A fox dashed across Madison Avenue in Red Bank at the sight of an approaching bicyclist Friday morning. Or was our foxy friend simply getting an early jump on the Memorial Day weekend?
The unofficial start of summer will bring warm-to-hot temperatures and ample sunshine Sunday and Monday, according to the National Weather Service. Check out the extended forecast below. (Video by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
On what may have been his final call, Red Bank animal control officer Henry Perez responded to a report of ducklings found inside a Broad Street office building Tuesday.
The four downy babies were discovered by the unidentified painter at right, with their mother nowhere to be found.
Perez transported to the ducklings to the Monmouth County SPCA, which, under a contract with the borough that goes into effect Friday, is displacing him from his job of 18 years. He’s expected to be reassigned to another position within the public utilities department. (Click to enlarge photos.)
Henry Perez with a ferret owner during a census of cats and dogs in 2008. (Photo by Colleen Curry. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Henry Perez thinks maybe he’s dropped the ball, given that his bosses – the Red Bank mayor and council – appear determined to eliminate his job.
“I totally blame myself, because my residents know more about what I do than my superiors,” the borough’s animal control officer told the the council during its monthly workshop meeting Wednesday.
Still, over the pleas of residents, the governing body showed no sign of halting a plan to sign a six-month contract with the Monmouth County SPCA.
Debbie Nagel, the animal control supervisor for Long Branch who serves as backup for Red Bank, with an orphaned raccoon pup rescued from a tree on Brown Place last month. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
By JOHN T. WARD
Squirrels in the attic? Bats in the bathroom?
Red Bank residents would have to pay $90 an hour to have wild animals removed from their homes under a plan that returns for discussion Wednesday night.
Red Bank animal control officer Henry Perez and FedEx driver Vinnie Losapio went looking for a sparrow that flew into Losapio’s truck and up under the dashboard Thursday morning.
A pair of deer seen wandering Locust Avenue in Red Bank near the Bellhaven wetlands Thursday afternoon.
A string of wet, dreary days continued with heavy fog Friday morning, along with a National Weather Service warning of possible strong winds through 7 p.m., with gusts up to 60 miles per hour. Sunshine was expected to return Saturday.
Check out the extended forecast below. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge.)
A deer checks out two-legged visitors enjoying a first-full-day-of-spring stroll in Rumson’s Meadowridge Park late Monday afternoon.
The post-winter thaw continues Tuesday, with temperatures expected to peak at about 55 degrees, and to climb as high as 68 on Wednesday, according to the Weather Underground. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
A stand-up paddler got close to the dolphin in the Shrewsbury River between Sea Bright and Rumson last week. Marine experts say humans and boats should keep away from the animal. (Photo by Scott Longfield. Click to enlarge)
By JOHN T. WARD
Without much public notice, a lone bottlenose dolphin has been plying the Shrewsbury River for the past seven months, according to wildlife advocates who are growing concerned about its safety as temperatures drop and its food supply diminishes.
As it has in the past, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries unit regards the dolphin’s presence as a not unusual, and said the animal appears to be healthy.
But Bob Schoelkopf, founder and director of the independent Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, expressed frustration that NOAA hasn’t done anything to guide the dolphin northward through the strait that leads into Sandy Hook Bay, and that colder temperatures make such an effort more dangerous for humans.
With Christmas over, were three of Santa’s reindeer hoping to reunite with Jolly St. Nick in Red Bank over the weekend? Borough resident Charlie Bierly photographed this deer trio in the intersection of Madison Avenue and — no kidding — St. Nicholas Place Saturday afternoon. (Photo by Charlie Bierly. Click to enlarge)
The osprey nest as seen last May. Below, adult ospreys sunning on a Red Bank dock last April. (Photo by John T. Ward. Click to enlarge)
Wildlife conservationists are looking for help to save the precariously leaning Navesink River home to an osprey nest before it falls over, according to a report on newsworks.org.