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Ramsey Patch: Ramsey Ponds Part of State’s ‘Free Fishing Weekend’
The Ramapo River in Mahwah is part of Free Fishing Days this weekend
Photo by Amanda Stevens
According to forecasters, rain should clear up just in time for the state’s Free Fishing Days, happening this Saturday and Sunday.
According to a release from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, the annual Free Fishing Days are meant to introduce new anglers to the state’s freshwater lakes and rivers without requiring them to purchase fishing licenses or trout stamps.
NBC 10 Phildadelphia: Great White Shark Spotted Off NJ Coast
Photo courtesy of Getty Images
A group of Jersey Shore fishermen had an up-close and personal encounter with a great white shark.
Rob Pompilio, Mike Long and another friend left from Little Egg Harbor Township on Sunday afternoon and were about 30 miles southeast of Atlantic City when they spotted the shark.
"Unspeakable. Like nothing I’ve ever seen before," said Pompilio. The great white was about half the size of Pompilio's 28-foot boat.
Town Topics: Black Bear Sightings, Adult Male May Be Looking for Princeton Home
Photographer Charles R. Plohn spotted this adult male black bear taking an afternoon nap on Saturday at around 3 p.m. high up in a tree on Terhune and Mt. Lucas Roads.
We all know that Princeton is prime residential real estate. It seems that black bears think so too.
Animal Control Officer Mark Johnson reports that, according to the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, the Princeton area might well expect a resident bear in the next three to five years. If so, says Mr. Johnson, the public needs to learn how to live with it. Who knows, he says, the adult male shown here, taking an afternoon nap, might well be scoping out the area for a possible home.
Warren County Wildlife: Northern gray tree frog's trill heard among cicadas' songs
Gray tree frog
Photo by John P. Parke
Cicadas are not the only thing making noise in the woods these days. Northern gray tree frogs are calling their hearts out in Warren County looking for mates.
With the warm humid weather settled in to Warren County, the largest tree frog in the northern states, the Northern gray treefrog, can be heard frequently calling throughout the day and night. Its voice, a high-pitched trill, fluctuates in speed with the temperature and humidity — the higher the temperature and humidity, the faster the trill.
Nature's Focus: The Seaside Dragonlet Dragonfly
Adult male Seaside Dragonlet
All Photos by Thomas W. Gorman
By Thomas W. Gorman
One of the wonderful things that happen when the spring temperatures begin to warm up is seeing numerous species of Odonates beginning their new cycle of life. The average person like me will see dozens of damselflies and dragonflies flying erratically along the shorelines of streams, ponds and even in the back yard as you are cutting the grass. In most cases these quick fliers will scoot past your head and your natural reaction will be to swat at it.
Meadowlands Nature Blog: Polyphemus Moth in the Meadowlands
This silk moth has a wingspan of 6+ inches, lives just a few days (without eating), mates and dies. The moth was released on Tuesday, when it was ready to fly.
Press of Atlantic City: State Senate acts to protect bunker fishing in New Jersey
Photo courtesy of jd.echenard.
New Jersey menhaden fishermen already face a big cut in catches this year, but the state Senate on Monday adopted legislation that would at least prevent boats from other states from poaching the Garden State's quota.
The Senate, at a special meeting just to consider the legislation sponsored by Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, approved it by a vote of 28-0. The Assembly passed it May 20 in a 72-0-5 vote.
"The over-fishing of our coastal waters by out-of-state fishermen hurts our economy, our fishermen and cuts into our quota. We have to make sure that New Jersey's menhaden supply is available to our local fishermen and not wiped out by those from other states," Van Drew said.
New York Magazine: The Cicada Invasion of New York City Has Been Canceled
WNYC's Cicada Tracker.
Photo courtesy of New York Magazine.
By now, New York City was supposed to be overrun with cicadas. When we walked outside, they'd fly into our hair and crunch below our feet. They'd cover every surface and deafen us with their collective mating hum. Every night, while we slept, we would unknowingly swallow an average of 2.3 cicadas.
Staten Islanders aside, though, chances are you haven't spotted a single cicada in New York City. A similar pattern has emerged in D.C. and north New Jersey —
Cicada Apocalypse 5000 in one locality; normal, pleasant summer day in
the next. If you're living in an area that hasn't yet experienced a
cicada invasion, you can probably stop waiting.
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Newark Patch : Newark Students Get a Unique Lesson in 'Outdoor Classroom'
Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. (center in
back) joined with fourth-grade students from Branch Brook School in Newark
on Wednesday, June 5 for an Urban Bird Celebration in Essex County Branch
Brook Park. With DiVincenzo and the students are state Sen. and Essex
County Deputy Chief of Staff Teresa Ruiz, Acting Newark City Council President
Anibal Ramos, Freeholder Leonard Luciano, Branch Brook School Principal
Joseph Cullen and Jennifer Dowd from NJ Audubon.
Photo by Glen Frieson.
Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. joined with students from Branch Brook School in Newark on Wednesday, June 5 for an Urban Bird Celebration in Essex County Branch Brook Park. The event was part of a two-day birding program, performed in cooperation and with the support of NJ Audubon, in which the students identified and catalogued the types of birds they saw and heard in the park. The school has used Branch Brook Park as its “outdoor classroom” since 2009.
“I am pleased to join the students and hear about their birding project. Since 2003, we have worked with the Branch Brook Park Alliance and other community groups to revitalize and enhance Essex County Branch Brook Park so it remains as the centerpiece of the community. While our parks are hubs for recreation, today’s program highlights their educational benefits as we prepare our students to be tomorrow’s stewards of the park and our environment,” DiVincenzo said.
