Local Girl Scout Troop Helps Restore Barnegat Bay Bird Habitat

Local Girl Scout Troop 147 of the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore Council recently helped to restore the bird habitat in a marsh area behind Nellie F. Bennett Elementary School. 

Arthur Birdsall, renowned wildfowler decoy carver, donated a wood duck house as part of the restoration.

Following  Sandy, the Troop learned that many local birds lost their nesting areas in the local marsh, a location that the Troop has removed debris from in the past.

To help remedy the loss, the troop built and erected birdhouses specifically for tree swallows, among the most common birds in the marsh. Many of these birds abandoned the marsh to find homes elsewhere following the storm, according to the National Audubon Society.

Kristen Stansfield, Katelin Drew and Emily McKeon, three members of Troop 147 said in a prepared statement that the project was part of their Silver Award project, the second highest award a Girl Scout can earn.

The girls also reached out to Birdsall, who offered to donate a wood duck house, which he built.  He instructed the girls to install the house in a tree 6-10’ off the ground in the marsh. The house was installed last week and may attract, not only the wood ducks, but also the broadbill, redhead and canvasback ducks, as well as owls.

“I’m glad these girls understand that conservation is a wonderful thing,” Birdsall said when meeting with the girls over the weekend.