Sure Signs of Spring in Holmdel and Howell Parks

As the bossy winter stubbornly yields to spring, Naturalist Janet Ryan is noticing the changes in Holmdel Park. 

On March 24, she said the skunk cabbage along streams and marshes had just begun asserting itself. Wild onion is popping up too. "A lot of people call it onion grass, but it's not a grass. It's a wild onion. If you pull it up, there will be a little onion there," she said. 

Look closely at the tips of the beech tree branches to find the newly emerging coppery buds, Ryan said. She also noticed that strewn on the ground are the reddish buds from the maple trees. "I think the squirrels are chewing off the ends of the buds at the end of the maple leaf," she said.

A fox, a chipmunk, and groundhogs were spotted by Ryan in recent days. "So the groundhogs at least have woken up," she said.  

Eagles Nest in Howell

The baby eaglets born February at the Manasquan Reservoir in Howell are a boy and a girl, said volunteers and members of the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife. 

The funny thing is, they appear to be a week apart in age. The theory is that another egg was laid in between them, but the egg failed to hatch. The age difference is also apparent with the beginnings of flight feathers on the male, and mostly down feathers on the female.

Two bands were attached to the chicks. The green one means the birds were Jersey birds. The silver one is from the federal government.  Bald eagles are still on the endangered species list in New Jersey.

This is the first female chick born at Manasquan Reservoir since scientists started banding chicks in 2007. The beautiful reservoir is a favored site for honeymooning eagles.

Visitors to the reservoir cannot get close to the nest. But in warmer weather you can take a motorboat ride, and naturalists will point out the nesting eagles --and so many other kinds of birds -- as you linger quietly on the water with the motor off. 

The site's Manasquan Reservoir Environmental Center, Georgia Tavern Road, Howell, is a contemporary museum with lots to see. From there, visitors can also view nest activity live on a television. It is open from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  daily.  The park is currently open daily from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.