Duke Farms Feed

My Free Duke Farms' Bald Eagle E-Book Is Back!

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Three years ago, I did an e-book about Bald Eagles for Duke Farms and the Conserve Wildlife Foundation, and I am pleased to announce that it's back online.

One of the many cool things about the  e-book is you can go any chapter quickly by just clicking it on the Contents page.

The eBook was designed by Mimi Sabatino and includes a ton of information about Duke Farms' Bald Eagles as well as the Bald Eagle's amazing comeback in New Jersey and beyond -- plus plenty of excellent links.

Also featured: Some great photography by Kevin Watson.

If your electronic device's "volume control" is on, you can even hear the digital pages turn.

You can view it here.

Since of the links to the Duke Farms blog are outdated now, I will try to include them in this post as I update it.

You can view the Duke Farms nest live below. Note that you can "rewind" for up to two hours if you missed anything...

Continue reading "My Free Duke Farms' Bald Eagle E-Book Is Back!" »


Basking Ridge's Ross Farm -- Fell House Cousin!

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Stumbled across this amazing place serendipitously. Heard that a musician I liked was doing a concert in New Jersey at a place called the Ross Farm, and thought I should look into it. I did (and the concert was great, too).

Turns out that the 50-acre Ross Farm is the nickname for the Boudinot-Southard-Ross Estate. And as anyone who cares about the history of Allendale's historic John Fell House knows, a fellow named Boudinot was the key figure in securing the release of John Fell from the notorious Provost Jail in Manhattan during the Revolutionary War.

Could it be the same guy? Yes.

Elias Boudinot, a key aide to General George Washington during the Revolutionary War, was also the president of the Continental Congress. You can learn more about this amazing Founding Father here.

As for his house, he moved there in July 1777 to escape the danger of capture by British troops and Loyalists.  John Fell, as you may know, was captured by Loyalists in his home in Allendale on April 22, 1777. DSCN0004(Maybe Fell's arrest gave Boudinot a push.)

Although the Fell House and the Boudinot House look similar (see the photo of the Boudinot-Southard- Ross House above and Fell House at right), both houses had those columns and rooftop "fencing" added in the early 20th century. And both houses had the front become the back of the house at some point.

A slideshow of the the house and garden  is below.

You can learn more about the 62-acre Ross Farm here. (BTW, The Celery Farm was once part of John Fell's estate.)

To learn more about two upcoming concerts in a wonderful barn venue, click here.

More on the Fell-Boudinot connection tomorrow.

 

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New 'Bird Watcher' Column: Duke Farms!

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My latest birding column for The Record, in Thursday's editions, is about the recently reopened Duke Farms -- a great place for birders and other nature lovers.

Here's a sample:IMG_9643

"Let the word go forth: There's a terrific destination for birders – and everyone else who loves nature – that's huge, free and less than an hour’s drive from North Jersey.

"The place is the recently reopened Duke Farms, just off Route 202 in Hillsborough, not far from Interstate 287.

"With nearly 3,000 acres of fields, woodlands and water -- and a new 22,000-square-foot orientation center – this preserve is a must-visit."

The link is here.