My Mullica River Picture BookVeronica Coia

© Copyright 2013, All rights reserved. www.veronicacoia.com.

My Mullica River Picture Book

Table of Contents:River ....................................................... 1Blue Heron ...............................................4Red Bellied Turtles ...................................6Canadian Geese ....................................10Ducks.....................................................12Birds ...................................................... 14Dragonfly ...............................................16Damselfly ...............................................20Frog .......................................................22Flowers ..................................................24Batsto Village .........................................32Bridges ..................................................34Snake .....................................................36Ghost? ...................................................37

AcknowledgementsReferences: Thank you Gabriel Coia, Vanessa and Angelo Lello, Steven Seidler, Bob Moyer, Wikipedia.org, Pineypower.com, and Hogan Photo. Without your boats, technical skills, expertise and websites, this book would not be possible nor accurate!

Talent: A special thanks to Batsto Village, God, Mother Nature, and all of the creatures and flowers pictured.

Below: Evening Primrose (Genus Oenethera).

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Ahhh, I love my Mullica River. It is, literally and figuratively, my home sweet home, as is the Batsto River.

The Batsto is a 22.9 mile long (36.9 km) tributary of the 50.6 mile (81.4 km) Mullica River, located in the Pine Barrens of the Wharton State Forest in southern New Jersey. They meet up at The Forks, located in

Sweetwater. The Batsto is pretty narrow; as is the upstream portion of the Mullica. The fragrant cedar water transitions into salt water, widening as it approaches the Great Bay, home of some of the least disturbed wetlands habitats in the Northeastern U.S. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean.

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I have never truly appreciated how fragrant the Pine Barrens were until I returned for summer break from art school. As we got closer to the house I’d lived throughout my teens, I deeply inhaled that sweet, fragrant scent far into my city polluted lungs. Mmmm, to this day, it is one of the best scents on Earth!

Each summer, I go out as often as possible with my nephew Gabe, whose kayaks and canoes bring us to branches of the

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river upstream so undetected, quiet and beautiful, we consider it our church. I also venture downstream as much as possible, usually in my sister Vanessa and her husband Angelo’s motor boat, La Nostra. When the tide and conditions are just right, we head out to the ocean into the salty air. Don’t you just love that funky eggy smell?

I know, books aren’t scented, so, I hope you will enjoy my picture book.

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ready to capture them. It took five years to get these pictures, and I’m still not satisfied!

They tend to be loners; I don’t recall ever seeing one hanging out with another.

They do, however, stick close to trees surrounding water along the east coast of the United States.

I love watching them in flight; and hearing their wings in motion. They move so gracefully and are quite stealth!

The Great Blue Heron, (Ardea herodias) are actually a cool grayish color initially; acquiring the more bluish hue as they age.

Although they stand approximately 4 feet tall, and have a wingspan of 68–79 inches (167–201 cm), these graceful wading birds are surprisingly light, weighing in between 4 and 8 lbs (2.1–3.6 kg).

I call them elusive because they are camera-shy, only appearing when my camera is not

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The Northern Red-Bellied Turtle (Pseudemys Rubriventris) is the primary turtle species I see around my rivers. They, too, are camera-shy. However, one day,

I was the Turtle Whisperer with this guy pictured above. He was hanging out with his friends (facing page), and they were kind enough to let me say hello and take these

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Further upstream, on the Batsto, we came across another kind turtle, who had this crack in his shell. Fortunately, he seemed on the

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pictures. Although his friends took off, he and I hung out for a bit. I was so close I saw his eyeball blinking! I whispered to him that I wanted his

life by the water sunning, swimming or hiding when those pesky humans show up. I felt honored and amazed to be in his presence.

mend, and showed no signs of distress, but the mystery remains: how, exactly, did this turtle get that crack in the shell?

This particular Canadian goose was taking its gosling out for a swim as we were canoeing past. I got up as close as possible and managed to

snap these shots before she started to bark at me! Hence, the nickname the Mad Duck. “It’s not a duck, it’s a goose,” sighed Gabe...

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The Mad, Mad, Duck, Duck? Goose! Canadian Geese (Branta canadensis), specifically. I still tend to call them ducks, to the chagrin of my nephew.

In the 1950’s, they were declining in numbers so badly they were believed to be extinct. They were rediscovered in Minnesota in 1962.

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What kind of duck is this, in addition to being adorable? A Mallard? Transitional Mallard? Or is it a Hybrid with American Black Duck? He hung out with us much

of the afternoon. We were in a silly mood, and somehow we ended up affectionately calling him Puppyducky. We’ve seen him at least one other time that summer,

he’s easy to spot with the unusual spotting! Puppyducky, you’re the one! On another day, we came across this other duck, er, I meant to say Canadian Goose, further

upstream. She seemed to be in a rather mellow mood, which worked out well for me as I took this photo. She happily posed, unlike that barking “mad duck-goose.”

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I’m still trying to identify this bird we found nesting (at left). He appears to have a black head and white breast, and his beak appears to be a lighter color.

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I had an easier time identifying this other mad bird: a Black Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), who appeared quite intent on pecking away at the stony looking object.

