Though called a swamp, the Refuge and
adjoining public lands
encompass a great variety of other habitats as well: grasslands, sandy
knolls, ponds, brooks, marshes, woodlands and ridges. In this rich
mix, Great Swamp displays plants from both southern and northern
zones, including 215 species of wildflowers.
This varied vegetation provides a diversity of homes for the 220
bird, 33 mammal, 21 reptile, 18 amphibian and 29 fish species in Great
Swamp. Of these species, 26 are listed by the state of New Jersey as
threatened or endangered. Great Swamp also is home to one of the state’s
largest breeding populations of Eastern Bluebirds, and it boasts a
thriving Great Blue Heron rookery, which hatches about 80 chicks each
summer.
Though called a swamp, the Refuge and
adjoining public lands
encompass a great variety of other habitats as well: grasslands, sandy
knolls, ponds, brooks, marshes, woodlands and ridges. In this rich
mix, Great Swamp displays plants from both southern and northern
zones, including 215 species of wildflowers.