The Great Outdoors

CU and SNJ Today are collaborating to explore topics which may be of interest to their readership. The resulting articles have been appearing in The Great Outdoors and in their Feature section. We are especially impressed by SNJ Today’s curiosity about our region’s natural wonders and their interest in reporting good news about our area! If you would like to see full online copies of their weekly paper SNJ Today click here.

Articles are listed by topic and then alphabetically. Simply click on an article name to view it.

Topics Article Name Date Published

‌CU Maurice River

15th Annual Ah Why Knot Awards Outdoor Advocates 08/19/20
16th Annual Ah Why Knot Ah Why Knot 05/12/21
17th Annual Ah Why Knot Awards Volunteer Recognition 07/6/22
19th Annual Ah Why Knot Awards Why Knot- Volunteer Awards 05/15/24
About CU Maurice River What is CU Maurice River? 08/22/18
Annual Volunteer Awards CU Maurice River Volunteers 11/28/18
Annual World Series of Birding May 2019 World Series… Baseball? No, but the 2019 World Series of Birding 05/22/19
Corporate Stewardship Program Get Your Green On 01/23/19
CU Maurice River / Millville's Wildlife Garden Garden Party 05/29/19
Cumberland Co. 4th Grade Field Trip Wild About Cumberland 04/3/24
DAR Conservation Award Dave and Sue Fenili Earn DAR Award for Leadership in Conservation 12/5/18
Eagle Trail Walk / Annual Eagle Festival Standing Invitation 01/17/24
Importance of Outdoor Learning Get the Kids Outside 07/10/24
Watershed Defined What is a Watershed? 09/12/18
Wild and Scenic Federal Designation 25 Years of Wild and Scenic 09/5/18
World Series of Birding 2021 For The Birds 04/28/21
World Series of Birding 2024 Feather Quest 05/22/24

Aquatic Creatures

Black Drum Fish Drum Run 04/14/21
Blue Crab NJ DE Bayshore Coastal Delicacy 07/3/19
Catfish & recipe A Catfish Story 07/22/20
Fiddler Crabs Delaware Bay Estuary Fiddler Crab Haven 08/14/24
Horseshoe crab Miracle Workers 05/15/19
Lined Seahorse Diligent Dads 06/16/21
Magnificent Bryozoan (Pectinatella magnifica) Magnificent Blob 11/13/19
Schooling Strategies Schooling at Sea 01/12/22
Sturgeon, Maurice River, Bayside A Tree, A Boy and A Fish 09/4/19
Warming Waters In DE Bay Causing Species Changes Somethin’s Fishy 10/12/22
Whales Antarctica Whale of a Time 02/8/23

