large, isolated oaks, hickories and pines; isolated trees remaining in clear-cut areas; suburban woodlots; parks; cemeteries; and golf course groves. Swamps with an abundance of snags may also harbor breeding Red-headed Woodpeckers. Nests are usually excavated in the trunk or limb of a dead tree. Live trees as well as utility poles have also been reported. Nests are usually 20 to 40 ft above the ground. Spring migration usually occurs from late April into May and fall migration typically extends from mid-September to mid-October.
The parcel is predominantly developed and disturbed, containing existing buildings, paved and gravel surfaces, maintained open areas, and fragmented edge conditions rather than contiguous mature woodland structure. The site lacks extensive stands of large, isolated oak, hickory, or pine trees arranged in an open canopy configuration, and does not contain the abundance of standing dead trees or large snags typically required for cavity excavation and breeding. Vegetation within the developed portion of the site is limited in structural diversity and does not provide the vertical stratification or prey availability associated with suitable nesting or foraging habitat. Adjacent wetland buffer areas contain denser vegetation will be preserved and enhanced. In addition, ongoing human activity, lighting, traffic, and infrastructure further reduce habitat suitability for a disturbance-sensitive breeding species. Based on existing site conditions and land use, the project area does not provide the physical structure or ecological characteristics necessary to support nesting, breeding, or sustained use by Red-headed Woodpecker.
Pine Barrens treefrogs are known to prefer acidic waters associated with Atlantic white-cedar wetlands of the New Jersey Pine Barrens. Maple-gum wetlands with favorable water chemistry (pH) may also harbor breeding Pine Barrens treefrogs. Early successional wetlands and vernal pools are preferred breeding habitat where specimens typically call from trees standing in or near water. Following breeding, they return to a more terrestrial environment. This species is mainly restricted to core Pine Barrens habitat within Burlington, Ocean, Atlantic, Gloucester, and Camden counties.
Pine Barrens treefrogs require both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Generally, Pine Barrens treefrogs have been reported to breed in seepage bogs, cranberry bogs, small and ephemeral ponds, streamlets, Atlantic white cedar (Chamaecyparis thyoides) swamps, and pitch pine (Pinus rigida) lowlands (NJDEP 2013). Plant species found at breeding sites include those mentioned above as well as highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), greenbriar (Smilax ssp), red maple (Acer rubrum), swamp azalea (Rhododendron viscosum), swamp magnolia (Magnolia virginiana), viburnums (Viburnum spp.), inkberry (Ilex glabra), mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia), sheep laurel (Kalmia angustifolia), blackjack oak (Q. marilandica), scrub oak (Q. ilicifolia), sundew (Drosera ssp.), pitcher plant (Sarracenia purpurea), sweet pepperbush (Clethra alnifolia), and various orchids (Habaneria ssp.). Structural characteristics of preferred habitats include an open canopy, a dense shrub layer, and heavy ground cover. Soil types include sands and muck (Liguori 2003).
The project site does not exhibit the hydrologic, vegetative, or soil characteristics required to support breeding or foraging habitat for this species including acidic aquatic systems within intact Pine Barrens landscapes, including Atlantic white cedar swamps, seepage bogs, cranberry bogs, vernal pools, and pitch pine lowlands with open canopy and dense shrub structure. The parcel is predominantly developed and disturbed, lacking vernal pools, seepage wetlands, ephemeral ponds, or acidic wetland systems capable of supporting breeding activity. Site soils within the developed portion of the parcel consist primarily of disturbed fill and upland soils rather than the sandy or muck substrates characteristic of seepage bogs and lowland pine systems. In addition, the site lacks the mosaic of connected aquatic and terrestrial habitat required for seasonal movement and post breeding dispersal. While Pine Barrens Treefrog has been documented regionally within Ocean County, existing site conditions do not provide the structural