also turns out that it arrived on April 23 (today) two times -- last year and in 2001.
   The list is on the Fyke Nature Association Web site, but not necessarily easy to find. Click on the hypertext link above or below, and it'll be the second item on the page.
   I imagine the list is handy for anyone who goes birding in North Jersey and wants approximate arrival dayes for various species.

  Great job, Rob. Thank you.

Click here.  

   

   For Earth Day, The Record is featuring my story  on environmental education in North Jersey schools.
   One way that young people are learning about the world around them is through environmental clubs.
   One excellent club is Teens for Planet Earth in Northern Highlands High School.
   The students have their own hive in Upper Saddle River. 
   The four-minute video above is three of the students tending to the hive.

   

If you haven't put up a hummingbird feeder yet, now is a good time.
   I like this window feeder. I had hummingbirds all last summer with it.
   Window feeders are great because they give such closeup views of birds.
   Hummingbird feeders are great because sugar water (four parts water to one part sugar) is the cheapest bird food you'll ever have.
   Here's a map that shows the ruby-throated hummingbirds' progress this spring.
   P.S. The bats are here as well -- but they don't seem to have found my batboxes yet.

COMING SOON: A bee video and an owl video.