Wildlife

Arwen's Mom

Mother of Dragons, Breaker of Chains
Interested to hear what kind of wildlife you have seen while riding NJ trails.

besides deer and squirrels...

If you see any of the less common birds, that would be cool too.

Let's see...for me:
bear at mt creek (ages ago)
recently: eagle at some "unmarked town trails" in helmetta
fox at 6MR
scarlet tanager at Allaire (today)
twice a snake at 6MR
 

rottin'

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
AM,

I like this topic...one of my favorite parts of riding in the woods is encountering animals on/off the trails. Here is a rundown from the last year or so:

Hartshorne: white deer(may have been albino) last year
coyote(i think...if is was a fox it was HUGE)
seal in the river where Navesink River meets Shrewsbury River

Huber: Gray fox
Red fox

Raystown: Rattlesnake(forced me into the brush to get around it!)

Allaire: I may have seen a wookie;)

Also saw an owl at a local spot.
 
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ninja4life

Member
I've seen one Rattlesnake, a bunch of Bears, and lots of deer in Ringwood. Also the group I was with today saw a big ass Bear at Mountain Creek. I didn't even notice him but the guys in the back got the crap scared out of them.
 

LP70

Member
Ramapo Cannonball trail I came around a turn and a hawk was flying on the trail holding a black rat snake. It got spooked and dropped it.

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MikeP

Well-Known Member
I've seen a few turkeys (animals not lame riders), box turtles, and snakes on my local trails. I saw a possum on a night ride once which quite frankly scared the sh!t out of me.
 

pixychick

JORBA: Ringwood
JORBA.ORG
Wow, a seal in NJ is really cool! I did not think we had them here.

Either in or near Ringwood area I have seen: bear, rattlesnakes, black snakes, gardners, copperheads, turkey, fox, bob cat, salamanders, frogs, woodcock, scarlet tanager, piliated woodpecker, indigo bunting, hawks, the most gigantic snapping turtle I have ever seen :scared: and some wicked cool bugs. Stick bugs amaze me!
 
cool topic - i seem to see more wildlife when i do my country road rides - tons of deer - on the trails not so much - used to be a big bird guy - was into feeders, etc - so i always admire them when given the opp to do so
 

moray42

Merman
Box turtles a couple of times at a local trail by home and Estell. Scared a whole group of turkeys out of the brush at Wharton. Fox somewhere, think Wharton. Hawks at a few places. Oh, and a fence lizard at the Wharton parking lot:).

Slightly off topic, but i've seen several seals while doing field work a few years back. They work their way to the bays here around fall and stay seasonally or just pass through. There is a small colony that spends part of the season on one of the small islands in the bay here.
 

soundz

The Hat
Team MTBNJ Halter's
The most memorable wildlife encounter I had was when I was bushwacking through some local trails, a hawk came and landed on a tall tree stump about 10 feet away from me. It scared the crap out of me, I didn't know what to do, so I started talking to it. It listened for like 1 minute then flew off.
 

dkocnj

Member
I happened upon a flock of Turkeys a few months ago at Estell Manor. They flew away when they heard me coming towards them. That was the first time I ever saw turkeys flying.

My better wildlife experiences have come while surfing and kayaking including dolphins, seals, sharks, skates/rays, etc.
 

Allamuchy Joe

Not White House Approved
JORBA.ORG
My better wildlife experiences have come while surfing and kayaking including dolphins, seals, sharks, skates/rays, etc.

If I saw a shark, I would ink the water like a squid. Except my ink would be brown in color.
 

robox201

Member
wildlife while biking

I saw a bunch of skink lizards at ramapo, and a giant snake that swam out to an island to steal the eggs out of a goose nest! I saw a group of about 100 or more turkeys while out riding some trails in PA, and that was one of the most unique wildlife experiences ive ever seen! I saw some pretty large crayfish while in Hawley, PA. Deer a lot in nj, a few smaller snakes, but never a bear. Its on my bucket list to encounter a bear while out riding. I can't seem to find one, I even spread out chips when I go camping to try to lure one on over. I know one day ill actually find one and probibly be terrified.
 

kidzach

Well-Known Member
Wildlife While Biking

Allamuchy; Black Bears ,Snapping Turtle,Black Racer Snakes,Orange Tanager Bird (kind of looks like an oriole but more orange, this bird realy stood out as orange as it was. Never have seen one of these again . Kittatinney; very large Black Bear, Fox. Jungle Habitat; Black Bear,Black Rat Snake, Boxer Turtle. High Mountain; Fox. Six Mile; Fox. Wawayanda; Blck Bear. Mahlon Dickerson; Black Bear. I Have never seen the ever elusive Mountain Lion or the Sasquatch for that matter.
 

giff06

Well-Known Member
We too have sighted a large Wookie @ Allaire.:D
Ed and Pat Gifford
the Snot Rocket tandem
 

kidzach

Well-Known Member
Do the bears runaway when they hear you?

The Bears almost always run when they see you.The Bear I came upon while on the trail at Waywayanda only slowly turned around and walked ever so slowly away.The monster I came accross at Kittattinney did not budge.It was sitting on some rocks kind of foraging or something.Their was a bit of a wall of rocks between us so I came even closer as to continue on my trail.I must have come 12 feet from him/her and still did not care, even trying to smell me as I rode by.This one seemed to be a little too used to humans.
 

rottin'

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Rocky Point right? I have seen and heard a coyote in Rocky Point.

Huber/Hartshorne - foxes a bunch of time, box turtle (Huber)
Allaire - box turtles a few times.

I saw it over by the cabin...I came up with cabin on my right side and watched this beast cross the trail in front of me from left to right and dart into the brush.
 

ADoug

Active Member
Lots of bunnies, a turkey and some deer at Six Mile. Maybe a fox and some vultures, but I wasn't sure.

In Colorado I saw lots of chipmunks and snakes. Managed to run over and kill a rattlesnake one ride. Then I almost fell off a cliff. Touche nature, touche.
 
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