Saturday, October 24: DeKorte Park

Green-winged teal. Photo by Beni Fishbein.

In honor of Birdability Week 

Montclair Bird Club Sits at DeKorte Park

10:30 am to 12 noon

This trip cancels if it rains. 

Birdability is an organization devoted to making birding more accessible and inclusive to birders of all abilities, regardless of disability or other health concerns. During the third week of October, they sponsor Birdability Week; this year's theme is "Bird Where You Are." (For more information about Birdability, see their website at birdability.org.)

With that in mind, we are hosting the first MBC Sits event at DeKorte Park. We will meet at the parking lot by the Meadowlands Environmental Center, then sit by the Shorebird Pool West and watch for the birds to come to us. If participants are amenable, we may move to the back parking lot to observe the bird feeder and pools from there. Bring a chair, binoculars and a scope if you have one, something to drink, and a snack. Dress for the weather. There is often an accessible porta-san at this location. 

Link to travel directions: njsea.com/directions/

Travel directions from Montclair area: Take Route 3 east to Polito Avenue/Orient Way exit. Continue straight onto Polito Avenue.  At the stop sign, turn left onto Valley Brook Avenue.  Follow Valley Brook to the end (approximately 1 ½ miles).  Cross the railroad tracks and enter the park on your left.  Bear right into the parking lot at the little guard house.   

Saturday, November 14, 2026: DeKorte Park Photography Walk

Double-crested cormorants. Photo by Ric Cohn.

with Sandy Sorkin and Ric Cohn

Meet at 8:00 am at the DeKorte main parking lot near the entrance. (click for directions)

Rain date: Sunday, November 15

Join us for a Montclair Bird Club photography trip to Richard W. DeKorte Park, in Secaucus. We’ll meet in the parking lot at 8:00 am with cameras, tripods, scopes, binoculars, and smartphones. There is no requirement that you carry something, but some water and a snack might be practical.

We’ll take our time following the boardwalk and trail, keeping the sun over our shoulders concentrating on photographing birds, landscapes, and any other slice of nature we encounter. We plan to finish around 10:30 am. Along the way we can share tips, assist each other with equipment, and review shots. If you are new to photography or just prefer to watch photographers, you are welcome to come along.  There is one bathroom at this site located in the parking lot. Contact Sandy Sorkin on 973-698-7900 or Ric Cohn on 917-414-3392 for further information. 

If the group is interested, we will also schedule a Zoom session follow up to discuss images from the day. The purpose of the review will be to answer questions, discuss camera settings, and look at some images from our walk. We can also talk about workflow, picture storage, and processing software. We will wait for group input to schedule the Zoom session.

In your GPS, search for DeKorte Park, Lyndhurst NJ.

Monday, November 23: Edison Boat Launch

Kumlien Iceland gull. Photo Rick Wright.

Led by Rick Wright.

Meet at 9:30 am in the boat launch parking lot, Meadow Road, Edison, NJ.

The Raritan River just above the Clancy Island landfill is one of the best sites in New Jersey for wintertime gulls. After eating their fill atop the gigantic garbage mound, the birds fly down to the river to bathe and loaf.

American herring and ring-billed gulls are the most abundant, but as cold weather sets in, lesser black-backed and Kumlien Iceland gulls arrive in variable numbers; glaucous and laughing gulls are much rarer but possible.

At this season, bald eagles, northern harriers, great cormorants, white-crowned sparrows, and all three merganser species are likely to be present as well.

The river is very narrow here, and it is usually easy to get good looks at most of the birds. We will be watching right from the paved parking area; it is also possible to follow a trail a short distance downstream. The outing will finish before noon, and some of us may want to stop for lunch at the appropriately named Skylark Diner in Edison, where there are restrooms. 

Dress for the weather and the wind, and bring a snack and hot drink. Good views of the birds can be had with binoculars or cameras, but if you have one, a spotting scope will be very useful.

To reach the boat launch, take the Garden State Parkway south to Highway 1. Follow Highway 1 south to Edison and take the jughandle to cross the highway onto Wooding Avenue. Bear right onto Old Post Road, which will become Meadow Road and eventually cross over the New Jersey Turnpike. The boat launch parking area is at the end of Meadow Road. The drive from Montclair is about 45 minutes each way. Directions are here.