WNJ Swamp Sightings: Autumn wanes for Dismal Swamp wildlife


Autumn in the Dismal Swamp.
Photo credit: Mike McGraw

by David Wheeler

On the final day of fall, we can look back on another gorgeous autumn season in the Dismal Swamp Conservation Area in central New Jersey.  Autumn typically brings to mind the beautiful changes in foliage before the trees go bare.  The early sunsets giving way to brisk nights backed by the rich aroma of chimney smoke.  The crunch of leaves underfoot.  Yet by spending much of every day within a single nature area, I get to observe and experience the more subtle changes that accompany the turning of the seasons.  

This fall, a few memorable wildlife sightings were backed with the appreciation of some new patterns revealing themselves in the animals of the Dismal Swamp.  Beavers, a less obvious encounter in years past, were brazen and wanton in their simultaneous destruction and construction this fall, blitzing our streamside woods and scarcely leaving any sapling unshorn.


Numerous trees were cut by beavers along the Bound Brook.
Photo credit: Krysti Sabins

The beavers' thoroughfare, the Bound Brook, was a wonder to behold.  The stream's sheer power of erosion undercut massive trees and overran its banks during heavy rains.  Yet its drier state reduced the stream to little more than a steady trickle.  By late autumn, the stream's reflective powers grew in direct proportion to the leaves changing and then falling.  Each day brought a dramatically new view from the same vantage point, until a rich reflection of thick green forest had transformed into a stark mirror of angular, jutting tree trunks and branches.  Minimalist, yet no less stunning.

Photo credit: David Wheeler

White-tailed deer continued their expansion in the Dismal Swamp, for better and for worse.  It is rare for me to not see healthy herds of 3 or 4 or far more each early morning and late afternoon on the meadows.  That abundance, unfortunately, continues its onslaught on the dwindling understory of young saplings, which stand little chance to grow tall with so many deer around.

Our other notable regular visitors held true to form, showing up enjoyably and often: snapping turtles and painted turtles, bullfrogs, wild turkey broods, and, of course, groups of scouts, schoolkids, and seniors touring the trails or leading volunteer cleanups through the early part of the fall.  Later in the season, however, we had to limit the tours because of an ecological and stream restoration.

Wild Turkey.
Photo credit: David Wheeler

Nesting birds included killdeer, red-tailed hawks, barn swallows, tufted titmice, and a number of sparrows.  In fact, October produced a spectacular fallout of sparrows noted by birders Mike McGraw and Scott Quitel.  McGraw also discovered a black racer snake den hidden in the hollows of "The Diz".


The P. leucopus, also known as the white-footed mouse, was one
of many wildlife species seen in the Dismal Swamp.
Photo credit: Mike McGraw

Turtle Pond and the Bound Brook offered their usual daily visits by great blue herons, great egrets, green herons, spotted sandpiper, and wood ducks.  The double-crested cormorant - though common along the coast - was a surprise overnight guest in early October here on this tiny spring-fed pond.  The woods and meadows hosted plenty of cedar waxwings, American kestrels, northern harriers, and Cooper's hawks, along with massive numbers of red-winged blackbirds, rusty blackbirds, and common grackles, while northern flickers and brown creepers surveyed the tree trunks. 


Double-crested cormorant eating a catfish from Turtle Pond.
Photo credit: Dana Patterson

Our first Dismal Swamp ruby-throated hummingbirds finally left after spending the summer and September at the Triple C Ranch.  Another enjoyable new sighting in the Dismal Swamp was the pair of ravens tumbling in the air near a housing development, of all places.  And the howls of coyotes were heard at night last month by Bob Spiegel, marking the first time in two years that those majestic sounds filled the air here.  I missed that one, though I keep my ears peeled for their return.

One change that was less welcome is not a surprising one for anyone reading conservation headlines for the past few years.  Bats were still seen at dusk, though not quite as regularly as years past - making each appearance that much more appreciated as their numbers continue to be decimated by white-nose syndrome.

Now, another winter is here.  I can't wait to see what it brings to the Dismal Swamp.

Photo credit: David Wheeler

Carolina wren.

Great egret above Turtle Pond.
Photo credit: Dana Patterson

David Wheeler's book, “Wild New Jersey: Nature Adventures in the Garden State,”will be published in February by Rutgers University Press.  He is the founder of WildNewJersey.tv.  More information on the book can be found at WildNewJerseyBook.tv.


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Posted by WILDNEWJERSEY at 12/21/2010 1:00 PM
Categories: WNJ Swamp Sightings
Tags: dismal swamp Dismal Swamp Conservation Area autumn beavers Beavers WhiteTailed Deer wild turkey bullfrog painted turtle tufted titmouse killdeer Redtailed Hawk barn swallow cormorants
 

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