A Real Halloween Bat Tale

Still frame from The Creature Show on bats - see below

As Michele Byers reminds us, those bats that are popular as Halloween decorations, are in reality very misunderstood. They won't suck your blood, fly into your hair or spread disease. Those are just a few common myths.

Bat Bits

Bats eat thousands of insects a night and reducing our need for chemical insecticides. Just one nursing female can eat more than her weight in bugs (up to 4,500 insects) in a night.

There are no vampire bats in New Jersey or anywhere else in the United States.

Bats rarely attack unless disturbed and are actually shy and will move away if you approachi their roosting area.

Just like raccoons, squirrels and other mammals, they can carry rabies BUT less than one percent of bats carry rabies.

White-Nose Syndrome, a disease caused by a fungus, has entered their NJ winter hibernation caves (hibernacula). In New Jersey, we’ve lost 98 percent of our cave-hibernating bats, according to the NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program.

This new episode of The Creature Show, a series focusing on the state’s rare and endangered species, features NJ bats and researchers including the northern long-eared bat, a newly-listed federally threatened species.

From The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

Bird Song Hero is a sound matching game that helps you appreciate & visualize bird song from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The Lab is a world leader in the study, appreciation, and conservation of birds and a great source online to advance the understanding of nature and to engage people of all ages in learning about birds and protecting the planet.

At www.birds.cornell.edu, you can find lots of information about birds.

From their YouTube video channel, here is a view you don't usually get a chance to see up close 

American Eel Does Not Make the Endangered Species Act List

American eels face a battle in migration because of changing stream habitats and dammed rivers. It was thought that they might make the Endangered Species List this year, but they will not says the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.

One reason for not listing them is the removal of 13 dams in the northeast U.S. The USFWS still recommends that efforts continue to build healthy habitats, and that harvest levels are monitored.  Efforts are also being made to upgrade river routes to make them easier for migrating eels.

The American eel is the only freshwater eel found in North America.. Eels were part of the diet of New Jersey colonial settlers who saw them harvested in large numbers by American Indians.

Their snakelike appearance makes most people imagine that they are not fish, but they are fish that have fins and can breathe underwater with gills instead of lungs. 

After Hurricane Sandy, the USFWS gained $10.4 million in resilience funding for fish passage and this is being used to remove 13 dams in Maryland, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

These eels begin their lives in the ocean, live in freshwater rivers, then spawn in the ocean. They live in rivers from Venezuela to Greenland and migrate to the North Atlantic to spawn with their preferred spawning ground being the Sargasso Sea.

Not all eels will migrate to freshwater for the winter, though why some eels move inland and others do not is not known. According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife, many people once thought that male eels remained in the estuarine waters and only females went upstream to freshwater. Territories for eels may be determined more by density with higher concentrations more likely to be males.

American eels are not exclusively "American" as in the United States but as in "the Americas." Eels are panmictic, meaning that as a species they have one population worldwide, as a result of their random mating behavior.

Species Profile: American Eel in NJ

In 2013, the Aquarion Water Company, The Nature Conservancy, Sacred Heart University, the U.S. Geological Survey's Silvio O. Conte Anadromous Fish Laboratory in Turner's Falls, Mass., and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) collaborated to release and monitor 30 radio-transmitter-tagged eels into the Aspetuck River in Easton, Connecticut. The three releases, which included 10 eels each, were scheduled to coincide with significant rain events to spur the eels' migrations, encouraging them to move downstream to salt water where they spawn.

Species on the Edge 2.0 Multimedia Contest Winners

The Species on the Edge 2.0 Multimedia Contest is a fun and educational way for high school students to work with technology and showcase their talent, creativity, and a love of nature. The contest helps to develop students’ experience in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics). It is free to enter and open to all New Jersey high school students.

Prizes include a 1st prize of $1,000 in scholarship money and a 2nd prize of $500 and a 3rd prize of $250 in scholarship money. And all entries are eligible to win a drawing to spend a day in the field with a wildlife biologist.

This year's first place winner is David Tattoni, a senior at Peddie School in Hightstown, who created a YouTube channel featuring wildlife and wild places. For example, he worked with a piping plover biologist (shown below). The piping plover is a NJ endangered beach nesting bird.



