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Current electronic newsletter Current print version newsletter Archives |
12 April 2021: Image of the day: This photo of multiflora rose was taken last spring near Headquarters. Multiflora rose is a climbing shrub, with typically white, though sometimes pink flowers.
#UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge #multiflorarose #njnature #njwildlife
8 April 2021: Throwback to 2018 and this photo of a wasp with her paralyzed grasshopper prey, whom she will bring back to her burrow to feed to her young.
#tbt #ThrowbackThursday #UWRHistory #UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge #wasp #njnature #njwildlife
5 April 2021: Image of the day: Our vultures are back, nesting in the cabin barn attic! It's breeding season and we see the pair daily, going in and out of the attic window, likely readying the area for eggs. This photo shows one member of the pair from last season.
#UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge #blackvulture #njnature #njwildlife
1 April 2021: Throwback to this eastern whip-poor-will drawn by Edmund J Sawyer many years ago. Edmund was father of Refuge co-founder Hope Sawyer Buyukmihci. Like Hope, he was a very talented artist.
#tbt #ThrowbackThursday #UWRHistory #UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge
29 March 2021: Image of the day: This wolf spider, seen on our main trail last spring, blended in quite well with the surrounding leaves and twigs. Their coloring functions as an effective camouflage, helping them catch their prey and keep safe from predators.
#UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge #wolfspider #njnature #njwildlife
25 March 2021: Throwback to the spring of 2017 and this photo of a striped skunk baby. Striped skunks are born with very little hair and soft pink skin. When their coats are fully grown, the stripes help to deter predators.
#tbt #ThrowbackThursday #UWRHistory #UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge #stripedskunk #njnature #njwildlife
22 March 2021: Image of the day: Resembling a large earthworm, the eastern worm snake is a small species of snake, reaching a length of up to about 35 cm (14 inches). This individual was photographed near Miller House in the moist forest floor debris, a preferred habitat of the species.
#UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge #easternwormsnake #njnature #njwildlife
18 March 2021: Throwback to 2016 and this view of the autumn foliage surrounding one of the swamps on the Refuge.
#tbt #ThrowbackThursday #UWRHistory #UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge #swamp #njnature
15 March 2021: Image of the day: This eastern mud turtle ventured out from the main pond to lay her eggs near Headquarters one of the numerous female turtles who chose this location last summer.
#UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge #easternmudturtle #njnature #njwildlife
11 March 2021: Throwback to many years ago and this drawing of a barred owl by Hope Sawyer Buyukmihci, Refuge co-founder. The barred owl is one of eight species of owls found in NJ.
#tbt #ThrowbackThursday #UWRHistory #UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge
8 March 2021: Images of the day: Eastern gray squirrels, like this individual seen jumping onto a tree, are very active and acrobatic residents of the Refuge. The squirrels are so active in fact that they set off our motion-activated trail camerasa lotthough their photos are always enjoyable to see.
#UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge #easterngraysquirrel #njnature #njwildlife
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4 March 2021: Throwback to 2018 and this ring-necked snake a harmless (other than to their prey), non-aggressive species named for their distinctive yellow neck band. (The deformed area on this individual may be a long-healed wound.)
#tbt #ThrowbackThursday #UWRHistory #UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge #ringneckedsnake #njnature #njwildlife
1 March 2021: Image of the day: This praying mantis, seen near Headquarters last summer, is displaying the typical posture (upright with forearms folded) which has led to their common name. Mantises are an order of insects, Mantodea, that contains over 2,400 species.
#UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge #prayingmantis #njnature #njwildlife
25 February 2021: Throwback to many years ago and this sparrow drawn by Hope Sawyer Buyukmihci, Refuge co-founder. Hope was a talented artist, often sketching the many animals who live on the Refuge.
#tbt #ThrowbackThursday #UWRHistory #UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge
22 February 2021: Image of the day: This female house wren, seen here with a feather in her mouth, is working on the finishing touches of her nest. After the male starts the process by assembling a pile of sticks, the female then forms a nest cup over the sticks using soft materials. Photo Credit: Leor Veleanu
#UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge #housewren #njnature #njwildlife #birdwatching
18 February 2021: Throwback to some years ago when Edmund J Sawyer, father of Refuge co-founder Hope Sawyer Buyukmihci, sketched this yellow-bellied sapsucker, a species of North American woodpeckers.
