Blue Goose ~ Day 91

August 30, 2014 ~ Morristown, NJ to Basking Hill, NJ

After eating a generous complimentary breakfast, I worked a few hours and at noon headed out in heat and humidity (the most I've experienced on this trip) to the Great Swamp NWR which wasn't far. I continue to be pleasantly surprised that in such a densely populated part of the country, one can suddenly be away from it all...the noise, the traffic, the stores, the neighborhoods....

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey officials had plans for turning this swampy land into an international airport  but eventually were thwarted when local citizens heard of the project, were outraged and united in protest. Helen C. Fenske was a housewife who became one of the most persistent and hardworking advocates for the creation of a refuge. The spacious Visitor Center, a home built in the 1700s and since renovated, is named in her honor.

I walked in and immediately a pleasant informed volunteer came forward..."Here, come in this room and I'll show you what we do...how things are at the refuge." She answered my questions and showed me the trails and roads and told me about The Raptor Trust on private property adjacent to the refuge.

There was also a gift store, used books for sale (I bought four at 50 cents each), many exhibits, historical information and a viewing area which looked out on feeders and a garden planted to a attract birds. Cheerful people were bustling about, partly to greet and help visitors and partly to prepare for their annual Fall Festival scheduled for the next weekend. This refuge obviously has an agenda to attract families and kids. Friends of the Great Swamp also work behind the scenes, making this an inviting destination only "26 miles west of Times Square."

I walked the 0.5 mile Bockovent trail through hardwoods, past a languid stretch of the Passaic River and came on a cooperative  Red-tailed Hawk in the meadow near the VC. 

Red-tailed Hawk - Great Swamp NWR - NJ

Next, I went to The Raptor Trust...originally one man's vision.

EN.WIKIPEDIA.ORG

Len Soucy became interested in hawks after a visit to the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Pennsylvania in 1964. In 1968, he acquired 14 acres (57,000 m²) in Millington, and with the help of his family started to take care of injured raptors in their backyard. Over time their efforts became known, a bird hospital was added, and by the end of the seventies, hundreds of different birds were annually brought in to be taken care of, supported by the private efforts of the Soucy family. In 1982, The Raptor Trust was founded as a non-profit organization to provide the organizational and financial infrastructure for the mission, namely to provide free care for orphaned and injured birds, to educate people about birds, especially birds of prey, and to set an example of humane conduct. Currently the organization maintains an infirmary, educational facilities, a gift shop, and a large complex of some 70 cages and aviaries for recuperating birds that will be released and for providing refuge to unreleasable birds. ^[2] About 100 hawks, eagles, and owls are permanent residents of the trust. A number of unreleasable birds have bred successfully. Unreleasable birds also can serve as foster parents to younger birds. Visitors can view the many unreleasable birds of prey of the facility at close range.

What I did think was weird here was that there were fake evergreens in the cages.

I went to a Starbuck's and then found another good motel deal from Priceline at a Marriott. I worked for awhile and are a light dinner in the hotel. The bartender was a soulful middle-aged man originally from the Dominican Republic. He chatted about his life in New Jersey, how much he loved living near Manhattan, how expensive it was to go back to the DR, how he could travel to Italy cheaper than the DR. At one point, he came in from the kitchen, plunked down and had to tell me about a song he had just heard on the radio...a song that brought him back 35 years. He kept saying how he heard it and got goose bumps...and still had them as he looked down and rubbed his arms...