Little Ferry’s Losen Slote Creek Park!
Losen Slote Creek Park
Welcome to the 28 acre Losen Slote Creek Park! The Park is located in Little Ferry, NJ and contains 26 acres of woodland and meadows. 2 acres are dedicated to recreation.
Losen Slote Creek Park Boundaries
The park, named for the creek which flows through it, was created in 1990 by an agreement with the Borough of Little Ferry and the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC). The NJMC has a 99 year lease agreement with Little Ferry for public access. Losen Slote Creek Park has the Little Ferry Department of Public Works to the north, the Bergen County Utilities Authority Nature Preserve to the east, Losen Slote on its western border and the Richard P Kane Natural Area to the south.
Losen Slote Creek Park
Habitat found in the preserve includes forested freshwater wetlands, meadows and a portion of the Losen Slote Creek, a major tributary of the lower Hackensack River watershed. The name “Losen Slote” is of Dutch origin and translates to “curvy creek”. As such, the name of the park translates to “Curvy Creek Creek Park”. 
Losen Slote
Losen Slote is not influenced by tidal waters because of a tide gate that is present near Losen Slote’s confluence with the Hackensack River. The tide gate was installed by the Bergen County Mosquito Authority around 1921. Losen Slote has been labeled by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection as “FW2-NT/SE2″. This classification indicates that these waters do not contain trout (NT=No Trout) and are a mixture of fresh and salt water.
May 6, 2012 NJMC & Bergen County Audubon Society Tour
Birders in Losen Slote Creek Park
The New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC) & the Bergen County Audubon Society led a 1.5 mile 2 hour tour of Losen Slote Creek Park on May 6, 2012 to look for migrating birds and other wildlife.
Losen Slote Creek Park Trail Map
Jim Wright of the NJMC informed the group of the different habitats found in the park before the tour began.
I was happy to attend because it provided a chance to explore & undertake a deeper understanding of the flora & fauna that can be found in Bergen County’s sole remaining lowland forest.
Losen Slote Creek Park Wet Meadow Habitat
After the group assembled in the parking lot, we stopped near the entrance to the forest by a wet meadow where Solitary Sandpipers and Greater Yellowlegs were poking around. Most attendees commented that they had never seen so many Solitary Sandpipers gathered in one spot before.
Losen Slote Creek Park Trail
After entering the forest, the group almost immediately spotted a Baltimore Oriole and at least 2 Scarlet Tanagers high in the trees (and too high for me to get a picture). I did get a picture of a Gray Catbird who was singing a territory song.
Gray Catbird
Soon after I took the picture of the catbird, a splash was heard in a nearby ditch as a Muskrat made a quick getaway which I caught on camera as a blur.
Blurry Muskrat
As we traveled further into the woods, a good amount of native flora was present:
Don Torino of the Bergen County Audubon Society with Mayapple in Bloom
Arrowwood
Black Cherry In Bloom
Sweet Pepperbush
Canada Mayflower In Bloom
Cinnamon Fern
Gray Birch became the dominant species as the group came into the meadows portion of the preserve.
Gray Birch
Reaching the creek turtles were spotted basking on a rock and a surprised Great Blue Heron flew away before I could get its picture.
Turtles on a rock in the Losen Slote
As we got into the meadows there were plenty of butterflies (especially the Red Admiral) flying around.
Losen Slote Creek Park Field Habitat
A Brown Thrasher was waiting for the group in the meadows and put on quite a show.
Brown Thrasher
Heading in, Raccoon tracks were found in the mud on parts of the trail.
The group did notice some Mile-A-Minute, an invasive plant which had sections eaten by insects which were released in the park to control Mile-A-Minute from taking over.
Mile-a-Minute Insect Holes
Reaching near the end of the trail, the group turned back to the forest and to the parking lot where the tour concluded.
Check out Plant Communities of New Jersey.
NJ’s geology, topography and soil, climate, plant-plant and plant-animal relationships, and the human impact on the environment are all discussed in great detail. Twelve plant habitats are described and the authors were good enough to put in examples of where to visit!
Click here for more information!
A full list of birds spotted on the tour can be found here.
Losen Slote
Many thanks to the NJMC & Bergen County Audubon Society for hosting an excellent walk! Check out the Meadowlands Blog or the Bergen County Audubon Society’s webpage for information regarding future events!
Click here for directions to Losen Slote Creek Park!
Feel free to e-mail NJUrbanForest at NJUrbanForest@gmail.com with any comments, memories or suggestion! Thank you and have fun exploring!
Books on the Meadowlands!
1. The Nature of the Meadowlands – The Nature of the Meadowlands illuminates the region’s natural and unnatural history, from its darkest days of a half-century ago to its amazing environmental revival.
Click here for more information!
2. The Meadowlands: Wilderness Adventures on the Edge of a City – Author Robert Sullivan proves himself to be this fragile yet amazingly resilient region’s perfect expolorer, historian, archaeologist, and comic bard.
Click here for more information!
3. Meadowlands: A Wetlands Survival Story – Slowly but surely, with help from activist groups, government organizations, and ordinary people, the resilient creatures of the Meadowlands are making a comeback, and the wetlands are recovering.
Click here for more information!
4. Fields of Sun and Grass: An Artist’s Journal of the New Jersey Meadowlands - The book has three central parts, respectively called “Yesterday,” “Today,” and “Tomorrow.” Each covers a different time period in the ecological life of the Meadowlands.
