From the Field - New Jersey Preserves

Spectacular Birding

Southern New Jersey offers some truly spectacular birding activities, as numerous bird species pass through as part of their yearly migrations. In the spring, thousands of shorebird species crowd the beaches to eat horseshoe crab eggs. In the winter, Eagles, Hawks, and other raptors fill the skies. (Check back here in coming weeks to find out about the Cumberland County Eagle Festival.)

In August, the thousands of Purple Martins that traveled north to nest for the summer swarm in the air each evening before settling in the high grasses for the night.  This photo, taken at the Purple Martin Festival in mid-August, shows a kayaker enjoying the spectacular site. The many dots in the sky are mostly Purple Martins, but other swallows also joined in the evening flight.

Hike at Burden Hill

On Sunday New Jersey Regional Manager Steve Eisenhauer led a group on a hike at Burden Hill Preserve. We spent two and a half hours walking the trails (and adventuring off-trail!) while Steve showed us some of the special features of Burden Hill, including the rare wetland species Swamp Pink, which grows in the seeps that come off the hill. We also saw a variety of bird species, although we were dissappointed not to see any eagles. All in all, the hike was a great way to be introduced to one of Natural Lands Trust's newer preserves.

A Splash of Color at Glades Wildlife Refuge

The changing colors of the tree leaves have added a splash of color to the landscape at Glades Wildlife Refuge. Below are some pictures of fall colors at the Glades:

More Coral Fungi Photos

Here are a few more pictures of orange and yellow Coral Fungi, as talked about in the last post:

Turf War

There was a ‘Turf War’ this past summer was between Coral Fungi (or Club Fungi) in our Glades Wildlife Refuge. The 2 opponents were:  Clavulinopsis Fusiformis (Yellow "Army") and Clavulinopsis Miyabeana (Orange "Army").

Here's a photo of a Yellow Army "Soldier" (Clavulinopsis Fusiformis):

Here the Orange "Scout" is taking inventory of the Yellow Army’s strengths and weaknesses. Notice the buffer zone between the main bodies of the species.

In the photo below, the Yellow "Scout" is taking inventory of the Orange Army's strengths and weaknesses.

In reality, I do not know the association between these 2 species of Coral Fungi.

These photos were taken in August 2005 in The Glades Wildlife Refuge, Newport, New Jersey. If anyone has specific knowledge of these 2 species and/or the interaction between them, feel free to email me at: aselleman@natlands.org.

Coral Fungi may take the form of simple fleshy clubs as these were, or may be multi-branched coral-like forms (hence their name) in a variety of colors. The colors include yellow and orange, and white, brown, purple and pink.

They can grow from an inch or 2, up to 8-9 inches in length. The samples included here ranged from new shoots up to 5-6 inches. They can grow singly as the Clavulinopsis Fusiformis (yellow) were, or in small groups or clumps as the Clavulinopsis Miyabeana (orange) were.

Coral Fungi usually grows in soil but can also be found on rotting wood.All our Coral Fungi pictured here were found on the damp forest floor in the Glades.

Lost Roots

There exist many natural wonders that are rarely if ever seen. Everyone has their opinion about saving and preserving land, but without protecting land, occurrences like this may never be known.

These "lost roots" exist deep in the woods in our Glades Wildlife Refuge. As you can see, a hollow has formed in a tree trunk. Inside the hollow, the tree has sent out roots to re-establish a secure footing.

What makes this unique is that the roots re-attach themselves to the softened trunk and dirt now found within the tree trunk, and this re-attachment occurs 4' - 8' above the ground.

Resident of the Glades Wildlife Refuge

Here is a local resident of our Glades Wildlife Refuge in Cumberland County, New Jersey.

This Northern Diamondback Terrapin has camoflaged itself on Turkey Point Road in Downe Township. During the spring and summer months, turtles are commonly seen crossing roads. Turtles cross these roads going to and coming from their nesting sites.

These terrapins prefer salt water or brackish water habitat and are found all along the New Jersey coastal areas.  Along the Atlantic Coast of NJ, coastal development has led to considerable habitat destruction on the barrier beach islands. This makes the protected areas in the Glades Wildlife Refuge vitally important for the future of the Diamondback in our region. Our many tidal areas, marshes and estuaries provide excellent habitat for many turtles including this Diamondback.

The female Northern Diamondback Terrapin will grow to 9 1/2", while the male will only grow to 5 1/2". This species has a wide range of colors and can be identified by the pattern on the shell and the skin coloration. The skin coloration of the diamondbacks can either be gray with dark spots, as our friend pictured here is, or they can be dark with light spots.

Please take care to avoid these residents while driving.

Resident of the Burden Hill Forest Preserve

One of our local residents of our Burden Hill Forest Preserve is this Northern Red Salamander.

These salamanders are found throughout our state and are usually found near cool, clean flowing streams or clean springs. This one was found several hundreds yards from a spring fed pond.

These salamanders grow to a length of just over 7". Although this was a young one, it was already over 6". They may live to an age of over 20 years. Their home range is from New York to Alabama and west to Ohio and Indiana.

Another close relative of this Northern Red is the Eastern Mud Salamander. The easiest way to tell these two species apart is the color of the eyes. The eyes of the Northern Red have a yellow iris, whereas the Eastern Mud has all brown eyes. The Eastern Mud Salamander has a status of Threatened in NJ, and Endangered in PA.

If anyone observes one of these with all brown eyes, please contact us at our NJ field office at 856-447-3425. According to NJ Fish and Wildlife, there has been 4 confirmed sightings of the Eastern Mud Salamander in NJ.

Extended Shorebird Migration beach closures

Due to the late arrival of the horseshoe crab spawning this year, the annual beach closures for the shorebird migration and horseshoe crab spawning has been extended through Thursday June 23, 2005.

The horsecrab spawning was very active last week, as you can see from this picture. 

Please respect the continued closures and enjoy this spectacular annual event.

Annual Shorebird Migration

The Annual Shorebird Migration is upon us.

The migration officially begins Saturday May 14th and runs through Tuesday June 7th. Many beaches along the Delaware Bay (including our own Raybins Beach in Fortescue, NJ) will be closed during this time. Please respect our visitors and observe this Spring phenomenon from outside the signed and fenced areas. Here's a photo from last year's migration (you can click on the image to see a larger version):

This migration coincides with the annual spring nesting of the Prehistoric Horseshoe Crabs. Millions of eggs are laid and the shorebirds feast on the eggs that wash to the surface.

These birds fly thousands of miles from Central and South America to this region for the feast, and then will complete their journey to their nesting grounds in the Canadian Arctic.

Special Note:  One of the birds banded along the Delaware Bay last year was observed in the Turks and Caicos Islands in February 2005.