Audubon Swamp Revitalization Heralds Return of Wading Birds, Waterfowl
The Audubon Swamp Garden was once a widely used site for nesting long-legged wading birds, waterfowl, and a multitude of other resident and migratory wildlife species. Unfortunately, over the past several years, a thick floating mat of vegetation has grown across the swamp and reduced the amount of open water. That means much of the wildlife abandoned the area in search of more suitable conditions elsewhere.
One of the main reasons this mat formed is because of an invasive plant called alligatorweed. Alligatorweed tends to grow out from the shoreline and across the surface of the water. Its stems are hollow, which makes it less likely to break down and sink. The stems float on the surface for much of the year collecting leaf litter.
As this material breaks down over time, a layer of compost forms and plants begin to grow on top of the mat. Every year this mat will grow thicker with leaf litter and decaying plant material. Eventually, even trees grow on top of this mat – and that has happened in several areas of the swamp.
Now it’s time to resolve this issue and clean up the swamp to remove the mat. We used an amphibious trackhoe to break up the floating mats and move the excess plant material to selected areas where new islands will be created. This allows future nesting sites to be established. Material was also selectively placed to rebuild eroded banks and provide additional support to existing islands.
When a site is disturbed in this way, invasive plant species often try to establish in the newly opened area. We are on guard to keep invasive plants out of the cleared areas by using an aquatic-approved herbicide.
With this project completed, the Audubon Swamp Garden will be free of the mat and plant material and return to open water conditions. We’ve created new islands where we can plant trees that will become future nesting sites. We expect the long-legged wading birds will return to the Swamp Garden for the upcoming nesting season.
On your next visit, keep an eye out for all the wildlife making use of the newly opened areas.