Birds

34 Years of Raptor and Waterfowl Survey Duck, Duck, Hawk 02/16/22
American goldfinch Golden Glory 08/11/21
American Woodcock Sky Dancers 03/6/24
Backyard Birdwatching in Winter Sitting Pretty 01/27/21
Banding - Restorative Nature of Nature Hard-Knock Life of an Osprey 02/21/24
Banding Birds - Why & History Number, Please! 12/7/23
Barn swallow Swallows Aloft 08/17/22
Belted kingfisher Angler from the Sky 02/26/20
Bird Nest Design A Bird’s Real Estate 07/1/20
Birds Staying Warm In Winter Birds Huddle 01/11/23
Black Skimmers Glide and Scoop 07/29/20
Carolina wren Sweet Homes For Carolinas 06/28/23
D. Sibley's book, "What It's Like to Be a Bird" Bird Sensibility 12/2/20
Downy Woodpecker Peek-a-Boo 04/26/23
Duck Facts Fun Facts About Ducks 11/29/23
Eagle Festival & NJ Eagle Recovery Eagle Eyes 01/22/20
Eagle Nesting/ NJ Recovery Fallen But Not Forgotten 06/14/22
Eagle Recovery New Jersey Cause for Celebration 06/26/24
Eastern phoebe Romanced by a Phoebe 03/27/24
European Travels and Vultures European Travels and Vultures Too! 07/27/22
Fall Migration on the Maurice River Migration on the Maurice 10/19/22
Flight Flying is for the Birds 09/29/21
Great Blue Heron vs. Sandhill Crane Crane or Heron? 05/10/23
Great horned owl Who Gives a Hoot? 02/6/19
Green Heron Small But Mighty 03/24/21
Helping Bird Populations Recovery Picture-Perfect… and Bird Friendly 09/27/23
Hummingbird Migration Headed South 08/28/24
Mourning Dove Symbol of Peace 08/10/22
N. American Flyways and Ducking Birding Bonanza 11/22/23
Nelson's Sparrow I Spy – with My Binocular Eye 11/30/22
Neotropical Birds/Morning Song The Dawn Chorus 05/11/22
Nesting Wild Turkey A Turkey Tale 11/27/19
New Jersey's Common Gulls Gazing At Gulls 08/7/24
Northern Gannets Gannets at a Glimpse 12/8/21
Northern harrier Northern Harrier 01/10/24
Ocean City Welcome Center Rookery New Bird 06/22/22
Osprey recovery Ospreys Back From the Brink 04/3/19
Osprey Spring Arrivals You Can’t Cancel Spring 04/1/20
Osprey Union Lake Dam Osprey Lunchbox 05/3/23
Oystercatchers Bayshore Oystercatchers 01/31/24
Penguins Antarctica Penguin Parade 02/15/23
Purple Martin Staging Area Maurice River View Purple Martins 08/1/18
Re-establishing Bluebirds True Blue 05/6/20
Red-bellied woodpeckers Winter Blush 01/26/22
Red-headed woodpecker Red-Headed Woodpecker 05/18/22
Ruby-throated hummingbird Part 1 Hum, Hum, Hummertime 06/1/22
Ruby-throated Hummingbird Part 2 More Buzz on the Hummer 06/8/22
Screech Owls Saucer-Eyed Tenants 03/6/19
Seasonal Duck of the DE Bayshore Divers and Dabblers 02/24/22
Shorebird Migration Species Declines A Shore Thing 05/26/21
Shorebird Migration/ Horseshoe Crab Spawing At a Distance 05/20/20
Snow geese Snow Geese 01/9/19
Some functions of feathers Feathers of a Bird 09/22/21
Temporal Fine Structure A Study in Bird Songs 05/1/24
Turkey Vultures and cohorts Vulture Culture 02/19/20
Waterfowl Facts Quack this Way 01/29/20
White-breasted nuthatch clutch Special Delivery 06/2/21
Wild Turkey Defense Mechanisms Talking Turkey 07/7/21
Wild Turkey Domestication Some Family Lore 11/16/22
Wild Turkey Subspecies Feathers of a Turkey 11/24/21
Wild Turkeys Let’s Talk Turkey 11/14/18
Wild Turkeys In Fall & Winter The Wild Ones 11/18/20
Wood Duck Nesting Wood Ducks 06/17/20
Wood Warblers- S. Jersey Wood Warblers 10/14/20
Yellow-rumped warbler Butter Butts 12/7/22
Young Osprey First Flights Flights of Fancy 07/17/19

Cultural History Sense of Place

'Possum drop- A twist on New Years Taxidermy Tale 12/24/19
AJ Meerwald and NJ's Oyster Industry A Book Launch 03/2/22
Art Plays a Role in Conservation Art Enlightens 03/11/20
Burcham Farm Last Diked Farm Maurice River 06/26/19
Crystal Bridges American Museum of Art Art and Nature in Harmony Part I 04/17/24
Culture In Animals How We Learn: Tools of a Culture 09/15/21
Down Jersey Cultural Engagement Down Jersey 02/17/21
Eating Blue Claw Crabs "Jersey style" A Summer Favorite 06/11/24
Holly Farm Memories by Dan Fenton, Jr. Holly Wood in the Pines 03/31/21
Human Nature and Technology (for fun) It’s Just Human Nature 12/22/21
Ice In Our Time When Ice Was King 02/3/21
Lake Lily Cape May Pt., New Jersey Lake Lily: A Duck Haven 02/28/24
Lucy The Elephant National Landmark A Singular Attraction 08/9/23
Maurice River Origins of Names of Local Rivers Misty Maurice River 10/10/18
Mount Magazine / Eureka, Arkansas Main Event Not Eclipsed (Art and Nature Part II) 04/24/24
New Year's Eve Are You Dropping the Ball? 12/23/20
Origins of the Jersey Devil Devilish Detour? 10/30/19
Pat Witt and the Studio of Art, book launch Artist Laureate 11/6/24
Patterned Brick Homes Southern NJ Historic Gems 04/15/20
Pumpkins and Halloween Memories Halloween Ramblings 10/25/23
Shoeless summers, shoobies and bare feet Sum Sum Summertime 06/19/24
Stretch Garrison, Local Folklore Truth or Stretch 03/10/21
Sturgeon, Maurice River, Bayside A Tree, A Boy and A Fish 09/4/19
Thankful for Southern NJ Sunsets and More 11/15/23
Thompson's Beach, Heislerville, NJ visits Denizens of Thompson’s Beach 11/23/22
Underground Railroad Delaware Bayshore Springboard to Freedom 06/10/20
Whitesbog Village, Browns Mills, NJ Cranberry Fields 10/16/24
Winter Solstice Just Ahead: Brighter Days 12/14/22
Ye Greate Street & Tea Burning Monument, Greenwich, NJ Ye Greate Street, Greenwich, NJ 04/22/20