The second place winners are Priyanshi Jain and Victoria Momyer, seniors at Biotechnology High School in Freehold, who developed the website “New Jersey Wilds” and its accompanying Facebook page.

The third place winner is Kayleigh Young, a junior at Cresskill High School in Cresskill, who produced the video "Endangered in New Jersey," which features interviews of her teachers and classmates focused on the importance of wildlife conservation.

More information on the contest and the winners on the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey website.

October Is Monarch Migration

October is the peak month for monarch butterfly migration, and along New Jersey's coastline there is a good chance of spotting these long-distance flyers. They migrate over 2,000 miles to the forests of central Mexico.

But the monarch population has declined tremendously - down 95% from the mid-1990s - mostly due to widespread loss of milkweed plants. The milkweed plant's leaves are the only food source for monarch caterpillars. Many people believe the monarch needs to be placed on the U.S. Endangered Species List.

Along the coast, you might see the monarchs on goldenrod flowers or roosting in Eastern red cedars, although their routes are highly affected by winds.

Cape May is a key point on their migration route. As with many birds, they use the tip of the state as a food stop before their next long flight. In the monarchs' case, it is a southern route over the Delaware that they need to power up for on this two month journey.

 New Jersey Audubon Society's Cape May Bird Observatory hosts the Monarch Monitoring Project which covers much of the tip and conducts counts at Stone Harbor Point and East Point on the Delaware Bay - see www.monarchmonitoringproject.com

The Jersey Devil Reappears

The Jersey Devils hockey team has started its season. Halloween is about two weeks away. And the legendary Jersey Devil has reappeared. Maybe. Well, it has at least reappeared in the media.

The legend of the Jersey Devil dates back for centuries. Hundreds of people have reported seeing the creature, but despite extensive searches, no one has proven its existence.

These tales are more likely the domain of places like StuffTheyDontWantYouToKnow.com and Weird N.J. than this blog, but I do find it fun.

And, starting with much doubt about authenticity but keeping in mind that Halloween is closing in, I present this latest installment of the JDevil.

This time the report comes via an article on the legitimate news site NJ.com. A Little Egg Harbor resident says he has captured the Jersey Devil in a photo, and then good ol' weirdnj.com posted a video from a woman who claims to have recorded the Jersey Devil flying by.

My much younger sons prepared for
a Jersey Devil search in the Pine Barrens

When my sons were a lot younger and we did a lot of camping, we would sometimes stay in the Jersey Pine Barrens (AKA Pinelands). Those overnighters always included a hunt for the creature.

I would read them a a kid's book about the legend as we sat in front of the campfire and watch the shadows moving around us and heard creepy night sounds like the call of a barred owl. (I would tell them that some people say that owl is saying "Who cooks for you?" but I said what we were hearing was more like "He wants to get you."

We even had a TV show visit the state in search of Bigfoot (AKA Sasquatch).

If you like to play armchair cryptozoologist, and if you were to search for either of these creatures, you would certainly want to look for them in the Pine Barrens.

The Pine Barrens (AKA the Pinelands or simply the Pines) is a large, heavily forested area of coastal plain. Congress created the New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve, the country's first National Reserve, to protect the area under the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978.

The New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve contains approximately 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) of land, and occupies 22% of New Jersey's land area, including territory of much of seven counties. Counties affected by the Act are Atlantic, Burlington, Camden, Cape May, Cumberland, Gloucester and Ocean.

The name "pine barrens" is kind of a misnomer because it is hardly barren. The name refers to the area's sandy, acidic, nutrient-poor soil in which colonists could not cultivate their familiar crops. It actually has a great diversity of plant life, including orchids and carnivorous plants, and several threatened and endangered species of wildlife. It is known for its cranberry bogs and the rare pygmy Pitch Pines and other plant species that actually depend on the frequent fires of the Pine Barrens to reproduce.

The Pinelands are a great place to visit, and a great place to live if you are a legendary creature.

In case you were wondering, there is a Jersey Devil action figure.

---

Not that Bruce believes in Mrs. Leed's 13th child, but he did record

 "A Night With The Jersey Devil." 

