Taken at Walker Avenue Wetlands. What are they?

Kevin Watson sent in the above picture with the following comment:

"I have never seen one so early... a good look at the ring, which is usually hard to spot."  

(Thanks, Kevin! So true. I had seen this duck at the beginning of the summer but couldn't ID it...)

My latest column for The Record and Herald News was on the Walker Avenue Wetlands in Wayne, which prompted this helpful commentary from Dan Poalillo.  Dan  writes:

I bird Walker regularly, and being a teacher with a summer break, find myself there 2-3 times a week in July and August. I was surprised that you seemed to suggest in the article that you have never been to Walker before.  I thought you might like to hear a few more things about the place that Ivan may or may not have relayed to you.

Walker represents really the only habitat of its type in the entire Passaic County, as least as far as I know.  Wetlands of this type are more abundant in Morris and Bergen Counties, but not so here. 

For this reason it represent the only real wader/shorebirding opportunity in Passaic County.  I can personally report seeing White-rumped, Pectoral, Semipalmated, Least, and even a single Baird's Sandpiper here in recent years (depending on the water level by August, which is usually very low). 

Bob Leafe writes:

"Never saw one before and shot this from my [Hackensack] living room.

"It was VERY high up over the Hackensack River, and zoom is maxed-out."

(Thanks, Bob!)

Nais Tiger Moth

Took the moth lights to the Promised Land Farm CSA in Long Valley to see what they would attract in a rural NJ setting.

The lights were going for about an hour when approaching lightning and thunder made us literally pull the plug. We were starting to get some awesome moths, though no real big boys.

Here's a sampling. We were able to ID the Nais Tiger Moth; others were ID'd via Project Noah or thanks to Patrick Carney.  If you can ID others, that would be great (ran out of time...)

(Thanks to Emma and Joe for hosting this event! A link to the Promised Land Farm CSA is here.)

Another view of Nais Tiger Moth