Wild New Jersey Exclusive: A Wildlife Success Story in an Unexpected Place
A Great Egret wades in the Raritan River.
All photos by David Wheeler and Dana Patterson, unless otherwise noted.
By Gauri Joshi, WNJ Correspondent
When you think of Raritan Center located in Edison, New Jersey, several images may come to mind: industrial warehouses, congested traffic, or the nearly 25,000 people working in the area on each given day during the work-week.
Beyond all that hustle and bustle, however is far more than meets the eye. Standing in an untouched oasis, on a recent wildlife tour with WildNewJersey.tv and PS&S, if you look beyond the tall buildings and railroad tracks, you will find yourself surrounded by all sorts of diverse wildlife.
Bees are important pollinators for the plants found in Raritan Center.
Found along the Raritan River, 400 acres of this secluded habitat of Raritan Center is home to a wide variety of different plant and bird species. We find Buttonbush, Dogbane, Trumpet Honey Suckle, Alder, and Common Milkweed, to name a few. The environmentally-sensitive wetland area is home to the Yellow Warbler, Great Egret, Tree and Barn Swallows, Kingbirds, Killdeer, and Red winged blackbirds, as well as a large number of butterflies.
Buttonbush
Photo courtesy of Mark Gallagher, Princeton Hydro
Travelling along an old military road, it is not unlikely to catch a bald eagle or osprey flying over, nesting in a buoy along the longest river solely in New Jersey. Perched in a tree it is not uncommon to find a state-threatened yellow-crowned night heron; many species of turtles can be found in the waterways and wetlands, from Snapping Turtle to Diamondback Terrapin.
This biodiversity was made possible by a 1995 restoration of 27 acres of Phragmites-dominated wetlands, now known as Sweetwater Marsh. The restoration, designed and managed by Paul Adamus for Federal Business Centers, occurred primarily along the winding Red Root Creek. A summer survey undertaken eight years later by Amy S. Greene Environmental Consultants, Inc. found 82 species of birds, including Pied-billed Grebe, Savannah Sparrow, black rail, and least bittern.
Dana Patterson and Mark Gallagher enjoy some off-roading.
Pickerelweed
Photo courtesy of Mark Gallagher
Sparrows are one of many bird species found along the Raritan River.
Dana Patterson does some bird watching with Mark Gallagher.
Buttonbush
Photo courtesy of Mark Gallagher
Posted by WILDNEWJERSEY at 7/14/2010 6:00 AM 
Categories: WNJ Exclusives
Tags: butterflies killdeer edison raritan center red winged blackbirds kingbirds barn swallows great egret
Categories: WNJ Exclusives
Tags: butterflies killdeer edison raritan center red winged blackbirds kingbirds barn swallows great egret
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