Environmental Protection Issues

Christmas Tree Farm Experience O Christmas Tree- Ramblings 12/20/23
Coastal Loss / Rising Water Living Below Sea Level 11/2/22
Connecting Habitats Across NJ CHANJ 07/21/21
Cruising Antarctica and Ice South Pole Summer 02/1/23
Environmental Benefits of Eating Plants Eat More Plants 01/18/23
Environmental Tips Let’s Go Greener 03/17/22
Ghost Traps Kill Animals Save a Terrapin 11/20/19
Going Green Limerick ‘Limerickal’ Approach to Going Greener 03/13/24
Light Pollution Starless Night Skies 10/5/22
Living with sea level rise Rising Waters of the NJ DE Bayshore 07/15/22
Minimizing Holiday Waste Waste Not 12/13/23
Pharmaceutical Co.s and Alternatives to Horseshoe Crab Blood Big Pharma Visits the Bayshore 05/29/24
Reduce Litter Loving Where We Live 02/14/24
Saanich Inlet Fjord and Delaware Bay A Living Laboratory 08/21/24
Sea Level Rise Killing Coastal Trees Ghost Trees 09/11/24
Sea Level Rise NJ DE Bayshore Sea Level Rise 09/4/24
Selecting A Christmas Tree O Christmas Tree 12/4/19
Shaping Public Opinion - Climate Change Climate Change 05/8/24
Shorebird decline 2021 - Stop Killing Horseshoe Crabs A Knotty Problem 06/23/21
Wildlife and Lead Poisoning Deadly Lead 02/20/19

Flora

Acorns; from humble beginnings grows a mighty oak From an Acorn 09/25/19
Allelopathy And Past Land Use Detective Games 06/19/19
American Beech Hanging On 10/23/19
American Holly Holly Jolly 12/21/22
Asclepias tuberosa A Favorite: Milkweed 06/29/22
Autumn Foliage Shades of Autumn 10/3/18
Black Cherry Opt for Native 04/27/22
Black Gum, Nysa sylvatica Our Native Gum 09/28/22
Common and Narrow Leaf Plantain Plantain Pair 07/5/23
Cranberries Pass the Sauce 11/25/20
Cut Flowers Artful Arranging 08/2/23
Fleabane, Erigeron philadelphicus In the Pink 06/5/24
Golden-club, orontium aquaticum Spring Prizes 04/8/20
Goldenrod Nothing to Sneeze At 09/11/19
Helianthus giganteus Sunny Garden Days 10/2/24
Helianthus giganteus, Giant Sunflower Sunny Garden Days 10/2/24
Horsemint & TNC Bluffs Preserve No Bluffing 10/4/23
Indian Pipe - Monotropa uniflora Indian Pipe 10/7/20
Invasive Clematis terniflora Sweet Autumn? 09/16/20
Jewelweed, Impatiens capensis A Gem or Weed? 06/12/19
Late Boneset Autumn Bloomer 10/9/24
Mayapples Fleeting Flora 04/19/23
Mistletoe - Phoradendron leucarpum Kiss and Tell 12/9/20
Mountain laurel Beauty To Behold 05/17/23
Native Plants and Roadsides Roadside Vistas 07/14/21
Nodding Ladies'- Tresses Fall Bloomers 10/27/21
Oakleaf hydrangea Hosting a Southern Beauty 07/26/23
Persimmon - Diospyros virginiana Pucker Up 12/16/20
Phytolacca americana Pokeweed Beware of this Plant 11/10/21
Poison ivy The Itch 04/6/22
Prickly pear cactus, Opuntia humifusa Cactus in New Jersey? 07/20/22
Princess Pine (lycopodium) Evergreen Princess 12/17/21
Red Maple (Acer Rubrum) Sweet Memories 03/25/20
Rio Grande Cottonwood, Bosque habitat Ribbons of Willow 11/8/23
Sarsaparilla Treasures Underfoot 09/25/24
Sassafras albidum A Tree with Sass 02/22/23
Seed Seed Dispersal 09/18/24
Spahagnum Moss Marvelous Moss 12/12/18
Sweet pepperbush Clethra alnifolia 08/26/20
Sweetbay Magnolia Sweet and Swampy 09/13/23
The Gift of Trees CU Co-founder Berwyn Kirby 01/19/22
Tuliptree Towering Sentinel 05/24/23
Typha/Cattails Cattails and “Crooks” 07/8/20
Winterberry What’s in a Name? 11/17/24

