Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge

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Important Bird and Birding Areas

IBBA Site Guide

Morris County

Coordinates: N 40.72282
W 74.47836

Site Map

Piedmont Plains: Piedmont

Area: 15,407 Acres

Habitat: Forested wetland with deciduous upland forest, cattail marsh and grassland

Site Description: In 1959, citizen activists responded to the threat of an airport in the woodlands near Basking Ridge by calling for preservation of 3000 acres of what is now the Great Swamp National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). Today, the refuge contains 7600 acres and includes 3660 acres of wildness area in the midst of a densely populated urban landscape. The Refuge’s swamp woodlands, hardwood ridges, cattail marsh, grasslands, ponds and streams now dominate a former glacial lake known as Glacial Lake Passaic. This IBA is contained within the Great Swamp Natural Heritage Priority Macrosite. Designated by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP), Natural Heritage Priority Sites are considered the state’s most significant natural areas.

IBA Criteria:

Criterion	Species
Conservation Concern – State-endangered (B)	American Bittern, Northern Harrier, Red-shouldered Hawk
Conservation Concern – State-threatened (B)	Barred Owl, Red-headed Woodpecker
Significant Congregations (W)	Waterfowl
Significant Congregations - Exceptional Single Species Concentration (B)	Wood Duck
Long-term Research/Monitoring


Wood Duck	Michael Hogan

Birds: The Great Swamp NWR provides habitat for more than 244 species of birds. Several state-listed birds breed at the refuge including state-endangered American Bitterns, Northern Harriers and Red-shouldered Hawks as well as state-threatened Barred Owls and Red-headed Woodpeckers. Freshwater impoundments provide breeding and wintering habitat for waterfowl species such as Mallards American Black Ducks, Northern Pintails, American Wigeons and Green-winged Teal. Wood Duck, the most common waterfowl species at the Refuge, have benefited from habitat improvement projects, including artificial nest structures. The Refuge is also an important resting and foraging area for migratory birds.

Conservation: The United States Fish and Wildlife Service prohibit permanent structures, motorized vehicles and equipment in the wilderness area of the Refuge. Research studies, however, are permitted in this area. The rest of the Refuge is managed for a diversity of wildlife including American Woodcock, Eastern Bluebird, migratory birds, raptors, waterfowl, wading birds and shorebirds. Five shallow impoundments are managed for a variety of native plant communities. Early successional forests are maintained through timber cutting. One to four year rotational cycles of mowing are employed to maintain several hundred acres of grasslands. Friends of Great Swamp NWR, a group of local volunteers, were formed to promote conservation and public understanding and appreciation of the Refuge’s natural resources.

Additional Information: Site Report


Fall in the Swamp	Mike Lyncheski