I was in the pines because I found it hard to believe that so much wilderness could still exist so near the big Eastern cities.
– John McPhee, The Pine Barrens, 1967.
Upon arriving at Rancocas Cranberry Preserve (a former cranberry farm now managed by PPA), our guide Jason started our visit off with a scavenger hunt.
The first item on the list was an ornamental non-native flower, which when we found it was evidence of human inhabitants in this area of the Pines. The second scavenger hunt item was a beaver dam. On our hunt for the beaver dam, we stumbled across a turtle in our path! We didn’t get a very good look at it because it was in its shell, but it was an exciting find. We located the beaver dam after a long hike and moved on to our next item. Our next item on the scavenger hunt list was otter scat, which would allow us to know where their territory was and hopefully see one! After a lengthy search, we finally found the poop beside a small body of water, at which point we began looking for the fourth item on the list; owl pellets. Surprisingly, after only a short search while admiring nature, we came across owl pellets directly in our path and stopped to examine them.
Shortly after, we broke for a brief lunch surrounded by nature (and ticks! PSA: they’re out!) and then resumed our walk to find our final two items, bell-shaped flowers and a cedar swamp. Other discoveries included a deer skull, cranberries ;-), and bald eagles flying above us.
Today demonstrated how a former cranberry farm can provide habitats for many species and beauty for all to enjoy. We were fortunate to have many avid photographers today, which included Winston’s drone! He was able to launch it in the open space and took pictures that we are eager to see. Be sure to view a photography slideshow for our final blog post with pictures from those who wish to contribute to the effort.
