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Kingston Greenways Association

LOCAL BLACK BEAR SIGHTINGS--KNOW THE BEAR FACTS!

Know the Bear Facts


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PAST EVENTS

Earth Day Cleanups
Saturday, April 22, 2023



The hearty morning corps of volunteers cleaned up around Rockingham and along Laurel Avenue on the Franklin Township side of Kingston, while the afternoon crew focused on litter in Mapleton Preserve and roadside trash along Ridge Road and Division Street on the South Brunswick side.

Our warm thanks to all who participated in making our community cleaner and safer!

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



Professor Tallamy's webinar is now available on youtube: Doug Tallamy on The Nature of Oaks

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.

SUNDAY EVENING WALK IN HEATHCOTE MEADOWS
Sunday, August 21, 2022




Photo by John Keisers

Light breezes and a mild temperature favored our group on this leisurely walk through Heathcote Meadows. Late summer grasses, boneset, goldenrod, milkweed, Queen Anne's lace, virginia creeper, New York ironweed, coppery curly dock, horse nettle, mountain mint, tick trefoil, rosy camphor-weed, and fleabane were plentiful, along with less welcome plants like mugwort, Chinese bush clover, and poison ivy.


Camphor-weed

Bird activity was light, but we were graced with two flyovers by a Great Blue Heron, and scattered bluebirds. All in all, a lovely walk!

EARTH DAY CLEANUPS
Saturday, April 23, 2022

Fine weather and a robust turnout on both the Franklin and South Brunswick sides of Route 27 resulted in one of the best Earth Day cleanups ever!



Above, volunteers at the morning session collected 20 bags of trash near Rockingham Historic Site and along Laurel Avenue.

Below, afternoon litter collectors found plenty to fill their bags in the Mapleton Preserve (including the new "Blue" Trail, to be officially opened on June 4th, National Trails Day), on the Rail Trail, and along Ridge Road and Division Street.

Photos by BreeAnne Lemmerling











 



CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
December 19, 2021

Led by trustee Karen Linder, seven counters helped complete the Kingston segment of the 2021 Audubon Christmas Bird Count. All told, the day was pretty quiet. Our species count of 38 was normal but our totals were a little on the low side. However, the two pileated woodpeckers and the 54 turkeys seen near Ridge Road the day before the count were definitely highlights. Robins have been very abundant in Kingston this winter, as they are still feasting on holly berries and callery pears. The official tally may be viewed here:

2021 Audubon Christmas Bird Count