Morgan Bird Life – The Surprising Sanctuary
Great Egret Resting on a Log in Raritan Bay Waterfront Park.
I was astounded on one trip back home to Morgan a few years ago when I wandered onto the beach in the southern most part of what is now Raritan Bay Waterfront Park. There were two birds which looked very much like Canadian Geese. When I lived there as a kid, I never recalled seeing this type of bird. I remember the Ducks, Robins, what were probably Sparrows, the occasional Cardinal and Blue Jay but mostly I remember Sea Gulls flying across the bay’s shoreline. However, when I was a kid, I never crossed the tracks and went onto the jut of landfill making up what is now Raritan Bay Waterfront Park as my parents told me to never cross the railroad tracks.
On this particular day on the shoreline, I was fortunate enough to run into a gentleman who was looking into a huge monocular which I was to find out was a special piece of optical equipment used specifically for “birdwatching” or “birding”. Not only that, but the gentleman went on to tell me that this part of Morgan was very well known in Birding circles for its large variety of bird species. For Sea Gulls there are, I think he said, three (or five) different species which have their habitat on Raritan Bay. Yes, those were Canadian Geese and yes that was an Egret. Unfortunately I had no way to take notes at the time. This encounter was before I had the notion of creating this web site and unfortunately I was not able to fully absorb all the amazing information he was providing to me. He really knew quite a lot about the subject. I was also dumbfounded (a common theme in this web site) that all these different species were present in the area.
There are also birding opportunities in Cheesequake State Park which is further inland from Raritan Bay near the headwaters of Cheesequake Creek. Cheesequake State Park has been a park since it opened on June 22, 1940.
Sea Gulls Resting in Raritan Bay on the Old Pipeline Pilings from the Sewage Treatment Plant.
Here are a few links which discuss Birdwatching in Morgan, South Amboy or Raritan Bay. The most amazing statistic is presented on the New Jersey Audubon web site – there are over 210 species of birds able to be observed from the Morgan area including 12 types of gulls!
Click here to see NJ Audubon’s Guide to Birding along Raritan Bay.
Click here to see information about Cheesequake State Park.
Click here to see a PDF file with tons of information regarding birding in Middlesex County (the county Morgan, Sayreville & South Amboy are in).
Originally posted on March 7, 2010.