The free Warbler Walk at the Celery Farm is at 8 a.m. this Saturday.
I'll be talking about Allendale, Joseph Warner Allen and the Paterson & Ramapo Railroad at the Fell House during the event.
Raven expert Rick Radis will talk about the incredibly intelligent Common Raven at Friday night's Fyke meeting as Borough Hall.
The talk, free and open to the public, begins just after 8 p.m. at Allendale Borough Hall.
The Common Raven has the widest distribution of any of the Corvidae, the family that includes crows, jays, nutcrackers, and magpies.
It is also the largest and heaviest of the passerines, or perching birds -- and the smartest.
(The raven in the photo above was plotting how to steal food from snowmobilers' packs in Yellowstone this winter.),
The presentation will cover the historic status of the Common Raven in eastern North America from the late 1880s, its remarkable return in the 1990s, and its present status as a nesting species in many (often surprising) areas of NJ, including Bergen County.
Since the early 1980s the population and perhaps the behavioral dynamics of the eastern Common Raven has begun to change.
Rick will explore the possible reasons as to why the Common Ravens have lost their shyness around humans and discuss how ravens interact with the other two species of corvids.
Allendale Borough Hall is at 500 E. Crescent Ave., Allendale.
Early on Monday evening, Barbara Dilger and Darlene Lembo photographed an Osprey with a red band on one of its legs at the Celery Farm in Allendale.
Barbara recorded the information on the band -- "0" and then "D4" under that -- and
submitted an online form to record the sighting and learn more about the bird.
Ben Wurst of Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey responded the very next day -- yesterday:
I banded that bird at this [Barnegat Bay] nest: http://www.osprey-watch.org/
I have to dig up a photo of her at home, but here are some photos by my good friend who was out with me that day:
https://exit63.wordpress.com/
So great to see these birds return to New Jersey to nest. Since this is her first time being back in NJ, she probably doesn't have a nest or is mated with a male, but I'm sure she will be looking for a nest site.
Hope she lives long enough to complete her migration south and back to finally nest here.
Banding data shows that females tend to wander more (from their natal areas) when returning to nest as an adult.
As it turned out, Ben's good friend at the banding -- Jim Verhagen --was from Allendale. Small world.
As it also turned out, they had video footage of the banding, here:
https://www.facebook.com/njospreyproject/videos/10154901719102656/
More of Barbara's banded Osprey shots are below. (Thanks, Barbara! And Ben & Jim.)
Postscript: Fyke and CWF and have had a long working relationship. In fact, Ben and CWF installed the Red-shouldered Hawk nest cam for Fyke near the Celery Farm three years ago. When the Red-shoulders chose to nest elsewhere, Fyke donated the camera to CWF.
Kevin Watson was photographing a Black-crowned Night Heron this morning when it caught a fish.
Kevin suspected it was another Oriental Weatherfish, similar to the one that Walt Staab photographed last week.
I checked with Bob Schmidt, a leading weatherfish expert, and he confirmed the I.D.
Great shots, but not good news. It's an invasive species.
I notified the state. (Thanks, Kevin and Bob!)
Last week's post explaining all about weatherfish -- with Walt's photo of an American Bittern -- is here.