A deer checks out two-legged visitors enjoying a first-full-day-of-spring stroll in Rumson’s Meadowridge Park late Monday afternoon.
The post-winter thaw continues Tuesday, with temperatures expected to peak at about 55 degrees, and to climb as high as 68 on Wednesday, according to the Weather Underground. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
A stand-up paddler got close to the dolphin in the Shrewsbury River between Sea Bright and Rumson last week. Marine experts say humans and boats should keep away from the animal. (Photo by Scott Longfield. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Without much public notice, a lone bottlenose dolphin has been plying the Shrewsbury River for the past seven months, according to wildlife advocates who are growing concerned about its safety as temperatures drop and its food supply diminishes.
As it has in the past, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries unit regards the dolphin’s presence as a not unusual, and said the animal appears to be healthy.
But Bob Schoelkopf, founder and director of the independent Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, expressed frustration that NOAA hasn’t done anything to guide the dolphin northward through the strait that leads into Sandy Hook Bay, and that colder temperatures make such an effort more dangerous for humans.
With Christmas over, were three of Santa’s reindeer hoping to reunite with Jolly St. Nick in Red Bank over the weekend? Borough resident Charlie Bierly photographed this deer trio in the intersection of Madison Avenue and — no kidding — St. Nicholas Place Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Charlie Bierly. Click to enlarge)
The osprey nest as see Friday morning, above, and a year ago, below. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
A precariously leaning home to ospreys in the Navesink River has been fixed, according to a report on a conservation website.
The pole, a decommissioned channel marker between Fair Haven and Middletown, was nearly toppled during Hurricane Sandy, according to the original report by Ben Wurst, habitat program manager for the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.
The osprey nest as seen last May. Below, adult ospreys sunning on a Red Bank dock last April. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Wildlife conservationists are looking for help to save the precariously leaning Navesink River home to an osprey nest before it falls over, according to a report on newsworks.org.
The pole, a decommissioned channel marker between Fair Haven and Middletown, was nearly toppled during Hurricane Sandy, according to the report, based on a blog post by Ben Wurst, habitat program manager for the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.