WARN-DEP

About a month ago I was way back behind the large reservoir at the cranberry bogs on Dover Road when I heard singing. I rarely meet anyone else in this area except for one other birder who goes there often and the occasional jerk on an ATV. A young guy with a large box on his shoulder was coming toward me. I thought it was some kind of animal trap and asked what he was trying to catch, but he told me that it was actually a big battery and that he was living there in an "underground bunker." I left it at that--my mother taught me not to talk to strangers. I didn't know of any underground bunkers there, but I thought he might have found a trench somewhere.  What I did do was text my fellow birder to give her a heads up. She replied that a lot of odd things had been going on out there--including the disassembly of one of the old pump houses which I had noticed. 

The other day she texted me that in the one remaining pump house someone had obviously set up housekeeping, using parts of the wrecked one to cover up the exposed side of the shed. She called the DEP, who referred it to the park police--the cranberry bogs are officially part of Double Trouble SP (though few people realize this) and thus comes under their jurisdiction. 

That was Thursday. Today I went over there and when I came upon the pump house, I saw that it had clothes in baskets on the floor and a couple of shirts hanging on nails. At the entrance of the bogs, on Dover Road, there was a big cart with a garbage can (Property of Berkeley Township) and a half-filled gallon of water) so I wasn't clear on what was going on. I decided to call it in again. I knew that the number for the NJDEP is WARN-DEP and I assumed it was an 800 number, which I "dialed". Imagine my surprise when I was connected with "the hottest talk line in America." I immediately disconnected. My first thought was "Phone sex? There's still phone sex? How quaint!" 

Then I had to actually look up the DEP's number. In case you ever want to report something, it is an 877 prefix. Operator 113 took my information and phone number and said that he would report it to the park police and that I should expect a call. I was skeptical but 10 minutes later a Sgt Callaway called me, took down the particulars, then told me that that park maintenance had cleared out most of the crap from the shed, included a lounge chair and a cart, but that they had left some stuff which they supposedly were coming back for at noon today. The police were still looking for the occupant--they'd like to have a talk with him since nearby, in South Toms River, someone was threatened with a knife, and the descriptions of the perp could match the description of the guy I met a month ago. I was impressed with the response and even more impressed that they took this seriously. And before anyone gets all goo-goo about harassing the unhoused, I know it's a problem; I also know that the solution is not sleeping in a pump house. 

Osprey, large reservoir

Other than that excitement it was fairly quiet on the bogs and in the meadow (where the buildings used to be--which were torn down a few years ago, no doubt to remove temptation). Evaporation is lowering the water in a lot of the bogs, so waders were in abundance and an Osprey was hunting over the large reservoir--that is when it was not being chased by a clueless blackbird expending energy chasing a raptor with no interest in its nest or chicks. 

Cedar Waxwing, large reservoir

36 species
Wood Duck  4     Bogs
Mourning Dove  3
Glossy Ibis  2
Snowy Egret  2
Green Heron  2     Meadow Bog & outer bogs
Great Egret  12
Great Blue Heron  1
Turkey Vulture  1
Osprey  1     
Northern Flicker  1
Eastern Wood-Pewee  2
Eastern Phoebe  1
Great Crested Flycatcher  2
Eastern Kingbird  3
Blue Jay  1
American Crow  1
Carolina Chickadee  3
Tufted Titmouse  1
Tree Swallow  8
Northern Rough-winged Swallow  2     Meadow
Barn Swallow  2
Northern House Wren  2
Gray Catbird  5
American Robin  18
Cedar Waxwing  1
House Finch  1
American Goldfinch  1
Chipping Sparrow  1
Field Sparrow  1
Song Sparrow  1
Eastern Towhee  4
Red-winged Blackbird  25
Common Grackle  8
Ovenbird  3
Common Yellowthroat  6
Pine Warbler  3