This morning was a great morning to be at the Mount Peter Hawk Watch -- a strong wind out of the north-northwest, plenty of clouds and prime-time for Broad-wings.

Saw quite a few the hour I was there, plus a couple of Sharpies and Ospreys -- and the resident Redtails and vultures. Only the Teevees got close enough to photograph (below).

Wouldn't you know -- less than five minutes after I had to leave, a flight of more than 500 Broadwings came over. Last I heard, around 1 p.m., they had more than 1,000 raptors for the day already.

Friday, Sept. 24 - 8 p.m. Wyckoff Public Library
'Warblers of Central Park'

  Cal Vornberger, author of Birds of Central Park, will give a  slide show on the Warblers of Central Park, this Friday at 8 p.m. at the Wyckoff Public Library. The talk is free and open to the public. (The talk was postponed last February due to bad weather.)

Last January, Kevin Watson and I participated in Cal's owl photography workshop on Amherst Island in Ontario, and I can't wait to see Cal's slide show even though though we never saw any photographs taken by owls the entire weekend.

A little more about Cal, courtesy of the Fyke Web site:

"Cal has been pursuing his passion of photographing warblers in the park for the past ten years.
   "Each spring brings waves of these brightly colored neo-tropical songbirds to the park as they make their way north to their breeding grounds.
   "They return like clockwork in the fall, although now they are less colorful and harder to identify.
   "Cal's presentation covers every single warbler [and some married ones] typically seen in the park during spring and fall migration. He compares and contrasts males and females in both breeding and non-breeding plumage.
   "His spectacular photos capture these tiny birds engaged in all types of activities."
   Cal's Web site is here -- see his photography for yourself.

My latest column for The Record is about a couple in Ridgefield Park who have an annual hawk watch in their backyard. They have seen as many as 1,000 raptors in an afternoon.

Read the column for their secrets to tallying a high count -- link is here.

Hint: The next few days are prime time -- best to head up to Mount Peter or head over to State Line lookout or Montclair soon!

Pictured here are Steve and Linda Quinn. Steve is an artist with the American Museum of Natural History, and his website is definitely worth a visit. Link is here.

Help Save Fell House: Donate Your Spare Change

Put the extra coins you have lying around the house to great use with a new TD Bank program at called “Change for the Fell House.”

All you need to do is bring your coins to a local TD Bank branch – including  Allendale, Mahwah, Ridgewood and Wyckoff -- and tell the teller you want the money to go to the Concerned Citizens of Allendale, the non-profit group dedicated to preserving the historic house.

The Fell House is located across the Franklin Turnpike from the 107-acre Celery Farm Natural Area.

Put the loose change into the coin-counting machine known affectionately as the “Penny Arcade” and bring the receipt to the teller. The money will be deposited into the account of this young 501(c)(3) charity.

I don't usually write about "big picture" nature news, but wanted to pass along this Associated Press story on bats and a possible way to combat their population losses in recent years.

Finally, some good news. Link is here.