Birds have the extraordinary ability to exercise their choice of free will. That is, if it’s a good habitat for a certain type of bird, chances are that bird will flock to that spot.##M:[more]##
Despite Central New Jersey’s intricate web of road systems and its appeal to developers looking to build in the area, one particular habitat in the area that has been a haven for a variety of bird species since 2001 is the NJ Audubon Society’s Plainsboro Preserve, one of the locations for bird observing activities across the state during the World Series of Birding on May 10.
According to Sean Grace, sanctuary director at the Plainsboro Preserve, more than half of the various bird species observed in the area during the day-long event — in which participants began the day at sunrise at the Plainsboro Preserve, followed by a visit to the Princeton Institute Woods, and then to the Sourland Mountains — were located at the Plainsboro Preserve.
While the abundance of birds is a healthy sign that land-use initiatives aimed at preserving open space are working, other environmental challenges remain, including pollution at the Grovers Mill Pond and in the Millstone River (see stories, page 11).
Holding the World Series of Birding during the second Saturday in May every year is done for a reason — it’s the peak time for spring bird migration. “These birds are just coming back to New Jersey, and it’s a good way to go out and get look at a whole diversity of birds,” Grace says. Some birds will breed in New Jersey, while others are here only in passing through to places further up north. And, of course, there are the birds that are here year-round, through the winter.
Those who missed the World Series of Birding, but who are interested in bird watching will have another chance this Saturday, May 17, from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the preserve, where Grace and another naturalist from the preserve will take visitors on another bird walk to see how many birds can be seen and heard to determine and establish which species are breeding in the variety of habitats found on the preserve.
The World Series of Birding attracts many people every year. Some, Grace says, will head to New Jersey a week in advance to scope out some of the best areas to find the birds, in preparation for the count that takes place during the event. As the event was originally designed by Pete Dunne, the NJ Audubon Society’s vice president of natural history, count teams of four people head out to the four corners of New Jersey in “a 24-hour period of madness,” trying to find as many bird species as they can. All four participants on the team have to positively identify the bird, including by ear. Once started, the event became highly competitive.
There are many ways, however, people participated in the event. Some took part in “big sits,” in which they sit in one place all day to see how many species of birds they can identify. There is a junior World Series of Birding teams, which carry age restrictions, and family versions.
Grace participated in the “century run,” in which participants traveled 100 miles to identify about 100 species of birds. Beginning at the Plainsboro Preserve, participants then made their way to the Princeton Institute Woods, a wetlands habitat consisting of swamp forest, and the Sourland Mountains — the first big forested track in the Piedmont region of New Jersey, which extends from Lambertville to Hillsborough — participants saw a variety of birds. Over 50 species of neotropical birds, or those that spend their winters down in Mexico and Central America and make one 24-hour, 600-mile trek in one shot up to New Jersey for the spring and summer, can be found in the Sourland Mountains, he said. Going to a variety of spots really can show people the hemispheric connections — how birds from Mexico are now up here — and a variety of species in various habitats.
His results from the day showed that 91 species in total were identified in the three areas his group surveyed, and about 50 different species were spotted at the Plainsboro Preserve. “I think the numbers of different species are increasing slightly,” he said. “We had some unusual birds, like the hooded warbler and the orchard oriole,” he said. In 2007, 265 species of birds had been identified throughout New Jersey during the World Series of Birding.
But before the World Series of Birding even kicked off on May 10, Grace says a variety of birds had been spotted. Black-billed cuckoos, which are really elusive, Baltimore orioles, orchard orioles, common yellow-throated warblers, black-throated blue warblers, black-throated green warblers, and the scarlet tanager, which Grace describes as “electric red with black wings,” were among those that had already been viewed at the Preserve this spring.
The pileated woodpecker, the largest woodpecker in North America, is a new bird seen at the preserve this spring, he said. Ospreys, and bald eagles, and a red-tailed hawk were also seen already this year at the preserve, he added. This is a healthy sign, he says, especially given the township’s proximity to the Route 1 corridor. “Birds are closely tied to habitats,” he said. “If you’re looking at the bird population, and they’re healthy, that means their habitats are healthy,” he said.
“It’s great that there are places like the Plainsboro Preserve,” says Grace. “We’re right in one of the busiest section of New Jersey. We’re minutes away from Route 1. It’s really important that bird species have islands of protected space like that that they can use as nesting areas.” Grace explains that creating road systems and higher road densities fragments the landscape, which in turn, pushes out forest-nesting birds, and brings in birds that do very well with urbanization and people.
