Waverly Court, Lumberton, NJ
Phone: (609) 267-3217 ext. 150
recreation.lumbertontwp.com/Parks.aspx
Lumberton Township
Exit Historic Smithville Park via Park Avenue and turn Right on Smithville Road. After 0.8 miles, turn Right at the light on Pemberton Road, Route 38 West. After 1.7 miles turn Left at the light for Pine Street/ Eayrestown Road. After 1.3 miles turn Right on Municipal Drive. Take the 2nd right onto Waverly Drive, and the first Left onto Dartmoor Drive. The entrance to Lumberton Nature Trail is at the dead-end. DIRECTIONS FROM NEAREST HIGHWAY: From the intersection of Route 38 and Route 206, proceed West on Route 38, Pemberton Road. After 2.6 miles turn Left on Eayrestown Road. After 1.3 miles, turn Right on Municipal Drive, and make the first Right onto Waverly Court. After the road bends Left for the second time, bear Right onto Dartmoor Drive, and park on the side of the road. The entrance to the nature trail is at the dead-end. Map
 |
| Northern Flicker | Kevin Karlson |
| |
| | Lumberton Nature Trail is a modest hike along Bobby's Run, a tributary of the Rancocas Creek. This unassuming, deciduous woodland is home to a nice variety of wildlife and offers an easy-to-access respite in an otherwise busy suburb. A 1.9 mile round-trip hike, the trail is adorned with exercise stations, benches, and interpretive signage for the local flora. Visit any time of year to enjoy birds calling, mammals rummaging, and the quiet-but-steady murmur of Bobby's Run as it makes its way to Rancocas Creek and eventually the Delaware River.
Visit on a morning in early or mid-May to experience the great variety of migrating songbirds that are attracted like a magnet to this strip of woodland among housing developments. Being an area that is not heavily birded, there are plenty of discoveries to be made.
Flocks of White-Throated Sparrows and Juncos rustle in the shrubs and understory, joined by the occasional Rufous-sided Towhee, Fox Sparrow or Swamp Sparrow. Brown Creeper may be drawn to noisy flocks of Carolina Chickadees, Tufted Titmice and White-breasted Nuthatch. Listen for the rain-forest invoking trills and honks of Red-bellied Woodpecker and Northern Flicker. The trail is beautiful in the snow, when the sun is setting early in December. Look for tracks of white-tailed deer, cottontail rabbit, and red fox. Visit at dusk or dawn to hear the deep, haunting -hoo h-hoo hoo hoo- of the local Great Horned Owls as they begin their nesting season. Keep a close eye near the stream for the quick, mousy movements of the tiny, dark, and very elusive Winter Wren.
The woods come to life with the sights and sounds of Ovenbird, Wood Thrush, Veery, Louisiana Waterthrush, American Redstart, Red-eyed Vireo, Baltimore Oriole and Black-and-white Warbler, among others. Visit just after dawn for the greatest songbird variety. Wildflowers begin to bloom. Listen for Southern gray treefrog and spring peeper near vernal pools. Damselflies such as common bluet and ebony jewelwing emerge in May and rest on twigs and leaves over the stream. Listen for rustling leaves and watch closely for chipmunks. Garter snakes occasionally cross the trail.
Look for the bright orange of box turtles among the green on the forest floor. Butterflies such as Monarch, Viceroy, Mourning Cloak, Spicebush Swallowtail, Cabbage White and Yellow Sulfur settle on flowering plants, and their caterpillars busily munch leaves. Resident birds include Gray Catbird, American Robin, Song Sparrow, Carolina Wren, Downy Woodpecker, Eastern Phoebe and Blue Jay, among others. Moths and junebugs become active near dusk, and bats pursue them, particularly around the street lights on Waverly Court. Dusk is also when you are most likely to catch a glimpse of a skunk emerging from the woods to make its rounds in the neighborhood.
Red-tailed Hawks circle overhead, along with Turkey and Black Vultures, Broad-winged, Cooper’s, and Sharp-Shinned Hawks as they make their way South. Migrating songbirds once again fill the woods, this time their colors less vibrant. Foliage turns beautiful shades of red, yellow, and orange, peaking around mid-October. White-tailed bucks grow impressive antlers, and begin to spar and rub bark in November. Chipmunks, gray squirrels, raccoons, and cottontail rabbits busily fatten up for Winter.
|