Brave hikers set out to see wood ducks

Winter walk reveals nature’s own settled in for the cold months, By Janet Redyke Wantage — As the Middle Atlantic states, including South Jersey were experiencing a weekend “powerhouse” snowstorm, Sussex County communities remained snow-free. That made conditions ideal for a dozen stoic trail walkers who braved the 18-degree air on Saturday, Feb. 6 to explore Wood Duck Trail. Led by Wallkill River National Refuge volunteer naturalist Kerri Yezuita, the group was able to easily view red-tailed hawks, muskrats, abandoned nests of various smaller birds, animal tracks and coyote scat. “Coyote have become very prevalent in the area,” Yezuita said. From her home near Hamburg Mountain, Yezuita said she can hear packs of coyotes howling from various mountain ridges. She scoffed, however, at recent claims of puma sightings in the area, saying, “there just isn’t enough evidence.” In fact, these “sightings” have been debunked. (Check the Web site www.snopes.com.) The Refuge, which has been in existence since 1990, has placed Wood Duck nesting boxes along the trail. Yezuita said the boxes were placed to aid the ducks in re-establishing their dwindling populations in the area. “Wood ducks also nest in the hollows of dead trees, called snags,” she said. As the group trekked further onto the trail, they observed flocks of robins. “Robins are viewed as a sign of spring, however, some flocks of robins actually remain all winter,” said Don Leak, one of the trail walkers and former president of the Fike Birding Society. He pointed out that “some are migratory while others are not, much like Canada geese.” Absent from Saturday’s walk were the hordes of painted turtles usually seen in warmer weather sunning on fallen logs throughout the trails’ wetlands. “Turtles hibernate in the mud during the cold months,” Yezuita said. The walk concluded near the Wallkill River. The next activity sponsored by the Wallkill River National Refuge will be the Birds at the Feeder bird count scheduled for Feb. 14 at the Refuge Headquarters.

Find out more
Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge
Find out more Wallkill River National Wildlife Refuge
1547 County Road 565
Sussex, NJ 07461-4013
973-702-7266
wallkillriver.fws.gov
The next activity is: Birds at the Feeder bird count scheduled for Feb. 14 at the Refuge Headquarters.
1547 County Road 565
Sussex, NJ 07461-4013
973-702-7266
wallkillriver.fws.gov
The next activity is: Birds at the Feeder bird count scheduled for Feb. 14 at the Refuge Headquarters.