Bergen-Byron Swamp
Encyclopedia
The Bergen-Byron Swamp is a protected 2000 acres (809.4 ha) swamp
and nature preserve located in the towns of Byron
and Bergen
, New York
. It is 400 million years old. The Bergen Swamp Preservation Society was formed in 1935 to protect and preserve this delicate ecological environment.
It was designated a National Natural Landmark
in 1964, the first such site to be designated.
. It is one of the few areas where you will be able to see it. The invasive species, Phragmites
, were brought from Europe with early settlers. A list of all some of the most common organisms in the swamp are as follows:
Beech tree
Black Rat Snake
Black Huckleberry
Cardinal flower
Cinnamon fern
Coal Skink
Lizard
Death Angel
Dog-tooth violets
Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake
Emerald Swallowtail
Gay wings
Green snake
Hine's Emerald Dragonfly
Honeysuckle
Jack-in-the-pulpit
Marsh Marigold
Milkweeds
Purple pitcher plant
Queen Snake
Red Salamander
Ribbon Snake
Spotted Turtle
White Ash
Tree
White-tailed deer
Wolf Spider
Woodcock
Swamp
A swamp is a wetland with some flooding of large areas of land by shallow bodies of water. A swamp generally has a large number of hammocks, or dry-land protrusions, covered by aquatic vegetation, or vegetation that tolerates periodical inundation. The two main types of swamp are "true" or swamp...
and nature preserve located in the towns of Byron
Byron, New York
Byron is a town in Genesee County, New York, United States. It was named in honor of Lord Byron. The town is on the northern border of the county, and lies northeast of the city of Batavia. The population was 2,493 at the 2000 census. The local school district, Byron-Bergen Central School District...
and Bergen
Bergen (town), New York
Bergen is a town in Genesee County, New York, United States. The town is in the northeast corner of the county. There is also a village of Bergen in the town...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. It is 400 million years old. The Bergen Swamp Preservation Society was formed in 1935 to protect and preserve this delicate ecological environment.
It was designated a National Natural Landmark
National Natural Landmark
The National Natural Landmark program recognizes and encourages the conservation of outstanding examples of the natural history of the United States. It is the only natural areas program of national scope that identifies and recognizes the best examples of biological and geological features in...
in 1964, the first such site to be designated.
Nature
One of the plants that you would be able to see in the swamp is jack in the pulpitArisaema triphyllum
Arisaema triphyllum is a herbaceous perennial plant growing from a corm. It is a highly variable species typically growing from 30 to 65 cm in height with three parted leaves and flowers contained in a spadix that is covered by a hood...
. It is one of the few areas where you will be able to see it. The invasive species, Phragmites
Phragmites
Phragmites, the Common reed, is a large perennial grass found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world. Phragmites australis is sometimes regarded as the sole species of the genus Phragmites, though some botanists divide Phragmites australis into three or four species...
, were brought from Europe with early settlers. A list of all some of the most common organisms in the swamp are as follows:
Beech tree
Black Rat Snake
Black Rat Snake
The Western ratsnake — also called black rat snake, pilot black snake, or simply black snake — is a nonvenomous colubrid species found in North America. No subspecies are currently recognized....
Black Huckleberry
Cardinal flower
Cinnamon fern
Cinnamon fern
Osmundastrum cinnamomeum, the Cinnamon Fern, is a species of eusporangiate fern in the family Osmundaceae. It is native to the Americas and eastern Asia, growing in swamps, bogs and moist woodlands....
Coal Skink
Coal Skink
The Coal Skink is a North-American lizard that grows to 13 to 18 cm in length with a maximum snout to vent length of 7 cm . It is a four-lined skink whose light stripes extend onto the tail. The broad dark lateral stripe is 4 - 4.5 scales wide and there are no light lines on top of the...
Lizard
Death Angel
Death Angel
Death Angel is a Filipino-American thrash metal band from Concord, California, initially active from 1982 to 1991 and again since 2001. Death Angel has released six studio albums, two demo tapes, one box set and two live albums....
Dog-tooth violets
Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake
Emerald Swallowtail
Emerald Swallowtail
Papilio palinurus, common name Emerald Swallowtail, Emerald Peacock, or Green-banded Peacock, is a butterfly of the genus Papilio belonging to the Papilionidae family.-Subspecies:...
Gay wings
Green snake
Green Snake
Green Snake is a 1993 Hong Kong fantasy film made by Tsui Hark. It is the adaptation of a novel of the same title by Lilian Lee....
Hine's Emerald Dragonfly
Hine's Emerald Dragonfly
The Hine's Emerald Dragonfly is a dragonfly in the family Corduliidae.Globally, the species is extremely rare. The largest breeding population known is in Door County, Wisconsin...
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckle
Honeysuckles are arching shrubs or twining vines in the family Caprifoliaceae, native to the Northern Hemisphere. There are about 180 species of honeysuckle, 100 of which occur in China; Europe, India and North America have only about 20 native species each...
Jack-in-the-pulpit
Marsh Marigold
Milkweeds
Purple pitcher plant
Queen Snake
Queen snake
The queen snake is a nonvenomous member of the colubrid family of snakes. This species ranges through the temperate region of North America east of the Mississippi River from western New York state to Wisconsin and south to Alabama and northern Florida...
Red Salamander
Red Salamander
The red salamander is a species of salamander in the Plethodontidae family.It is endemic to the United States. Its skin is orange/red in color with random black spots....
Ribbon Snake
Ribbon snake
The Ribbon Snake or Ribbonsnake is a common snake found throughout North America. It averages in length and is a member of the garter snake genus...
Spotted Turtle
Spotted Turtle
The Spotted turtle , the only current species of Clemmys, is a small, semi-aquatic turtle that reaches a carapace length of upon adulthood. Their broad, smooth, low dark-colored upper shell, or carapace, ranges in its exact colour from black to a bluish black with a number of yellow tiny round spots...
White Ash
White Ash
For another species referred to as white ash, see Eucalyptus fraxinoides.Fraxinus americana is a species of Fraxinus native to eastern North America found in mesophytic hardwood forests from Nova Scotia west to Minnesota, south to northern Florida, and southwest to eastern...
Tree
White-tailed deer
White-tailed Deer
The white-tailed deer , also known as the Virginia deer or simply as the whitetail, is a medium-sized deer native to the United States , Canada, Mexico, Central America, and South America as far south as Peru...
Wolf Spider
Wolf spider
Wolf spiders are members of the family Lycosidae, from the Ancient Greek word "" meaning "wolf". They are robust and agile hunters with good eyesight. They live mostly solitary lives and hunt alone. