The Celery Farm & Beyond

Bat Woes Persist

    I was going to post the following photo for Halloween, but figured it shouldn't wait, in light of the story in The Record today about Bergen's bat population dropping by 58 percent since last year.

   I have been counting bats for the state's annual bat count for several years, and this was the first year where I counted no bats, though I spent several hours total at three suspected roosts.

   I did see bats flying around at two locales, in Allendale and Upper Saddle River, but did not locate their roost.

   If you know of a roost in Bergen County, please let me know and I will try to do a bat count there next spring.

   Click to here to read the article by The Record's Environmental Writer Jim O'Neill.

   Click here for my previous posts on bats.

Baby Squirrel

     I have long suspected that squirrels were nesting in my Wood Duck box.

     Confirmation came on Sunday between showers. (Not thrilled with the photo, but better than nothing.)

Deer (and Deer Tick) Advisory

   We are getting a lot of reports of deer in the Celery Farm. and of deer ticks in general.

   Just a reminder to stay on the path and check for ticks when you get home.

Mink at the Celery Farm!?

 

Birder David Blinder just posted the following on Jersey Birds:

   "At 12:05, near marker #11, I was observing a muskrat at close proximity and made a few "chip" notes to see how it would respond.  One minute later, 4 brown rodents came into the small channel opposite the observation tower.  At first glance I had dismissed them as just more muskrats, didn't imagine any beaver in the pond or any other aquatic rodent. 
   "The animals were in the clearing in the channel long enough to realize they were long, skinny, and had furred tails.  I've never seen a MINK up close before, but my binocular views mirrored mink photos exactly.  Pretty exciting!

  "Unfortunately this was a rare time I wasn't carrying a camera.  It was still raining, and I only went to the CF because I had obligations in the area today."

Muskrat

 
    You've seen their lodges (link is here), now see the muskrats themselves  -- appearing Saturday morning at the CF.

MUSKRAT LODGES

    On a tour of frozen Lake Appert earlier this week, my wife Patty and  I counted at least 10 muskrat structures.
     Marsh Warden Stiles Thomas says he has never seen so many Muskrat lodges on Lake Appert.
      Why the muskrat boom? One theory: Muskrats love catttails, and the removal of the Purple Loosestrife allowed cattails to proliferate.
   As you can see from the photo above, the structures come in different sizes and, by one account, come in two varieties, lodge and feeding station.

   Click "Continue reading..." for more information on Muskrats and their structures.

TOMORROW: Red Foxes, the untold story

    Not everyone thinks Red Foxes are terrific, and I am not talking just about the local rabbits. Read a biodiversity professional's view of these "cute" critters tomorrow.

THIS JUST IN...

 

Irma, a friend of this blog, reports seeing a Coyote today near Barking Dog Corner, in the field by the green house.  Photo confirmation would be neat...  Anybody?

FOXES AT CELERY FARM

   Friend and photographer Kevin Watson saw two Red Foxes at the Celery Farm yesterday. He was able to photograph one with a pocket camera.
   The link is here.