Old Field Succession - Boundary Creek Natural Resource Area - Moorestown, NJ
N 40° 00.532 W 074° 54.264
18T E 508159 N 4428745
While visiting this newly established park (2009), I walked along the walkway which wraps around the entire park, bringing you back to where you began, I came across over a dozen of these wonderfully informative nature signs.
Waymark Code: WMA8VY
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 12/04/2010
Views: 4
These informative signs tell all about this 34 acre park which offers visitors fantastic opportunities for bird watching and wildlife viewing. Upland and lowland forests, fields, tidal wetlands, and the open water of the Rancocas Creek all overlap in this relatively small area to create a haven for all types of birds and other wildlife.
Visitors can experience fields, shrub/scrub, forest, marsh and river without having to trek far or manage rough terrain. The park has wide, level trails, observation platforms and blinds, good signage, rest rooms and safe parking. The observation platforms overlooking Rancocas Creek can provide interesting sightings in any season, from waterfowl in winter to jumping fish, basking turtles, and flycatchers hawking insects in warmer months. This park was designed specifically for birding and wildlife watching.
This sign teaches visitors how abandoned areas or those areas with flora loss gain new growth, thus succeeding the old. The header of the interpretive reads: When a farm is abandoned, pioneer species start to grow and the field eventually begins to support larger and taller woodland species. Succession also can occur in small areas where mature trees have been uprooted by the wind or other factors, creating a patchwork effect in the forest.
The coordinates are have an accuracy of +/- 1 inch. To find this marker without a GPSr, park your car at the rotary, walk to the right of the bicycle tender, taking the first and only path. The marker will be 304 feet from the beginning of the path and located on the left side of the path.