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Thursday, May 21, 2020

Perfect Time to See and Hear the Blooming Grasslands of Cider Mill Preserve

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www.drgreenway.org

Perfect Time to See and Hear the

Blooming Grasslands of Cider Mill Preserve

Cider Mill Preserve

This is the perfect time to visit Cider Mill Preserve in East Amwell, between Amwell and Wertsville Roads. 

The grasslands are in bloom, but grasses are not yet too high to impede access and visibility.

D&R Greenway will not mow the Cider Mill Grasslands in summer to enable grassland birds such as bobolinks, meadowlarks, kestrels, and grasshopper sparrows to complete their essential breeding seasons.

Grassland birds are the category suffering the greatest losses of population, according to a five-decade study released last year by the Cornell Ornithology Lab. The study found that grassland birds had suffered a 53% decline in population over 50 years, the greatest rate of population losses of any bird category.

That's a key reason why the 90-acre Cider Mill Preserve is part of the New Jersey Natural Heritage Program's Amwell Valley Grasslands Macrosite, a high priority area to conservationists.

You can find many more wonderful preserves on our website.

IMPORTANT:

Remember and maintain social distancing— 

  • 6 feet for low-risk groups, and 10 feet for high-risk groups (age 60 and/or with underlying health condition).
  • If a preserve is busy, move on to another one or return on another day.
  • We all are in need of the outdoors for our health and well-being.