Hamilton-Trenton-Bordentown Marsh

What will birds and other animals do for food, now that we’re entering the long winter months?

Northern Mockingbird

They’ll still be foraging for protein in the form of insects, but the supply will be much less plentiful than in the warmer months when many more insects are active. Ground feeders will forage among the fallen leaves, while others will investigate branches and probe bark crevices of trees and shrubs for a meal.

Gray Squirrel

Ripe fruit will also help sustain resident winter animals. On a recent visit to Spring Lake at the Abbott Marshlands, from a single spot where the land meets the marsh, we found a bounty of food, including the hips of Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris),

Hips of Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris). Rose hips are rich in vitamin C. The hips of some rose species are used in teas.

Hips of Swamp Rose (Rosa palustris).

open legumes of Groundnut (Apios americana), a pea family member,

Open legumes of Groundnut (Apios americana)

ripe drupes of Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum),

Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum) fruit

Arrowwood Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum) fruit, called drupes

the berry-like drupes of Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata),

Winterberry Holly (Ilex verticillata) fruit

and a cascade of Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa) fruit capsules.

Wild Yam (Dioscorea villosa) fruit capsules

Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium) fluttered in the breeze a bit further down the trail.

Little Bluestem (Schizachyrium scoparium)

A mixed flock of migrating Red-winged and Rusty Blackbirds paused in the bare branches of trees overlooking the feast, to rest and refuel before continuing their journey.

Red-winged and Rusty Blackbirds

Female Red-winged Blackbird

A Winter Garden Can be a Wildlife Habitat

Late Winter Bird Food

Wild Yam

Resources

Rhoads, Ann Fowler; Block, Timothy A. The Plants of Pennsylvania. 2007

Sunday was a beautiful winter day – cold, but not windy, sunny, with just a dusting of fresh snow that fell over night. So we decided to go to ‘the marsh’ to look for wintering birds.

Gadwall Pair

The marsh to us is the Abbott Marshlands, known until recently as the Hamilton-Trenton-Bordentown Marsh. We went to the access point called Spring Lake at Roebling Park in Hamilton Township, New Jersey. It’s a reliable refuge for ducks looking to spend the winter in a place where there is enough open water to swim and feed. As a result, it’s a reliable refuge for birders, too. Sunday was not a disappointment. Northern Shovelers, Northern Pintails, Gadwalls, Green-winged Teal, American Coots, and Mallards were all present. Gadwalls, shown below assembling in a large flock on the ice at Spring Lake, were the most common species. (It reminds me of some conventions I’ve attended!)

A large flock of Gadwalls, on ice at Spring Lake

We saw Gadwalls gathering in open water, sometimes in small groups like these, possibly two mated pairs, relaxing with members of their own species.

Gadwalls, possibly mated pairs

The Gadwalls fed in groups, sometimes joined by American Coots. Coots are known to snatch food away from other birds, but Gadwalls are among the species that reverse that role. Were the Gadwalls stealing from the Coots, or the Coots from the Gadwalls, or were they working together as a cooperative group?