Fungus ● Lichen ● Allies

Mycelium - mushrooms What Lies Beneath 11/4/20
Turkey Tail Fungus - trametes versicolor A Thanksgiving Tail 11/11/20
Usnea lichen Bearded One 09/30/20

Habitat

Adding Native Plants to Your Garden TransGarden 04/17/19
Backyard Habitat Eat Like a Bird 02/13/19
Backyard Habitat with Container Gardening Thinking Inside the Box 08/30/23
Biodiversity Two Places, One Planet 01/30/19
Connection of Forest Community Mother Trees 10/13/21
Dead Trees as Habitat Wanted Dead or Alive 10/17/18
Exotic Animals and Plants Exotic Animals and Plants 04/10/19
Importance of snow White Christmas 12/18/19
Leaf Litter Leave the Leaves 11/17/21
Maurice River Wetlands Don’t Drain the Swamp 10/24/18
Monofilament Mind Your Line 07/31/19
Nature's Best Hope, a book by Douglas Tallamy Native Focus 07/15/20
Preserving the Holly Farm in Millville NJ Sharing the Wealth 12/11/19
Signs of spring Winter to Spring 03/15/23
Siting Wind and Solar Power Alternative Energy – Location, Location, Location 06/5/19
WheatonArts Annual EcoFair CU At the WheatonArts Ecofair 04/24/19
Wild Rice Marshes Fall Feast 09/26/18

Insects and Cohorts

Acrobat ants, insects in nature Ant Amnesty 03/18/20
Allegheny Mound Ants Mountain of an Anthill 04/12/23
Antlions Funnels of Death 11/3/21
Assassin or Wheel Bug Beware of this Bug 09/23/20
Basilica orbweaver Spiders Oh My! 09/5/23
Chiggers Having a Party? A Chiggers Gala 08/7/19
Cicada Killer Cicada Killer 09/9/21
Cicadas Brood X Cue the Chorus 04/21/21
Cloudless Sulphur All-Aflutter in Autumn 11/30/24
Common Buckeye The Common Beauty 09/18/19
Daddy Longlegs Ghoulish Lore 10/18/23
Dogbane Beetle and Plant Incandescent Insect 07/19/23
Dragonflies Dragons and Damsels 08/5/20
Dung beetles Every Day is Labor Day 09/1/21
Eastern Funnel-web Spider Eight Eyes Watching 10/20/21
Fireflies - Lightning Bugs Night Light 08/12/20
Honey bees What’s the Buzz 11/1/23
Insects Specialists Native Plants Butterfly Basics 05/27/20
Lady beetles Ladylike Invasion 12/1/21
Mantid A Prayerful Post 10/6/21
Mosquito Control without sprays Scat, Skeeters! 09/14/22
Mosquito Prevention/ Life History Pesky Mosquitoes 08/14/19
Mourning Cloak/Hackberry Playing Host to Butterflies 05/31/23
O. Milman's Book The Insect Crisis Worldwide Insect Decline 09/21/22
Phantom Crane Fly (getting children out-of-doors) Phantom On the Trail 07/10/19
Red admiral butterflies Red Admiral 06/30/21
Spicebush Spicebush: A Shrub and a Butterfly 04/10/24
Spider webs Designs on Spooky 10/9/19
Spring azure Welcome, Spring 03/20/24
Springtails Nature’s Cleanup Crew 10/23/24
Tiger swallowtail Nature’s Mimics 08/25/21
Walkingstick Stick Figures 05/8/19
Wool-sower gall wasp Wooly Wonder 06/21/23
Yellowjacket wasps Yellowjacket Conflicts 08/23/23

Invertebrates

Invasive earthworms Real Can of Worms 08/4/21
Terrestrial Snails A Snail’s Pace 08/18/21

