NATURAL HISTORY SITES IN WESTERN BURLINGTON COUNTY AND VICINITY

Rancocas Nature Center (RNC).   120 acres.  On Beverly-Rancocas Road (Route 626) 1.6 miles east of exit 45A on I-295.  Visitor center contains book shop and museum; trails radiate into old fields, thickets, a conifer plantation, upland and lowland forests, and to fresh water  tidal marsh along Rancocas Creek.   Fair birding, year round.  Nesting birds include ovenbird, wood thrush, common yellowthroat, Carolina wren.  Closed on Mondays.   Trail guide and map available in visitor center.

Palmyra Cove Nature Park.   300 acres.  Route 73 north to last NJ exit (Souder Street); turn right on Souder, go two blocks to T-intersection, turn left, then follow signs into Bridge Commission parking lot and under Tacony-Palmyra Bridge to parking area.  An excellent migrant trap, spring and fall.  Saw-whet owls have wintered in honeysuckle tangles.   Flora of old dredge spoil areas includes some unusual adventives.  The Palmyra Cove has the wild rice, nuphar, and arrow arum typical of fresh water tidal wetlands.   About 30 minutes from RNC.   Lists of birds and plants available from RNC.

Smithville Lake County Park.  Take Route 38 east from Mount Holly for about 3 miles; turn left on Smithville Road; watch for parking areas on left.  Includes shallow lake, footpaths around part of the lake shore, some  riparian woodland, and a short nature trail.  Good for herons, egrets, kingfisher, wood ducks; also dragonflies.   About 10 minutes from RNC.

Whitesbog.   3,000 acres.  Entrance is on Route 530,  about 4.5 miles southeast of Browns Mills, on left.   Historic townsite with many restored buildings;  part of Brendan Byrne State Forest.   An 8-mile auto tour route passes cranberry bogs, wetlands, and upland  forests.   Many typical pine barrens plants can be seen in season.   Sometimes good for  waterfowl, especially tundra swan, in winter.   Small numbers of shorebirds occur in late summer if reservoir water levels are low.  Nesting birds include all the typical pine barrens species.   Good for dragonflies.   About 30 minutes from RNC.

Mill Creek Park.   On south  side of Rancocas Road about 6 miles west of RNC, or about 0.5 mile east of  Route 130.    Woodland trails provide fair birding, spring and fall.  Rancocas Creek is good for waterfowl and perhaps bald eagle in winter.  Intertidal  muds and gravels have  Parker’s pipewort and  Smith’s bulrush as well as more common species.   About 10 minutes from RNC.

Taylor’s Preserve.   100 acres.  Route 130 south to Taylor’s Lane; go west on Taylor’s Lane; cross River Road and continue on gravel road.  Bear left past houses and fields to small parking area.  Another good migrant trap.  Also has fresh water marshes.  Breeding birds include orchard and Baltimore orioles, yellow warbler, swamp sparrow, green heron, belted kingfisher.   Delaware River shore has small areas of intertidal flora.  About 30 minutes from RNC.  Map and plant list available from RNC.

Brendan Byrne State Forest (formerly Lebanon S.F.).  32,012  acres.   Office is about one mile east of  intersection of Route 70 and 72; watch for signs.  One of many interesting areas is the mature Atlantic white cedar swamp along Shinn’s Branch,  with sweet bay magnolia, sour gum, and red maple as associated trees.    Breeding birds include barred owl, Carolina chickadee, Carolina wren, possibly yellow-throated warbler and brown creeper.   About 40 minutes from RNC.

Delaware River Overlooks.  Boat ramp at Carey Memorial Park  in Florence is across from a landfill in Pennsylvania; in winter, thousands of gulls congregate on river whenever landfill is active (not on Sundays).   Bald eagles and other raptors are also seen.   Take I-295 to exit 52B; go west on Route 656 to the river.  Carey Park will be on the right, about 0.7 miles after Route 656 hits the river and becomes Front Street.  Other river views are at Burlington and Beverly.   Florence is about 30 minutes from RNC.

Dot and Brooks Evert Memorial Trail.  From intersection of 616 and 530 in Pemberton, take Magnolia Road south; then make second right onto Scrapetown Road. Take Scrapetown Road south for about 1.25 miles to a T-intersection at County Route 642.   Turn left.   The trailhead will be on the left in about 1 mile.   Trail goes  through  a hardwood swamp; birds include Louisiana waterthrush, Kentucky and hooded warblers, white-eyed vireo, many others.   About 30 minutes from RNC. 

Bright View Farm.   Take Route 537 north from the center of  Mount Holly for about 9. 5 miles, to Route 545; turn left, go 0.7 mile; entrance to farm is on right.   Best location locally for breeding grassland birds including bobolink, savannah and grasshopper sparrows, meadowlark, eastern bluebird, killdeer.  Private property, but friendly to birders; please obey all signs, do not block roads, and do not cross fences.   About 20 minutes from RNC.

Crosswicks Creek Park.  1,046 acres.  Take Route 537 north from the center of Mount Holly for about 15 miles; watch for sign to Crosswicks Creek Access on left immediately north of Crosswicks Creek.  This small area is quite good for spring wildflowers and ferns.  Continue north on 537, turn left on Route 27 (Holmes Mill Road) then left again at Hornerstown Road.  In April, extensive stands of Virginia bluebells bloom along the stream crossing here.  Back on Route 27, continue left to Walnford Road and watch for signs to get to Historic Walnford, a restored village, with manor, grist mill, and outbuildings.   About 30 Minutes from RNC.  

Hawkins Road and Bear Swamp.   Take Route 38 to Route 206, then Route 206 south for about 6.0 miles to Route 70.  Continue on Route 206 for another 1.7 miles and turn right on Hawkins Road.    In about one mile, Bear Swamp will be on your right.   A power line cut gives access to part of the site; other areas are birded from the road.  Prothonotary, Kentucky, and hooded warblers nest here, along with many other avian species.  About 30 minutes from RNC.

Pennypacker and Greenwald Parks.  Take Route 295 south to Route 70, go west on Route 70 for about 2.8 miles to Grove Street,  then south on Grove Street to parking area  on  Park Place.   This greenbelt along the Cooper River is a good migrant trap, spring and fall; and there is a surprisingly good array of spring wildflowers.   About 30 minutes from RNC.

Note: you can find these sites with any local road map.  But we especially recommend the Franklin Map Company’s “New Jersey’s Wild Places and Open Spaces” map, published under the auspices of the N.J. Division of Fish, Game, and Wildlife, which shows all state parks, forests, and wildlife management areas.   This map can be bought at the Rancocas Nature Center.

RANCOCAS NATURE CENTER

794 Rancocas Road, Mount Holly NJ 08060.  

Phone 609-261-2495, Tuesday-Sunday.

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