Click here for more information!
Emerson Woods Preserve Tour!
Emerson Woods Preserve
On December 4, 2011, Watershed Advocacy group Bergen SWAN (Save the Watershed Action Network) teamed with naturalist Nancy Slowik to host the first ever Emerson Woods nature walk. Once targeted for intense development, the woods are now preserved and help protect the Oradell Reservoir from non-point source pollution.
Emerson Woods and Oradell Reservoir
Bergen SWAN played a major role in preserving Emerson Woods. Bergen SWAN has fought for almost 24 years to help preserve the remaining forests surrounding upper Bergen County’s reservoirs. The most recent settlement occurred in 2009 with United Water. United Water manages the Oradell, Lake Tappan and Woodcliff Lake Reservoirs in Bergen County. After 5 years of negotiations with Bergen SWAN & the Hackensack Riverkeeper, United Water agreed to granting conservation easements on 3,100 watershed acres to the NJDEP in addition to setting aside $1 million to assist in acquiring and preserving additional land along the Hackensack River and its tributaries. United Water has since become a close ally of Bergen SWAN by helping to sponsor events such as the 2010 “Planting in the Park” in Pascack Brook County Park and allowing Bergen SWAN to host the December 4th nature walk on United Water watershed land-land which is normally not open to the general public.
Nature Tour
Emerson Woods Nature Tour
The tour, led by naturalist Nancy Slowik, started in the United Water recreation parking lot near Lakeview Terrace in Emerson, NJ. Once the group was organized, Bergen SWAN opened up the gate to the Oradell Reservoir providing a rare opportunity to walk along the shore of the reservoir. Nancy directed the tour to the waterfowl present on the open water of the reservoir. Double-crested Cormorant were seen in addition to Hooded Mergansers.
Double Crested Cormorant
Heading away from the shore, the tour passed a stand of American Sycamore with their white peeling bark.
American Sycamore
Early settlers used to make buttons out of American Sycamore seedpods. The “button” is found inside the seedpod. This practice created another name for the American Sycamore: the Buttonwood Tree. Nancy pointed out Poison Ivy growing on a dead Eastern Hemlock tree. Members of the tour were advised to never touch the hairy vine of Poison Ivy as you can still get a painful itchy rash even in winter.
Poison Ivy Rope on Dead Hemlock Tree
Palmolive dish washing liquid was recommended as an inexpensive cure for poison ivy. The tour then led participants up a gas line right of way for about ¼ a mile.
Along the way, White-Tail Deer were seen browsing in the woods west of the right of way.
White Tail Deer
As the group proceeded on, Nancy pointed out large rectangular holes found on a dead tree.
Pileated Woodpecker Holes
These holes were created by a Pileated Woodpecker, North America’s largest woodpecker. Most likely the bird was hunting carpenter ants, one it’s favorite sources of food. While the group admired the holes, a Black-Capped Chickadee, Northern Flicker and Red-Bellied Woodpecker were heard calling.
Up ahead on the gas trail was a stand of Northern Red Oak (NJ’s state tree!) with its characteristic “ski slope” bark. Nancy informed the tour that when a Northern Red Oak gets cut it admits a foul odor.
Northern Red Oak
Shortly before turning west onto the Heck Ditch trail, the group happened upon a White Pine plantation.
White Pine Plantation
White pines make excellent habitat for Great Horned Owls and other birds of prey which frequent Emerson Woods.
Possible Hawk or Owl nest in White Pine
Cones of White Pine are sticky with the seeds found inside. Native Americans used to chew on White Pine needles to obtain Vitamin C.
As the group passed the Heck Ditch Nancy pointed out that the oily looking water surface of the ditch was caused by bacteria decomposing leaves.
Heck Ditch
Ground Pine
Ground Pine was found growing in large colonies on the other side of the Heck ditch trail. Ground Pine takes years to become established.
Scouring Rush near Cotton Wood Tree
After walking for about 15-20 minutes on the Heck Ditch trail, the tour headed south on the Equisetum trail which leads back to the United Water Recreating parking lot. Along the way, Nancy pointed out large growths of equisetum growing near massive Cottonwood trees. This collection of Equisetum is thought to consist of the largest stand in New Jersey. Equisetum are members of an ancient order of plants and appeared well before the appearance of the first flowering plants. Equisetum was known to early settlers as “Scouring Rush”-a name given for its ability to clean and scrub pots and pans.
Check out Plant Communities of New Jersey.
NJ’s geology, topography and soil, climate, plant-plant and plant-animal relationships, and the human impact on the environment are all discussed in great detail. Twelve plant habitats are described and the authors were good enough to put in examples of where to visit!
Click here for more information!
Giant Cottonwood
The group headed back to the parking lot as twilight descended. As we walked, we happened upon an abandoned Red-Eyed Vireo nest. The red-eye vireo spends the winter living in South America.
The group proceeded to the parking area and the tour concluded.
Emerson Woods Preserve
A special thanks to Bergen SWAN and Nancy Slowik for offering the opportunity to explore Emerson Woods in great detail. For more information on Bergen SWAN click here.
The Emerson Woods Preserve are accessible from off of Main Street in Emerson or Lakeview Drive. Ample parking is available on Summer Street. Be sure to check out Bergen SWAN if you wish to participate in nature walks, community clean-ups and educational events in Emerson Woods.
Comments!