My latest column for The Record is an interview with Noah Strycker, who did a record-setting global 'Big Year' in 2015 and tallied an incredible 6,000-plus species.

When I filed the column last week, he was "only" at 5,800-plus species.

That's Noah, above, with King Penguins on South Georgia Island.

The link is here. The online version does not include Sandy Komito's thoughts on Noah's achievement, so I am including them here:

Former Fair lawn resident Sandy Komito set a Big Year record for most bird species seen in the continental United States with a total of 748 in 1998. Here are Sandy’s thoughts on Noah Strycker’s new global record:

“In recording more than 5,800 bird species this year, Noah Strycker has done what it has taken me nearly 20 years to achieve -- and I thought I was running pretty fast.

“Those of us on the sidelines can only dream of these efforts and marvel at these extraordinary achievements. We are inventing new and harder challenges all the time.  The sky is truly the limit.”

A link to Noah's latest blog post is here.

The January 2016 issue of New Jersey has a terrific four-page spread with my article on the Bald Eagle's comeback in New Jersey -- from one failing nest in the 1970s (above) to more than 160 active nests statewide today.

Saw the issue on the newsstands for the first time yesterday.

A big thank you to Kathy Clark of  N.J. Fish and Wildlife's Endangered and Nongame Species Program for the photo above.

High Mountain Park Preserve in nearby Passaic County is an amazing, little-known gem.

Find out more about this 1,260-acre natural area in Wayne and North Haledon at my brand-new talk and slide-show about High Mountain on Wednesday, Jan. 20, for Bergen County Audubon.

The program, free and open to the public, begins right after the 7.30 business meeting at the Teaneck Creek Conservancy, 20 Puffin Way, Teaneck.

The 40-minute talk will include recent photos, aerial pictures and archival images. (I took the aerial photo above with the help of LightHawk.)

If you have any High Mountain photos, paintings, archival images or stories, please let me know!

New Jersey now has an official state butterfly -- the Black Swallowtail.

The Record's Environmental Writer Jim O'Neill has the fascinating story here. Alice Leurck provided the photo.

Took a hike with a friend to High Mountain's summit this morning -- and what should we see but a small flock of Eastern Bluebirds near the summit.

More on High Mountain here.

Previous High Mountain posts are here.