Here is Episode 102 on The Jersey Devil from Stuff They Don't Want You To Know

More Jersey Devil Fun, Reading and Viewing

• Wikipedia has a nice page on the Jersey Devil 
• Sightings have been collected at www.njdevilhunters.com
• The Jersey Devil
• Tales Of The Jersey Devil
• Mystery of the Jersey Devil 

New Jersey's Watchung Mountains

Looking west to Second Mountain from a ridge of First Mountain - part of the Watchung Mountains in New Jersey

Though New Jersey has many places that are called "mountains," we know that they do not compete with the western U.S. mountain ranges. Probably the best known NJ mountain area is the northwestern area where we find the Appalachian Trail.

But New Jersey also has the Watchung Mountains (once called the Blue Hills) which are actually a group of three long low ridges of volcanic origin, between 400 ft. (122 m) and 500 ft. (152 m) high, lying parallel to each other primarily in northeastern New Jersey.

All of the ridges lie to the east of the higher Appalachian Mountains, which in northern New Jersey are often referred to as the New York-New Jersey Highlands.

Together with the Appalachian Mountains to the west, the Watchungs pen in an area formerly occupied by the prehistoric Glacial Lake Passaic.

The Great Swamp, a large portion of which is designated as the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge, is a remnant of this lake. The swamp area is presently retained by what we call the Third Watchung Mountain.

200 million years ago, magma intruded into the Newark Basin, then an active rift basin associated with the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea. The magma formed large intrusions like the Palisades Sill. But the magma ultimately broke out to the surface through large, episodic eruptions and formed the Watchung Mountains.

Throughout the early Jurassic period, the Newark Basin underwent extensive dipping and folding, and at the western edge of the Newark basin along the Ramapo Fault System formed alternating synclines and anticlines warped the layers of basalt and sedimentary rock. Jurassic sedimentary rock layers between and above the ridges form the Feltville, Towaco and Boonton formations.

The Watchung Mountains are known for their numerous scenic vistas overlooking the New York City and New Jersey skylines, as well as their isolated ecosystems containing rare plants, endangered wildlife, rich minerals, and globally imperiled traprock glade communities.

If you drive on I-280 up or down the big hill in "The Oranges", you see the cliffs that consist of a single massive lava flow that cooled and cracked into columnar joints.

In some locations, the joints tend to radiate away from a central core in a pattern generated by an uneven cooling pattern in the flow. There are also complex areas in the middle of the outcrop that show a small normal fault that may have formed from seismic activity that occurred about the time that the flows were still cooling. There are also lots of boulders (glacial erratics) scattered in the woods along the hilltop.

The ridges once held back the westward spread of urbanization, forming a significant geologic barrier beyond the Piedmont west of the Hudson River. But in many places within the state, they are smaller islands of natural landscape within suburban sprawl.

Parks, preserves, and numerous historical sites dot the valleys and slopes of the mountains, providing recreational and cultural activities to one of the most densely populated regions of the nation.

From near the summit of High Mountain in Wayne - in the right foreground is the eastern slope of Mount Cecchino
 (third highest peak of the Watchung Mountains)
Garret Mountain in the background (First Watchung Mountain) overlooking Paterson.

The two most prominent ridges are known as First Watchung Mountain (the southeastern ridge) and Second Watchung Mountain (the northwestern ridge). They stretch for over forty miles (64 km) from Somerville (in Somerset County) in the southwest through Morris County, Union County, Essex County, and Passaic County to Mahwah (in Bergen County) in the northeast.

The less prominent and discontinuous ridge formed by Long Hill, Riker Hill, Hook Mountain, and Packanack Mountain is sometimes referred to as Third Watchung Mountain and lies on the northwestern side of Second Watchung Mountain.

The First and Second Mountains are often erroneously referred to as Orange Mountain and Preakness Mountain. "Orange" and "Preakness" more properly applies to specific geographic sections of these ridges.

Third Watchung Mountain is sometimes referred to locally as Hook Mountain.

A smaller fourth ridge exists south of Morristown and west of Third Watchung Mountain. This ridge lacks topographic prominence, only rising to about 100 ft (30 m) above the surrounding terrain and the only named portion (at Harding Township) is known as Lees Hill.

The original inhabitants of the Watchungs were the Native American Lenape. They referred to the mountains as the Wach Unks, or ‘high hills’. Evidence of the Lenape presence in the Watchungs can be seen in numerous camps sites that have been uncovered, mainly along the rivers coursing through mountains and in the small caves abundant in the volcanic rock.

