NorthJersey.com
— Peter J. Sampson
A spring ritual is getting under way as the itinerant tree swallow returns to nest in the Meadowlands from its winter sojourn along the Gulf Coast and points as far away as Costa Rica.
With the swallows’ impending arrival, the staff at New Jersey Meadowlands Commission have begun installing the first of 500 new nesting boxes built by area Boy and Girl Scouts, Brownie troops and other volunteers.
The small, metallic-blue bird prefers to nest in the cavities of dead trees, but this species has taken to its man-made digs.
“Sometimes you’ll see the tree swallows following our conservationists out and they’ll fly right into the boxes once they put them up in the marshes,” said spokesman Nancy Benecki. “They’ve adapted really well to living in these structures and they provide a little bit of natural insect repellant, too. They like to feed on mosquitoes.”
Kirk Weber, an educator with the Meadowlands Environmental Center, and Gabrielle Bennett-Meany, outreach naturalist, braved stiff winds this week as they replaced old nest boxes in the marshes at Richard W. DeKorte Park in Lyndhurst.
Along with the requisite degree of isolation, the waterfront houses offer breathtaking views of the Manhattan skyline and easy access to the major roadways in the area.
