Cooper River Watchable Wildlife Walk: Fish-Eating Birds - Cherry Hill, NJ
Posted by: Groundspeak Regular Member Math Teacher
N 39° 54.348 W 075° 01.618
18S E 497694 N 4417302
Installed in 2012, this colorful & beautiful insect interpretive is part of a brand new series of seven markers called the Cooper River Watchable Wildlife Walk. Each flora & fauna sign explains the wildlife & plant life found @ our local river.
Waymark Code: WMGQ1Y
Location: New Jersey, United States
Date Posted: 03/30/2013
Published By:Groundspeak Regular Member Tharandter
Views: 5

This interpretive is part of a series of seven scattered about the eastern side of the Cooper River. The interpretive program, called Cooper River Watchable Wildlife Walk, is part of a 1.8 mile path that stems from Greenwald Park and extends along a small branch of the Cooper River that is wooded and shaded. The interpretives instruct visitors on what to look for by offering descriptions and beautiful pictures of the wildlife and also instruct how to look for them by describing the activities of the various animals and birds. There has been a lot of activities and initiatives lately with our local parks department. Our main facility was just upgraded. The green-roofed facility adjacent to the parks department's longtime headquarters on North Park Drive in Cherry Hill opened in 2011. I watched them build it and wondered what the heck was a bunch of green weeds doing up on the roof. Now I know it is an environmental thing. Built for $2.4 million, about half of it from a state green-energy grant, the center has begun to host organizations, programs, and events on a regular basis. This interpretive series is one of those programs. The free "Talks and Walks" will focus on the Cooper watershed's flora, fauna, and history, and will continue biweekly through June 16, 2013, paying particular attention to these interpretives. The South Jersey Land and Water Trust recently received a $7,600 Subaru of America grant to fabricate and install these seven handsome "watchable wildlife" informational signs for the park, which is home to small mammals (including muskrats), the occasional marsupial (possums), as well as an aviary's worth of sparrows, cardinals, robins, nuthatches, chickadees, and woodpeckers.

The Cooper River Watchable Wildlife Walk is located at the Maria Barnaby Greenwald Memorial Park. Maria Barnaby Greenwald was a really nice lady and mayor of my home town of Cherry Hill and the first woman to be elected as a Camden County Freeholder. The 47-acre park named in her honor encompasses a variety of different habitats from woodland, scrub and streams to field and pond. With abundant habitat for wildlife in the heart of a heavily developed area, birds and other wildlife are drawn here like magnets. A two or three hour walk around the area can yield at least 40 species of birds in May or September and slightly less at other times of the year. Wetland and woodland marsh habitat is observable from a slightly elevated trail. The 1.8 mile Cooper River Watchable Wildlife Walk begins here (Trailhead at Hopkins Lane), with interpretive signs and brochures available at the Parks Administration Office and 3 locations along the trail.

About the Interpretive

Macroinvertebrates
Insects

Macroinvertebrates are the small insects found in the streams and ponds that are visible to the eye and thus 'macro' in size. They are an important part of the stream's ecology and provide food for larger insects and fish. Some species are sensitive to pollution and their presence and numbers can be used to determine the health of the stream.

Look for the water strider and back swimmer searching for food in the calm pools along the river and in Hopkins and Driscoll ponds. Dragonflies and damselflies go through a nymph stage. They live under water from a few weeks to a few months, feeding on small insects. They crawl up from the water onto vegetation and a winged adult insect emerges from the shell of the nymph.

Dragonflies hold their usually transparent wings outward from their body when at rest. Damselflies hold their dark wings above their body. Look for dragonflies and damselflies along the banks of the river and Hopkins and Driscoll Ponds.

This project was made possible with funding from a grant from the Subaru of America Foundation and Camden County. Produced by the South Jersey Land and Water Trust and Camden County Department of Parks.

In the center is a scary picture of an Adult Dragonfly. Off to the left side border, moving from top to bottom are pictures of a Dragonfly Nymph, a Water Strider, a Back Swimmer and a Damselfly Nymph, all very horrible but apparently all very tasty for our local avian friends. These pictures make identification of our bird life very easy. The logos of the Subaru Cooperation (which is just up the river), Camden County Parks Department and the South Jersey Land & Water Trust can be found in the lower right hand corner.

Visit Instructions:
Take a photo of yourself (and others) at the waymark and feel free to share any additional information or that is not contained on the sign or your experience generally.
Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Flora and Fauna Information Signs
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
There are no logs for this waymark yet.