It is thought the Lenape favored the Watchungs for their profusion of natural resources, including abundant freshwater rivers and streams, a variety of forests, and plentiful fish and game. They also took advantage of the rich soils and maintained many farm areas where they raised a variety of seasonal crops.

With the arrival of Europeans, the rivers and streams of the Watchungs also supported grain, grist, and saw mills. Later, the energy of these rivers would be harnessed for industry, most notably at the Great Falls of the Passaic River, where mechanical and hydroelectric systems exploited the energy of water falling over the face of First Watchung Mountain.

During the Revolutionary War, General George Washington used the protection of the Watchung mountains to erect the first and second Middlebrook encampment. This position on the high ground also allowed him to monitor the area between Perth Amboy and New Brunswick as well as to identify and disturb British movements between Manhattan and Philadelphia.

During World War Two, an anti-aircraft gun emplacement was made in Mills Reservation (Cedar Grove & Montclair) at the lookout point on the cliffs overlooking New York City. All that remains of this today is a circular cement platform.

In the twentieth century, the Hilltop in Verona, the highest point in Essex County, served as the site of a sanatorium for tuberculosis patients. The county hospital was built there because the high elevation provided clean, mountain air away from the cities to the east.

At the height of the Cold War, Campgaw Mountain was selected to house a Nike missile base. Installed on the mountain between 1955 and 1971, the base’s missiles served to guard New York City air space, standing by to intercept nuclear armed Soviet bombers. The facility ultimately was abandoned with the advent of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Two other missile sites were nestled into the forests atop peaks in Mountainside and Morris Township, creating a triangle of redundant sites.

NYC skyline seen from Mills Reservation, First Watchung Mountain

There are many parks and recreational areas to visit along the Watchung Mountains.

Campgaw Mountain Reservation (First and Second Watchung Mountain) is the northernmost ridge of the Watchungs and its northern terminus is the Ramapo Mountains, near the New York border. A shallow gap separates its southern end from Preakness Mountain and Goffle Hill.

Preakness Mountain comprises part of the northern extent of Second Watchung Mountain between the Passaic River and Campgaw Mountain.[ Along with Packanack Mountain (part of Third Watchung Mountain) to the west, Preakness Mountain forms the Preakness Range. The three highest peaks of the Watchungs are located in this range.

Great Falls State Park in Paterson is on First Watchung Mountain.

Nearby Garret Mountain Reservation is 568 acre park located within the Borough of Woodland Park (formerly West Paterson), although it also extends into the cities of Paterson and Clifton. The reservation covers the northernmost part of the First Watchung Mountain and reaches over 500 feet (152 m) above sea level.

Continuing along the Watchung Mountains, popular locations include:
* Mills Reservation, First Watchung Mountain
* Hilltop Reservation, Second Watchung Mountain
* Eagle Rock Reservation, First Watchung Mountain
* Riker Hill Park, Riker Hill (Third Watchung Mountain)
* South Mountain Reservation, First and Second Watchung Mountain
* Watchung Reservation, First and Second Watchung Mountain
* Washington Rock State Park, First Watchung Mountain
* Washington Valley Park, First Watchung Mountain
* Leonard J. Buck Garden/Moggy Hollow Natural Area, Second Watchung Mountain

Foxy New Jersey

red fox - photo by Gary Lehman www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/

It is not at all uncommon for you to see a fox in a rural or suburban setting, but foxes in New Jersey are still rare enough to give most of us a surprise and thrill.

It is not positively known if the red fox (Vulpe s vulpes) was a native of New Jersey. If the species was native, the numbers were few. It is thought that some or all of this species may have been introduced by colonists from England for the purpose of hunting with horses and hounds.

English foxes were introduced to the Colonies in Virginia and the Long Island area and eventually crossed into mainland New York State and into New Jersey. The native gray fox was not seen as "sporting" enough as it treed rather than ran or ran in a much smaller area than would the red fox.

In New Jersey, there are two species you might see. The red fox and the gray fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus). The gray fox is known to be native to the state.

Both species are present throughout the state and are also classified as game species with hunting and trapping seasons.

For both species, male foxes are called "dogs" and females are known as "vixens".

Generally speaking, neither species pose a threat to people, but like all wildlife species should never be approached or fed. Fox are well known for their threat to small domestic animals, and are well-deserving of their reputation for intelligence. They are highly adaptable, and can be found living in close proximity to people and in developed areas.



