The Mercer County Parks staff has put up fences at the Pole Farm to remind people to stay on the trails and not to wander off into the woods where long-eared owls have been roosting. I applaud the move.
I was walking up the central trail in shoe-sucking mud this morning when up at the tree line I spotted what appeared to be black boxes. As I approached, I realized what I was seeing were steel barrier fences on each side of the path, a longer group to my left and a smaller group to my right. I also could see a new trail camera, probably motion triggered, back in the evergreens where long-eared owls had been spotted in previous weeks.
Are those owls still there? Maybe. If the rangers are out patrolling for trail scofflaws, as an electronic sign alerts you as you at the juncture of a couple of the park’s main trails, that must mean that enough knuckleheads have tramped off trail and likely have spooked the owls.
I have only seen glimpses of those owls, and each time it was through binoculars from a respectful distance with other birders and photographers. After the fist couple of times I encountered others at the spot, I noticed that the grasses in front of the tree line had been trampled, presumably by owl prowlers who think the rules don’t apply to them.
This is not the first time park personnel have intervened to protect owls. A couple of years back, the staff put up steel barriers to block sections of trees at the old AT&T Building One oval, not far from where the new fences were put in place. People back then were wandering among those evergreens, from what I’ve heard, going right up to the owls to ogle and photograph them.
That boorish behavior has no place at the Pole Farm or anywhere else. We are in effect guests of the wildlife we observe in nature and we need to mind our manners.
The Jersey Birder 
These problems seem to follow Long- and Short-eared Owls, sadly.
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You are absolutely correct. Too many people think nature exists for exploitation & entertainment. I hate to say it but photographers are some of the worst offenders. As a result the locations of some birds, nests in particular, are increasingly being kept secret.
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Right on.
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Thanks for the “like”! There’s been an explosive increase in birding & bird photography in recent years but often, unfortunately, without a proportionate interest in conservation advocacy. I’m old enough to remember when the term “birding” was invented. Prior it was “bird watching”.
Modern birding has become more of a competitive sport: who has the biggest list of various sorts, the best photos. Too often birds become mere objects tics & pics to be collected like vague trophies.
I’ve done some teaching about birds & birding & I always emphasize that birds are living creatures that don’t need our interference & are entitled to our respect & consideration of their welfare above all else. Peace.
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Same problems in NY during winter in areas short eared owls are. Not all photographers are bad, but some give everyone else a bad name. I go to one place that has closed more and more trail sections every year due to bad behaviour, such as going off the trails. Some don’t get the concept of watching quietly.
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