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Community Corner

Harding Road Bird Sanctuary

Lata Mahbubani, Neighbor

Did you know that we have a bird sanctuary on Ridge Road in Fair Haven?  This is probably one of the borough’s best kept secrets.  This woodland preserve located on Ridge and Harding Roads is a sanctuary for many indigenous species of birds and small woodland animals. 

The Harding family donated the land in 1950 with the stipulation “…that the premises hereby conveyed shall be used only for park and playground purposes…” thus making it one of the first pieces of preserved land in Fair Haven.

 

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Currently the Garden Club of Fair Haven Garden is instrumental in keeping the land a natural preserve for birds and for people as well as a superb recreational area for bird watchers and naturalists.  There is a skunk cabbage in the boggy area which is a remnant of the glaciers.  There is a variety of large trees that have been here for a hundred years or more, some topped by storms or diseased.  There are domesticated shrubs, which have been seeded by the birds, plants and wild flowers.  Local scout groups have gathered here, as seen from a couple of teepees still left here, unharmed by passing storms. 

Harding Bird Sanctuary was registered by the National Audubon Society in 1956 and thanks to the dedicated efforts and hard work of the Garden Club of Fair Haven; it has remained a fully preserved and well-maintained oasis. It is a joy to walk through this hidden gem in Fair Haven. 

 

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Harding Bird Sanctuary Committee is headed by Sally Hollyer, an active member of the Garden Club of Fair Haven.  She will be very happy to give you more information.  Please contact her at 732-842-8786.

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