The pointed ears, slender muzzle, and slanted eyes, bushy and unusually long tail, coupled with its small dog size and typical orange-red coloration, make the red fox instantly recognizable to most observers.

The exact breeding period for red foxes is January-February in the central regions which includes New Jersey. ) Litters size may vary from one to as many as fourteen pups, with an average of about five. The family group remains together until the autumn after the birth when the young will disperse. Sexual maturity is reached by 10 months for both male and female young.

Red foxes can weigh from about 8 to 15 pounds, but in New Jersey will generally weigh about 12 to 13 pounds for a large, adult male. Males average about 2 pounds heavier than females. Generally, adult foxes measure 39 to 43 inches from the tip of the nose to the tip of the tail. In their first autumn, juveniles are as large as adults.

Other than when raising young and during breeding season, the red fox is a solitary animal and does not form a pack like wolves.

Family groups and/or individuals use a main earthen den in conjunction with other emergency burrows within their home range. Foxes often take over and utilize dens of other animals, such as woodchucks. The dens may be enlarged during the winter and prior to birth and rearing of the young. Several generations of foxes will often use the same den site.

Red foxes are strictly terrestrial and rarely enter water. Red foxes most often hunt and move about during evening, nighttime and early morning hours.

Meadow Vole

Being a nonspecific predator, the red fox utilizes a variety of food types and prey. It is also a very efficient scavenger, and garbage and carrion are can be important to the fox's diet. Throughout much of the year, however, meadow voles are the major prey, making up about one half of the red fox's diet. Other rodents are also eaten whenever available.

In northeastern North America, dependent on season and local, woodchucks, eastern cottontails (and snowshoe hares where they are present) may also be preferred. Gamebirds such as bobwhite, ring-necked pheasants and ruffed grouse are seasonally utilized as well as any ground nesting birds and/or their eggs and young during spring and early summer. During late summer and autumn, fruits, berries, and insects may be eaten.

Gray Fox

The Gray Fox is common in New Jersey as well as many parts of the United States where deciduous woodlands provide habitat. But it is a seldom seen, secretive carnivore.

Habitats for gray fox include wooded, brushy, and rocky areas. Although they are occasionally seen in old fields and farm country, they do not prefer agricultural habitats, unlike the red fox.


Like most foxes, gray foxes resemble small, slightly built dogs with bushy tails. The general coloration of a gray fox is a strikingly beautiful grizzled gray that appears on the face, sides and tail. Portions of the legs and lower sides as well as large areas of the neck, ears and bottom portion of the tail are a rusty, reddish color with white areas on the chin, belly and insides of the legs.

Adult gray foxes weigh from about 6.5 to 15 pounds; generally though, a large male will weigh somewhere around 11 to 12 pounds, and males will be slightly larger than females.

Gray foxes have a capability unique for a member of the dog family - their ability to climb trees. Their strong, hooked claws allow them to scramble up trees to avoid predators and to obtain fruit. They descend primarily by jumping from branch to branch. Gray foxes are nocturnal or crepuscular and they usually remain denned during the day in hollow trees, stumps or old woodchuck burrows.

The gray fox is a generally a solitary hunter, but they may hunt as a pair, usually with a mate or offspring. They eat a wide variety of food types. The most important food source for the gray fox may be the cottontail but voles, field mice, shrews, and birds are readily eaten. The gray fox generally supplements its diet with whatever fruits are in season; generally utilizing more vegetable matter than the red fox.

Foxes will prey on small livestock such as ducks, chickens, rabbits, and young lambs, but generally do not bother larger livestock. Cats may also be preyed on. Foxes often carry their prey to a secluded area or their den where it is eaten by the adults and young.
Human presence is often a deterrent to foxes. Foxes that travel into residential yards should be harassed or scared with loud noises to prevent them from becoming habituated. Foxes, especially red foxes, commonly live in close association with human residences and communities. They frequently inhabit yards, parks, and golf courses, especially areas that adjoin suitable, undeveloped habitat. Healthy foxes pose virtually no danger to humans. Foxes can grow accustomed to human activity but are seldom aggressive toward people. Expanding housing development, particularly in historically rural areas, increases the chances of interactions between humans and foxes, as well as other wildlife.