Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary is a 21.5 acres (8.7 ha) bird sanctuary and nature preserve in Stone Harbor

Stone Harbor, New Jersey

Stone Harbor is a borough in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. It shares the barrier island Seven Mile Island with its northern neighbor Avalon...

, Cape May County

Cape May County, New Jersey

-Climate:Being the southernmost point in New Jersey, Cape May has fairly mild wintertime temperatures. Contrary to that, the summertime has lower temperatures than most places in the state, making the county a popular place to escape the heat. It is in zone 7a/7b, which is the same as parts of...

, New Jersey

New Jersey

New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...

. It was created in 1947 by local ordinance. It was designated a National Natural Landmark

National Natural Landmark

The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...

 in October 1965, the first in New Jersey.

History

Herons began nesting in the area that became the sanctuary around 1938. The town protected the site in 1947 and put up a fence surrounding the site in 1961. As of 1964, more than 5,000 birds would arrive for nesting season from March through July and would stay until December. Beginning around 1995, the numbers of nesting shore birds such as herons returning to the Sanctuary began decreasing, eventually almost entirely disappearing by 2000. In 2005, the Sanctuary began a rejuvenation project to improve conditions for the nesting shore birds in the hope of them returning. Among other actions, they plan to increase the flow of tidal water to the site, remove non-native invasive species of plants and add nature trails for visitors.

Flora and fauna

The site is covered in dense bushes and shrubs which provide shelter, as well as a fresh water pond, a fresh water meadow and a maritime forest. Nearby Nummy Island is a salt marsh which offers feeding and nesting grounds.

Before they mysteriously disappeared in 1995, a number of species have been spotted at the Sanctuary, including snowy egret

Snowy Egret

The Snowy Egret is a small white heron. It is the American counterpart to the very similar Old World Little Egret, which has established a foothold in the Bahamas....

s, glossy ibis

Glossy Ibis

The Glossy Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.This is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean region of the Americas...

, black-crowned

Black-crowned Night Heron

The Black-crowned Night Heron commonly abbreviated to just Night Heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, except in the coldest regions and Australasia .-Description:Adults are...

 and yellow-crowned night heron

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

The Yellow-crowned Night Heron , also called the American Night Heron or squawk, is a fairly small heron, similar in appearance to the Black-crowned Night Heron...

s, little blue heron

Little Blue Heron

The Little Blue Heron, Egretta caerulea, is a small heron. It breeds from the Gulf states of the USA through Central America and the Caribbean south to Peru and Uruguay. It is a resident breeder in most of its range, but some northern breeders migrate to the southeastern USA or beyond in winter...

s, green heron

Green Heron

The Green Heron is a small heron of North and Central America. It was long considered conspecific with its sister species the Striated Heron , and together they were called "Green-backed Heron"...

s and tri-colored herons. In 2003, The Wetlands Institute

The Wetlands Institute

The Wetlands Institute is a non-profit organization started in 1969 by WWF executive director Herbert Mills. The Wetlands Institute sits on 6,000 acres of protected wetlands in Stone Harbor, New Jersey...

 identified the American redstart

American Redstart

The American Redstart is a New World warbler. It is the only member of its genus and is unrelated to the Old World redstarts. It derives its name from the male's red tail, start being an old word for tail.-Description:...

, black and white warbler, black-throated blue warbler

Black-throated Blue Warbler

The Black-throated Blue Warbler, Setophaga caerulescens, is a small songbird of the New World warbler family.Adult males have white underparts with black throat, face and flanks; the upperparts are deep blue; immature males are similar with upperparts more greenish...

, downy woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker

The Downy Woodpecker is a species of woodpecker, the smallest in North America.- Description :Adult Downy Woodpeckers are mainly black on the upperparts and wings, with a white back, throat and belly and white spotting on the wings. There is a white bar above the eye and one below. They have a...

 and sharp-shinned hawk

Sharp-shinned Hawk

The Sharp-shinned Hawk is a small hawk. In fact, "sharp-shins" or "sharpies" are the smallest to reside in USA and Canada, though some Neotropical species are smaller...

, but none of the egrets and herons that were traditionally identified with the area. In 2005, a number of feral

Feral

A feral organism is one that has changed from being domesticated to being wild or untamed. In the case of plants it is a movement from cultivated to uncultivated or controlled to volunteer. The introduction of feral animals or plants to their non-native regions, like any introduced species, may...

cats were trapped and removed from the site, leading to fines for anyone caught feeding stray cats without a license.

External links

• Stone Harbor Bird Sanctuary