During my time home over spring break, I spent time in the River Edge Bird Sanctuary, which is a patch of woods cut in half by the Van Saun Mill Brook in my hometown of River Edge, NJ. A trail runs along one side of the brook. The site is entirely edge habitat, as houses and highways can be seen from the site. The main group of people that recreates in this area are high schoolers looking for a seculuded place to party, but I’ve seen families hiking the trail and there are a few geocaches present, which results in additional traffic. The trail has gone through a cycle of alternating overgrowth and large-scale cuts throughout its history. I’m not sure when it was established, but it was restored in 2011. It was left undisturbed until 2016, when I restored it and added some improvements to it for my Eagle Scout project. It is for this reason that I have a deep connection with this place.
The River Edge Bird Sanctuary is much different than my location in Centennial Woods. One of the main differences is the user group. Centennial Woods is used by a wide variety of people, including runners, dog walkers, and students. Centennial Woods is also utilized by a variety of UVM classes. It is also much better maintained than my spot at home, and it shows signs of small, regular maintenance rather than erratic spurts of large-scale restoration. Another major difference is the natural community. While I couldn’t specifically identify the community type at the Bird Sanctuary, it is definitely a wetland, as it is right next to a brook, the soil is very damp, and there is standing water present. This is much different than my site in Centennial Woods, which shows all the characteristics of being an upland community.
When it comes to phenology, the site in River Edge really isn’t much different than the one in Centennial Woods as neither site has any trees that have started to regrow their leaves. A big difference is groundcover, as while there is a lot of snow in Burlington, the snow back home was totally melted, with very small pieces remaining in shaded areas.
In terms of wildlife, I wasn’t expecting to see too much, as the Bird Sanctuary is right in the middle of the suburbs. I saw two Canada Geese on my drive to the parking area, and when I parked and started to walk into the woods I saw a flash of white as a White-Tailed Deer ran away. When I looked a little closer, I realized that there were actually six, which is the largest group of deer I have ever seen in my hometown. There wasn’t too much bird activity, but I did see a few House Sparrows and a Mourning Dove.
Nice narrative on the natural habitat for wildlife as well as humans! The standing water at this bird sanctuary looks like a vernal pool. It could provide seasonal habitats for wildlife but is technically not a wetland. It would be interesting to revisit in the summer and see if the water is still there.