Plainfield is unique in having two county parks -- Cedar Brook and Green Brook.
One can often see egrets around the ponds in both parks, hunting for frogs or fish.
This detail from a Google satellite map shows one of the Green Brook Park ponds as the grey area in the lower left, below the bright grassy area. The park's only playground and basketball court are at the upper right of the image.
Both ponds at Green Brook (above is a detail of the smaller one) are quite choked with duckweed, which provides cover for frogs -- one of the egret's favorite snacks.
The specimen I spotted at Green Brook was intent on hunting and quite oblivious to me as I snapped away from a distance of twenty feet or so.
The egret extends his neck, cocking his head from side to side, as he spots a meal.
With a quick dart, the prey is speared and quickly dispatched.
Returning just a few minutes later, I found the egret working IN the pond, completely covered with muck, and such a shade of dark grey it was hardly recognizable as the same bird.
Green Brook Park, occupying both the Plainfield and North Plainfield banks of the Green Brook in the city's West End, is quite a contrast to Cedar Brook Park, which borders the South Plainfield city line.
Whereas Cedar Brook is filled with baseball, basketball, soccer and cricket areas, a large playground and several picnic spots with tables and barbecues, Green Brook is almost spartan in comparison.
With most of its expanses simply open lawn, Green Brook Park is a canvas upon which its users paint with activities in a much less structured way than at Cedar Brook.
On a recent Saturday I spotted six pickup soccer games as well as a game on the basketball court. Families with small children packed the tiny playground area, and several groups were barbecuing. At the only baseball field, on the North Plainfield side of the brook, a game was in progress (the park lies in both Union and Somerset counties and is maintained by the Union County Parks Division).
While the public doesn't seem to mind the 'benign neglect' this park gets, in contrast to Cedar Brook, the ponds need serious attention.
Completely choked with duckweed, which can deplete the oxygen and kill off any fish,they appear stagnant and should be tended to to rein in the pond-covering vegetation and make a more hospitable habitat for the park's finned population as well.
Even so, it is still a gem in the Queen City's crown.
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8 comments:
Dan, In my misspent childhood Greenbrook Park was the major site of m any structures and "pickup activities." It was the venue for the local and Union County baseball leagues, and the original site of the Saracens'semi-pro football games.Most team events were on the North Plainfield site. Cederbrook of coursed had besides atheletic fields, the asphalt tennis courts. Both were well maintained well used facilities.
Perhaps, the difference today lies in the facts that Cederbrook is in the 3rd ward, whereas Greenbrook lies in the 4th ward where there is an in creased history of criminality, snd the powe rs that be pay less attention to it.
Glad to learn of Green Brook's earlier history. Tell us more about the Saracens. Do you have pix to post??
As for maintenance, it's a County park and I think it's just somewhat neglected because the County actually has a maintenance facility at Cedar Brook but not even a shed at Green Brook, rather than having anything to do with city demographics.
It is possible, though, that the Cedar Brook users -- which include a variety of organized, uniform-wearing sports teams from many Union County towns, are more likely to sqawk to the County authorities (and KNOW SOMEONE to squawk to) than the folks who use Green Brook.
Hey Dan,
That was no presto-change-o. The second bird was a Great Blue Heron.
Funny, after I went back and looked at the pix more closely, I came to the same conclusion and was going to amend the post.
The beak definitely shows the difference, but I must say this bird had gotten itself somewhat bedraggled in the pond.
In no more than five or seven minutes, the interloper was ensconced and the white heron was gone completely.
Maybe he went off to spear some koi in my next door neighbor's fish pond?
Yes we spent many a twilight watching the adult baseball league with a quick Good Humor ice cream ba. All the children thought the Yankees would come some day when the post high school players improved. And then there was the band stand, but that is for another day ....
PS Union county has a 99 year lease on the North Plainfield property, our own little Hong Kong.
Dan, sorry no pics, the football and athletic club was probably the "Sarazens" along with the Flying Arrows (?) or Eagles dominated the Plainfields -note the plural- amateur sports scene. The Plainfield Drier's was in the Union County Baseball league and always a title contender. If you can access the Courier's morgue you may find sufficient data. I have not been able to get the history on the internet.
The county police are responsible for protection in the park, not \Plainfield or North Plaindield.
I see the egret occasionally in the brook in my backyard in North Plainfield I am always stunned at how beautiful that bird is.
Hopefully it will thrive for many years in our towns.
if you walk down the road on the np side to the end
you will find a gate and behind that is the old garage
it's falling down but still there
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