Monmouth County

By Daniel Murphy, Jr.

SINCE THE DOLPHINS' appearance in June by the Sea Bright Bridge and their "adopted" home area by the Locust Bridge I have been mesmerized by them. Numerous times I have cruised slowly from Red Bank to Locust and upon spotting them would cut my engines and drift, as they would almost seem to frolic in the waters around me. One very young dolphin had a Disney smiling face and made yipping like sounds as he/she emerged from the water. The faces of loved ones that were with me were amazing to watch at each encounter.  Read more »

A dead dolphin was found floating in the Navesink River Wednesday morning near where a family of 15 dolphins has been staying since early summer.

A marine mammal rescue worker said it is likely the dead animal was one of the so-called "wayward dolphins" that have been drawing large crowds since they made a wrong turn out of Sandy Hook Bay in June and wound up in two nearby rivers.

It was found by a marina worker in Fair Haven. The cause of death was not immediately clear.  Read more »

Saturday and Sunday, September 13 and 14
Fifth annual New Jersey Meadowlands Festival of Birding (see box below).
Saturday, September 20
Meet at 8:45 a.m.
Sandy Hook at the heart of passerine migration. With Scott Barnes.
Saturday, September 27
Meet at 8:45 a.m.
Garret Mountain is also an excellent migration hotspot in the fall; come see for yourself.
Saturday, October 4
Meet at 8:45 a.m.  Read more »

RED BANK, N.J. (AP)  -- Ever since a family of 15 bottlenose dolphins surfaced in two rivers near the New Jersey shore in June, wildlife officials have urged people not to get too close to the animals.

Now they're putting some teeth into their appeal, warning that the same stretch of river where the dolphins are frolicking also has been home to some of the most dangerous sharks in the world.  Read more »

TRENTON, N.J. (AP)  -- The state Supreme Court has been be asked to rule in a long-running dispute over eminent domain in a Monmouth County municipality.

Earlier this month, an appellate court found that beachfront homeowners whose Long Branch properties were condemned as part of a redevelopment project deserved another chance to challenge the city's assertion that their properties are blighted.  Read more »

By DAVE CALDWELL New York Times

WEEKEND beachgoers lately find themselves inching through Highlands, N.J., if they move at all. Charming but obsolete, the 76-year-old drawbridge over the Shrewsbury River linking Highlands to Sandy Hook is being replaced with a fixed-span bridge, and the waterfront is cluttered with construction cranes and orange traffic cones.  Read more »

By WAYNE PARRY |Associated Press Writer