Mammals

A chipmunk's abode Let’s Get Cheeky 10/2/19
American Beaver -castor canadensis Busy Beavers 01/20/21
American mink Mink Encounters 03/9/22
Bats Halloween Icon 10/16/19
Bison At Home on the Range 07/3/24
Eastern cottontail prolific breeders Cottontail 05/1/19
Eastern Coyote Coyote Lore – and Facts 10/26/22
Eastern Gray Squirrel Nutty or Wise? 12/26/18
Eastern Moles A Dog Named Blue 07/28/21
Exploring Scat The Real Poop 05/5/21
Flying Squirrel Hang Gliding 04/5/23
Gray Fox Sly as a Fox 02/10/21
Groundhogs Winter… into Spring 03/17/21
Muskrats Key Player 03/30/22
North American River Otter A Hobnob With Otters 02/24/21
Raccoon Who Is That Masked Mammal? 06/7/23
Skunks Raising a Stink 08/28/19
Virginia Opossum Oh-Possum 11/21/18
White-Footed Mouse & Christmas Chris Mouse 12/19/18
White-tailed Deer Deer Me! 10/31/18
White-tailed deer communication In the Mood 11/6/19

Natural History

A March Snapshot of the NJ Delaware Bayshore March Madness 03/23/22
Autumn on the DE Bayshore Gateway to Autumn 09/20/23
Biography of Mary Treat Reader’s Treat 11/9/22
Deception in Nature Trickery in Nature 03/29/23
Mary Treat's FL study grounds Mary’s Winters 01/25/23
Perseid Meteor Shower Nature’s Really Big Show 07/24/24
Website Seasonal Natural History Calendar Eventful August 08/29/18

Recreational Opportunities

Bayshore Heritage Byway- A NJ Scenic Byway What’s Your Sign? 01/16/19
Bayshore Heritage National Scenic Byway National Recognition 03/3/21
Cox Creek WMA & Cape May Peninsula Migratory Funnel Funnel of Fun, Cox Creek WMA 04/29/20
CU's First Hike of New Year Kickoff Hike 01/2/19
Dressing for cold weather Staying Warm, Head to Toe 02/9/22
Exploring Cape May Meadows and CMP State Park Jersey’s Eastern Shore, Part III 09/7/22
Exploring Natural Areas E.B.Forsythe and South Jersey’s Eastern Shore 08/24/22
Exploring Nature Wildwood Crest and Cape May Harbor Jersey’s Eastern Shore, Part II 08/31/22
Fieldtrips with CU Tuesdays on the Fly 2019 02/28/19
Harnessing Your Inner Voice - using nature Chatter, by E. Kross 07/31/24
Natural Lands Mauricetown Preserve Let’s Take a Hike 03/1/23
Natural Lands Tatnall Starr Trail Idyllic Retreat 05/4/22
NJ Delaware Bayshore Hikes More Winter Hikes 02/9/24
NJ Delaware Bayshore Sunsets Meow of a Sunset 04/13/22
NJ's Long Trail On the Trail 01/13/21
Open Space Use Increases During Pandemic Solace in the Storm 06/3/20
Tyndall and Ragged Island Trails Bacon’s Neck 03/8/23
Using binoculars Focus on ‘Binocs’ 04/7/21
Walking Out-of-Doors is Therapeutic Go Take a Hike 03/27/19
WheatonArts Nature Trail A Good Trail Mix 09/19/18
Winter Outdoor Appreciation Be a Winter Explorer 01/24/24

Reptiles and Amphibians

Black rat snake A Bit of Black Magic 10/28/20
Chorus frog Spring Chorus 03/22/23
Eastern Box Turtle The Box Turtle 11/7/18
Fowler's Toad Lonely Hearts? 08/16/23
Frogs - Winter Survival Freeze Frame 03/4/20
Frogs and their calls The Dating Game 05/12/20
Ghost Traps Kill Animals Save a Terrapin 11/20/19
Gray Treefrogs Cue the Chorus 05/25/22
Red Belly Turtle Brumation Red Bellied Turtles, Surviving Winter 01/15/20
Tiger Salamanders Year of the Tiger 02/2/22

Water Quality

Macroinvertebrates Indicator Species Monitoring Steam Health 07/17/24
Mercury - Dragonfly Sampling Mercury Study 08/21/19
Plastics litter oceans Bottom Dwellers 03/20/19
R. Dorer -Trees, Soil Conservation, Wetlands One Man, Many Trees 04/20/22
Residents Protecting Water Quality Enjoy the View 10/11/23
Riparian Buffers Riparian Buffers 03/13/19
Urban eco-landscape WheatonArts Circle Oasis 05/19/21
Water Quality and Conservation- Restoration Watershed Moment 09/9/20