New Jersey State Parks reopened to the public on May 2, 2020 after closing on April 8 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Upon reopening, face coverings were been strongly encouraged and parking was limited to 50% capacity. I resumed taking morning bike rides, wearing a mask and avoiding areas with more people.
Interpretive Center
The Interpretive Center (the “IC”) area of Liberty State Park consists of a pond with surrounding marsh, meadows, and woods. It’s a great area to see warblers in both spring and fall, and is the only spot in the park I’ve seen hummingbirds. When I arrived on May 2 the woods were filled with birds singing, a delight that continues through May and beyond.
Caven Point
When the park first reopened I wasn’t doing a full trip that would include Caven Point–I was initially very cautious about how long I stayed and how near I got to any other people. The boardwalk section at Caven Point seemed like it might be too narrow for my comfort level. However, as time went on it became clear that most parkgoers were taking things seriously with social distancing and mask-wearing wherever distance wasn’t as easy to maintain and I resumed exploring beyond the IC area. A 7am opening also started to be enforced midway through May so if I wanted to go out early, the option was to take Philip Street/Burma Road to the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, which includes the Caven Point walkway that’s open year-round.
Grove of Remembrance
While I usually spend quite a lot of time in spring checking the Grove of Remembrance area for warblers and other migrants, this year more people were at the park early in the mornings than in a “normal” year (when I would only be out occasionally anyway) so I mostly bee-lined for the Interpretive Center and therefore didn’t see too many birds there.
Such a nice variety of warblers, my favorite! Your photos are great and I love the artwork that you are inspired to make from them. Very informative post, thank-you!