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great shots, it was hard to narrow down to two, so I’m showing four! Are those the eyes, with brown pupils, or at this angle, are they her ears that appear to have a burst

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Strike a pose! Despite the need for speed, this lovely lady hung out and struck many poses for me, after initially resisting, and at one point, flying into my face! I got so many

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The Great Blue Skimmer Dragonfly (Libellula vibrans Fabricius) are among the largest, with a length between (50–63 mm). They get their blue tinge as they mature.

Dragonflies are among the fastest flying insects, with speeds between 22–34 mph (10–15 meters per second). I’ve never been able to catch them...until this particular day.

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front edges of the wings, what an amazing creature! Her head shape resembles that of a skull, that is kind

of creepy! If she can hold this pose, she won’t need a mask for Halloween! Yo, Scullface!

of blue shaped similarly to a star? Looking at her from each angle, it’s hard to tell; I’m beginning to think that what I initially thought were

the eyes are actually the nose! At this angle, can you see the teeth? Note too, the interesting yellow spots on each of the

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Damselflies (suborder Zygoptera) are smaller and narrower than dragonflies. They are much thinner and only have one set of wings.

I don’t believe these two photos are of the same fellow, as these two shots were taken in different spots a few hours apart. However,

considering how fast they fly, who’s to say this wasn’t another new friend who decided to hang out and tag along with us? His ears are

big enough to hear our big mouths echoing along the river! On this day, I was both the Dragonfly and the Damselfly Whisperer!

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I had to set the camera down onto the ground and wing it in order to get these shots. If you look closely at the photo above, not only are you

The Northern Gray Tree Frog (Hyla Versicolor) is of the arboreal frog species, native to the Eastern U.S. and Canada. They’re like a

chameleon, blending in with their surroundings. This little guy is not only blending in with the sand, he’s disappearing into it! He was so tiny,

seeing that he’s not much larger than the sand pebbles, he’s also got a gnat biting his nose! How can he possibly scratch that itch?

This Yellow Pond Lily (Nuphar variegatum) literally looks like a burst of sunshine from within. Note how the pattern in the center of the flower resembles the sun. I waded into the

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lily pads as the sun was setting, (my toes were green by the time I was done). The photo above was aimed directly into the water; that’s the river behind the flower, not the night...

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If you’re surrounded by Pickerel Weed (Pontedaria cordata), you must be amongst the lily pads. This one must be napping in this photo.

The purple leaves burst open each morning; obviously this was later in the afternoon.

I’ve always thought they added a burst of color amongst the pines and the rivers, as do the yellow Evening Primrose (Genus Oenethera) on the facing page which were in full bloom for miles along the Mullica.

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The pink flowers on the left, Swamp Milkweed (Asclepia incarnata) were spotted only a few times on the Batsto, towards the village, as were the vibrant St. Johnswort

(Hypericum pyramidatum), above. The center of this flower is orange, and was spotted even less often than it’s neighbor.

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The Turk’s Cap, or Tiger Lily (Lilium superbum), left, is a native Northern American plant along the east coast of the U.S. and

can grow from 3–7 feet. The New York Ironweed (Vernonia noveboracensis), above, shows spectrum of pink within the buds.

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This is one of the houses in Historic Batsto Village, located on Route 542 in the Wharton State Forest, in Atlantic County, New Jersey. The facing page is the waterfall dam

beside it, which separates a lake from the area of the Batsto River where we canoe. I never knew this waterfall existed until fairly recently when we paddled upstream during

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high tide and were able to reach it. There’s another dam just below Route 542 where we tend to, at times, bottom out when trying to quickly paddle over the concrete

barrier. Not pictured are a few pleasant tourists enjoying the beauty and history of the Village as we waved hello and simultaneously snapped photos of each other.

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Among my best times growing up were spent hanging by the Green Bank Bridge (left). We used to go to “The Steps” (replaced by the wall pictured on the horizon line) and hang at the Pavilion, prior

to overregulation. We’re heading downstream in the canoe. The view from the Lower Bank Bridge (above), is a very serene and inspiring place to clear out your headspace. From this view, we’re looking upstream.

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Did I really take a picture of a Rattlesnake, of the genera Crotalus? Usually I am terrified of any snake! I’m more fearless with a camera in my hand, even of this venomous creature!

He was curled up under a tree beside Oswego Lake. I got up close and started snapping away until became annoyed and slithered off, shaking that rattling tail!

Is it me, or does the sun spot in this photo look like ghosts of a 19th century lady hurrying her young son along from some unseen force? Go ahead and laugh, but I got a weird chill when I first viewed this photo....

The Mullica always spiritually aligns my soul while restoring my faith, I hope you enjoyed these photos as much as I enjoyed taking them.

Thank you for coming along for the ride!

My Mullica River Picture Book by Veronica-Ann Coia. © Copyright 2013, All rights reserved. www.veronicacoia.com

My Mullica River Picture Book is a canoe journey of the Mullica River and its tributary, The Batsto River, showcasing images of the habitat native

to the South Jersey Pine Barrens, located in Sweetwater and Batsto, New Jersey. Design, photography and commentary by Veronica Coia.

My Mullica River Picture Book