COMING EVENTS

Earth Day Cleanups
Saturday, April 22, 2023

Celebrate Earth Day with us by tidying up our shared roadsides, neighborhoods, and public lands!

Morning session: 9 to 11 AM: Cleanup of Laurel Avenue and the vicinity of Rockingham Historic Site, from just north of the village of Kingston up to Route 518. Meet at the Rockingham parking lot, 84 Laurel Avenue.

Afternoon session: 2 to 4 PM: Trash collection in the Mapleton Preserve, Cook Natural Area, and in areas adjacent to Mapleton Road, Heathcote Road, Ridge Road, Greenwood Avenue, and Railroad Avenue. Parking for the event is along Railroad Avenue off Ridge Road.

Grabbers, gloves, orange vests, and garbage bags will be provided. Wear sturdy boots and clothing.

PAST EVENTS

AUDUBON CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
Sunday, December 16th, 2022

The counting area for this year’s Audubon Christmas Bird Count CBC) included Mapleton Preserve and seedbeds, the upper nursery, Heathcote Farms, and the Cook Preserve. Some highlights included a calling red-shouldered hawk, a raptor that has been seen (and heard) multiple times near Basin Street in recent years. Hear their call, and learn more at Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-tailed hawks were well represented, with 8 seen on the count day, including an amorous pair sitting close to one another on a tree branch. The “best bird of the day” had to be a lovely male Northern harrier; a slim grey bird with a long banded tail, who was gliding low over the seedbeds looking for breakfast.

One of “our” eagles was spotted in a tree, not far from the Canal. Both birds have been observed at their nest on Mapleton Road. According to NJDEP, in 2022 this pair fledged two chicks, adding to the total of 335 eaglets raised in New Jersey last year, from 250 active nests. This is a dramatic comeback from the 1970s and 1980s, when, due to widespread use of DDT, the New Jersey eagle population was reduced to a single pair in a remote part of Cumberland County.

There were a lot of flickers (9) and blue jays (22) observed, and more juncos (28) than we saw last year. However, no yellow-rumped warblers were found, for the third year in a row. Cedar waxwings were absent as well, although close to 100 robins were seen eating holly, callery pear and bittersweet near Ridge Road. A flock of 22 turkeys was also seen.

Click here to see the full count results: CBC 2022

Many thanks to our counters this year!

DOUG TALLAMY ON THE NATURE OF OAKS

Wednesday, October 5, 2022 on ZOOM

Did you know...
Oaks are the best soil stabilizers?
Oaks and blue jays evolved together?
Oaks make great street trees?
Oaks' excellent leaf litter protects soil communities?

Learn more about these incomparable trees and the tremendous diversity of life they support!

Doug Tallamy is the T. A. Baker Professor of Agriculture in the Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology at the University of Delaware, where he has authored 106 research publications and has taught insect related courses for 41 years. Chief among his research goals is to better understand the many ways insects interact with plants and how such interactions determine the diversity of animal communities.

His book Bringing Nature Home was published by Timber Press in 2007, The Living Landscape, co-authored with Rick Darke, was published in 2014; Nature's Best Hope, a New York Times Best Seller, was released in February 2020, and his latest book The Nature of Oaks was released by Timber press in March 2021.

In 2021 he cofounded Homegrown National Park with Michelle Alfandari. His awards include recognition from The Garden Writer’s Association, Audubon, The National Wildlife Federation, The Garden Club of America, and The American Horticultural Association.

Photos by BreeAnne Lemmerling