by Don Torino

As I slowly scanned the trees through the early morning mist for movement, they suddenly appeared. First one…then two, three, and four. They kept materializing like ancient warriors adorned with feathered headdresses standing at attention. My final count totaled eighteen – eighteen Black-Crowned Night Herons lined the trees. 

“There they are!” whispered Denise Farrell, Field Trip Director of Bergen County Audubon Society. “Last year I saw fourteen here at once, but now there are even more.” 

The Black-Crowned Night Heron is on New Jersey’s threatened species list. Due to habitat loss and contaminants such as PCB and DDT, their numbers dropped from 1500 in the 1970s to about 200 in the late 1990s, a nearly 90% drop.

What made this day even more amazing was that these threatened birds were in Van Buskirk Island County Park in Oradell surrounded by busy roads and the almost deafening sound of a New Jersey Transit train.

Historic water works building at Van Buskirk Island.

Van Buskirk Island County Park began as a man-made island for mills in 1802. In 1882, it became a facility for the Hackensack Water Company that brought clean drinking water to Bergen County. It continued this service until 1990. In 1993, the Hackensack Water Company donated Van Buskirk Island and the company’s 19th and 20th century buildings to Bergen County. Since then, there have been serious debates between preservationists and conservationists on what to do with the historic buildings and surrounding land.

Gerry Byrne, Conservation Director of Bergen County Audubon Society, spends many days documenting the bird life at Van Buskirk Island. “The most important factor to consider is restoring the riparian habitat on the western side of the island and limiting access to the bridge and paved road that go to the edge of the stream,” he says. “Planting up to the sidewalk would create a reasonable buffer for wildlife. Since much of that area floods during heavy rains, a riparian habitat is even more imperative. Another important factor that would help the Black-Crowned Night Herons and other wildlife species would be to keep the Elm St. Bridge open to pedestrians only. The area is much quieter and safer without the steady stream of traffic from the through street.”