Press of Atlantic City: For southern New Jersey's birds, the winter has turned deadly


The cedar is one of the most important trees to area wildlife during the winter — the berries provide food, and the foliage provides cover. A dense cedar can even prevent snow from getting to the ground under it, giving birds that eat worms a chance at dinner.
Photo credit: PressofAtlanticCity.com

You think you've got it bad? Try finding a worm right about now. As bad as the dual blizzards of 2010 were for people in southern New Jersey, it's a lot worse for the American woodcock. The rusty brown bird, a rare inland shorebird, has to eat its weight each day in earthworms. While people struggle with power outages, dead cell phones and impassible streets, woodcocks are trying to find dinner under several feet of snow. The birds can be seen probing with their long bills on the few bare spots uncovered by snowplows on the side of the road.


 

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