Glades Wildlife Refuge

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Glades Wildlife Refuge

Glades Wildlife Refuge is an expanse of diverse landscapes: vast tidal marshes, wooded uplands, beaches, and a remarkable old growth forest.

See our website for more information including our history, a trail map, and hours of operation. Glades Wildlife Refuge is an expanse of diverse landscapes: vast tidal marshes, wooded uplands, beaches along the Delaware Bay, and a remarkable old growth forest. Here the cycles and rhythm of the natural world are evident in the seasonal weather, migrating birds, and fluctuating tides. In 1964, Natural Lands celebrated the preservation of what was once called “Snow Goose Marsh,” an area of brackish wetlands along the coast of Delaware Bay. The fledgling preserve was the result of a donation of several contiguous parcels, the smallest of which was a mere 1.6 acres. Despite its humble beginnings, Glades Wildlife Refuge is now the largest of Natural Lands’ preserves, the result of nearly five decades of patient, persistent acquisition of adjoining lands. Glades Wildlife Refuge is owned and managed by non-profit conservation organization Natural Lands. Learn more at www.natlands.org.

09/09/2026

The owls have some competition...this might be one of the most photogenic raptors we’ve ever seen 😍

📸: Red-tailed hawk by Bill Moses

09/04/2026

Catch bugs! Climb trees! Flip rocks! No, these are not new family-friendly curses. They're simple things anyone and everyone can do with their kids to keep them engaged in the outdoors amidst the chaos of the back-to-school season. And let's be honest...you could probably benefit from a little extra time outdoors, too.

Other fun nature-play ideas include:

🗺️ Treasure hunting. Hide a natural treasure, then make a map showing where to find it.

🧚‍♀️ Crafting a magical residence. Fairy house, gnome home, or toad abode, make a tiny house for the other residents of your yard...real or fiction!

⛵️ Building a natural boat. Is it a pirate ship? Vikings? Make two (or more) and race them down a stream.

🪵 Constructing something together. A swing, a shelter, or a simple hammock, it doesn’t need to be grand.

🛶 Kayaking. A classic!

Bonus tip: Just be present. Whether it's the playground after school or the sidelines of a soccer field, nature can be found almost anywhere by those who go looking for it.

📸: Kate Rash, Taproot Photography

08/24/2026

Grasses that tolerate tidal, brackish water dominate Glades. These grasses provide rich habitat for crustaceans, mollusks, and birds, and are an important food source for ducks and other waterfowl. In addition, the grasses filter pollutants from the water and buffer the shoreline from flooding and erosion.

📸: Dave Blinder

08/17/2026

What the fox? Yep, it's true... research suggests foxes decrease the spread of Lyme Disease. Because of the presence of fox populations, small mammals like mice are more likely to hide away and less likely to carry around ticks. This reduces the rate at which ticks become infected with the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

📸: James Moffett

08/10/2026

Unique among North American raptors for its diet of live fish and ability to dive into water to catch them, Ospreys are common sights soaring over shorelines, patrolling waterways, and standing on their huge stick nests, white heads gleaming. These large, rangy hawks do well around humans and have rebounded in numbers following the ban on the pesticide DDT. Hunting Ospreys are a picture of concentration, diving with feet outstretched and yellow eyes sighting straight along their talons.

📸: Mark Williams

08/03/2026

Winged sumac (Rhus copallinum) is a native species that blooms in July and August. It is dioecious, with male and female flowers on separate plants. Both male and female plants are needed to produce fruit. Flowers provide nectar for native bees. Fertilized female flowers lead to large clusters of edible, sour, red berries which ripen in August. The berries provide a valuable food source for birds. Fall foliage is a rich red, crimson, and scarlet. Winged Sumac provides habitat for birds, bees, and wildlife.

📸: Tianna Godsey

07/27/2026

Common green darners are “hawkers,” catching tiny flies, leafhoppers, beetles, and even smaller odonates on the wing as they fly rapidly over open water or along shorelines. When still, darners hang from vegetation by their long legs, rather than perching upright.

📸: John McNamara

07/24/2026

There is a myth that bumblebees "shouldn't be able to fly." The misconception arose in the 1930s when an aerodynamicist mistakenly applied fixed-wing airplane equations to the insects, failing to account for their rapid, twisting wing movements. Instead of simply flapping up and down, bumblebees beat their wings in a fast, figure-eight motion. This rapid movement (up to 240 times per second) creates tiny, low-pressure air vortexes (miniature hurricanes) above their wings that act as a suction, generating enough lift to keep their heavy bodies airborne.

📸: Preston Wilson

07/20/2026

“Just as I'm about to step into the canoe, an egret flies low over the glassy water. The bird is white all over with delicate wisps at the head and tail. We both stop to look. The egret tucks her long neck close to her body, and her wings nearly touch the shining surface. It's a mirror---egret above, egret below. She's followed by a series of dark circles, the air from each wingbeat lifting the water.
"What's that one called?" Adlai asks, though he surely must know.
"Snowy," I say. "Snowy egret.”
~ Virginia Hartman, The Marsh Queen

📸: Bill Moses

07/17/2026

Can you tell the difference between a Viceroy (left) and a Monarch (right) butterfly? Viceroy butterflies have a distinct black line running horizontally across the lower hind wings, while Monarchs do not. Monarchs are generally larger, with a wingspan of about 3.5 to 4 inches, whereas Viceroys are smaller, typically 2.6 to 3 inches. Monarchs have thicker black veins on their wing patterns.

📸: Bill Moses

Address

891 Turkey Point Road
Newport, NJ
08315

Telephone

+1 610-353-5587

Website

https://natlands.org/glades-wildlife-refuge/

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