#tbt #ThrowbackThursday #UWRHistory #UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge
15 February 2021: Image of the day: This nest in our cabin barn contains at least two sleeping eastern phoebe nestlings, while mom and dad are likely off in search of food.
#UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge #easternphoebe #njnature #njwildlife #birdwatching
11 February 2021: Throwback to 2018 and this young Cooper's hawk. Color is often an indicator of age with many bird species, and this individual has brown feathers and yellow eyes which are characteristic of juvenile Cooper's hawks.
#tbt #ThrowbackThursday #UWRHistory #UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge #coopershawk #njnature #njwildlife #birdwatching
8 February 2021: Image of the day: This pair of American goldfinches was seen foraging outside of Headquarters. The male (left) has breeding plumage of a black forehead and black wings with white markings; breeding females are duller yellow beneath and more olive above.
#UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge #americangoldfinch #njnature #njwildlife #birdwatching
4 February 2021: Throwback to many years ago and this sketch of a northern cardinal by Refuge co-founder Hope Sawyer Buyukmihci.
#tbt #ThrowbackThursday #UWRHistory #UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge
1 February 2021: Image of the day: This mourning dove was seen perched on a branch above the driveway of Headquarters. Mourning doves are named for their soft, drawn-out calls which sound like laments.
#UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge #mourningdove #birdwatching
28 January 2021: Throwback to 2017 and this brilliant viscid violet cort mushroom with its bright purple button cap along one of the trails.
#tbt #ThrowbackThursday #UWRHistory #UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge
25 January 2021: Image of the day: This male red-bellied woodpecker, seen here paused between bursts of pecking at the bark surface, was photographed by Trustee Leor Veleanu.
#UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge
21 January 2021: Throwback to a snowy winter day in 2018 on the Refuge boundary trail.
#tbt #ThrowbackThursday #UWRHistory #UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge
18 January 2021: Image of the day: This spotted wintergreen is a perennial, evergreen herb found in mixed woodlands in the eastern US. It is an understory species with flowers appearing in late July to early August.
#UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge
14 January 2021: Throwback to many years ago and this sketch of an otter fishing by Refuge co-founder Hope Sawyer Buyukmihci. #tbt #ThrowbackThursday #UWRHistory #UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge
11 January 2021: Image of the day: The autumn meadowhawk, a late season dragonfly, flies later in the fall season than any other species and has been observed into as late as the end of December.
#UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge
8 January 2021: Unexpected Wildlife Refuge has joined a coalition of animal and environmental organizations calling on president-elect Joe Biden to take immediate action to confront the extinction crisis by signing an executive order that would overturn some of the damage caused by Trump's end-of-term "war on wildlife."
Trump's administration has acknowledged the need for monarch butterflies to be listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) but will not go through the process because there are 161 higher priority species it is looking at. Wolves have been delisted. Wolverines have been denied listing, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services defied a court order to create new plans for the conservation of the sage grouse by submitting documents that used the same wording and faulty claims that were rejected in 2019. These rule changes are but a fraction of the rollbacks rendered at the end of Trump's term.
The proposed executive order, ready for Biden to issue, would declare the extinction crisis a national emergency and give him the opportunity to act without Congressional approval under the National Emergencies Act. It would create national monuments protecting 30 percent of U.S. lands and waters by 2030 and 50 percent by 2050, and it would call for all agencies to add climate change to their considerations for species protections under the ESA a stark contrast to the current administration, which removed all mentions of climate change from the White House website shortly after Trump took office.
7 January 2021: Throwback to 2009 and this view of the sun rising beyond a snow covered field at the Refuge.*
#tbt #ThrowbackThursday #UWRHistory #UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge
* In the long-term interests of the animals, Refuge policy no longer permits provision of artificial housing.
4 January 2021: Image of the day: This reindeer lichen, an important groundcover in woodland areas, is a principal winter food for deer. #UnexpectedWildlifeRefuge
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