Residents welcoming a new, feathered neighbor

By jennifer dome
Staff Writer

By jennifer dome
Staff Writer

SOUTH RIVER — Residents have recently taken notice of a unique, 2-foot creature that has taken up roots in their neighborhoods.

The yellow-crowned night heron, a threatened species in New Jersey, has been nesting in the borough for approximately five years, according to resource interpretive specialist Jim Faczak of the state Division of Parks and Forestry.

"The residents seems to be really happy to see the birds there. This is the first time that people are taking notice of them," Faczak said.

In fact, thanks to reports that the heron is nesting in the borough, Faczak said he has received additional calls about nesting sites in the region. Last week, he was investigating a nesting site in Keyport, Monmouth County.

"The trees are what attracts them," Faczak said.

Normally, herons would be seen in wooded areas along the South River, but instead they have started nesting in residents’ yards, Faczak said. The birds migrate to northern areas of North America during the warmer times of year and build thick nests for mating. They then fly back to southern areas like Florida during the winter months.

Once the birds notice that nests were built somewhere — even if the remnants are a year old — the birds will return since they have evidence that it can be a breeding ground, according to Faczak. The herons have been feeding on forage food, such as fiddler crab and other shellfish that are found in the South River, he said.

Faczak said the birds were once hunted in the early 1900s for the feathers on their heads, which were used to decorate hats. The species is now categorized as threatened, one step away from being endangered, Faczak said.

Borough resident Leslie Senko, who lives on Morningside Avenue, alerted Fazcak, as well as the state Department of Environmental Protection and the National Heritage of Rare Species, that the herons were nesting in residential areas of the borough. She said it is important that the breeding grounds are listed in the borough in case of any potential changes in land use that could disturb the habitat.

"Not everyone has known what they were, or that what was nesting was endangered," Senko said.

Senko, who has been bird watching occasionally for 10 years, discovered the herons thanks to neighbors who knew of her interest in birds. She has found heron nests on David and New streets, as well as in the area behind the public library. She said she does not like to publicize the specific addresses of the nests for fear that they will be disturbed.

"They’re very adapted now to having people around," she said of the herons.

Senko and Faczak noted they are pleased to see that area residents have welcomed the birds to town, as the size of their droppings can be a nuisance.

"You have to hand it to the people who are tolerating it," Senko said.

Both Senko and Faczak also agreed that the nesting of the herons in South River is a testament to the quality of the river and the forage food found there.

"I think it makes positive points about the state of the river, but it also makes the point that they’re losing their habitat," Senko said, addressing the fact that the herons are migrating to residents’ yards instead of staying by the river.