Asbury Park Press: Shark jumps in boat, stuns anglers
The 8ft. mako shark. Photo courtesy of the Asbury Park Press.
Two anglers shark fishing east of Manasquan Inlet got a surprise when a 303-pound, 8-foot, 4-inch mako shark leapt into the bow of their 31-foot boat. Then proceeded to eat the boat.
“It was epic. He back flipped right in,” said Clint Simek, of Brielle, who still sounded stunned by the shark’s theatrics as he retold the story Wednesday, a day after the wild encounter.
Simek along with Capt. Tom Rostron, Jr., of Wall, were on Rostron’s boat the TNT. It was just the two of them.
Independent Press: Turtle Back Zoo in West Orange celebrates 50th anniversary
Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. and Governor Chris Christie celebrated the 50th anniversary of Essex County Turtle Back Zoo by hosting the 'Essex County Turtle Back Zoo Gold Tie 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner' on Wednesday, June 5. All proceeds raised will be used to develop a new education and entrance building at Turtle Back Zoo.
Photo by Glen Frieson.
Essex County Executive Joseph N. DiVincenzo, Jr. and Governor Chris Christie celebrated the 50th anniversary of Essex County Turtle Back Zoo by hosting the “Essex County Turtle Back Zoo Gold Tie 50th Anniversary Gala Dinner” on Wednesday, June 5. Governor Christie served as Honorary Chairman of the event and Barnabas Health Chairman Barry Ostrowsky served as Dinner Chairman. All proceeds raised will be used to develop a new education and entrance building at Turtle Back Zoo.
theAlternativePress.com: Westfield Residents Learn the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of Cicadas
"Fear not! We come in peace." Or so they might say.
While the emergence of cicadas in Westfield might feel like an alien invasion and their sound more akin to a space ship than a mating call, rest assured that these little visitors are not here to stay.
“The cicada phenomenon usually lasts four to six weeks, maybe as long as eight weeks … I would say that all cicada activity in Westfield should be done by mid-July, conservative estimate,” said Joseph Filo, Senior Park Naturalist of the Trailside Nature & Science Center in Mountainside, NJ.
Don's Jersey Birding: Walk the Teaneck Hackensack River Greenway
Black-Crowned Night Herons at Indian Pond along the Teaneck Greenway
Photo courtesy of Fred Nisenholz
By Don Torino
Black-crowned Night Herons perch silently in the trees just above your head almost invisible to the uninitiated. Northern Waterthrush scamper along the muddy banks and Bald Eagles grace the skies above. This is the Hackensack River Greenway through Teaneck , a 3.5 mile natural retreat that meanders along the Hackensack river through a solidly populated part of Bergen County.
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OnEarth Blog: The Real Bears of New Jersey
Photo courtesy of OnEarth Blog.
My morning commute from the Jersey suburbs is often fraught with confusion and delay. But this morning was the first time a black bear was to blame.
There it was, in the small park just across the street from my train station, perched nervously in the lower branches of a large tree. It looked like it was seriously considering a leap onto the police SUV parked below, which is why officers were banging loudly with fallen branches and a hammer, hoping to keep the bear off the ground until wildlife officials could arrive. The park was ringed with yellow caution tape, and I joined the gaggle of New York City commuters quickly snapping pictures with their smart phones, until the approaching train whistle lured us across the street to the boarding platform.
Suburban Trends: Watching out for ticks
Photo courtesy of Tick Info
Much of what residents love about this area, where the suburbs are tucked into woodlands, with rolling hills and wildlife just outside the door, is equally attractive to a somewhat less desirable form of wildlife: ticks.
New Jersey is home to several varieties of ticks, with the most common being the blacklegged, or deer tick, the lone star tick, and the American dog tick, according to the CDC.
Vimeo: Return of the Cicadas
Return of the Cicadas from motionkicker on Vimeo.
Here is a great video found on Vimeo about the Return of the Cicadas!
WNJ Photo of the Week: Chelostoma philadelphi
Chelostoma philadelphi
Photo by Hadel Go
If you are interested in having your photo as WNJ Photo of the Week, please email wildnewjersey@edisonwetlands.org with your name, the species, and where you took the picture!
- WNJ Photo of the Week: Pileated Woodpecker
- WNJ Photo of the Week: Paper Wasp
- WNJ Photo of the Week: Stinkbug
- WNJ Photo of the Week: Basking Turtle
The Express Time: New Jersey Conservation Foundation purchases, preserves 94-acre Delaware Township property
Trails in NJ
Photo courtesy of NJDEP
The New Jersey Conservation Foundation has purchased and preserved a 94-acre piece of property in Delaware Township situated along the Plum Brook.
Surrounded by other properties that have been preserved, the space adds to a near 1,000-acre circle of preserved land around the township's section of Sergeantsville. The foundation said a set of trails are planned to connect the various preserved areas.
The Record: Meadowlands flood prep languishes as Shore gets rebuilt
Flooding in the Meadowlands days after Superstorm Sandy. Plans to install flood-control measures in the region have gone nowhere.
Photo courtesy of The Record
It has been nearly 25 years since the Army Corps of Engineers walked away from plans to build a flood-control system for the Meadowlands, including a massive tidal barrier in the Hackensack River, after concluding that the $289 million price tag far outweighed the potential damage from floods.
The collapse of that effort looms large as officials consider the expensive lessons of Superstorm Sandy — $30 million and counting in Bergen County, according to recent data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Since 1992, major storms and floods have cost Bergen County $192 million — and that’s only counting claims submitted to the federal government.
View From The Cape: Summer in the back bays
Warm late afternoon light always gives the colors of Glossy Ibis an extra glow
Photo by Jane Ellison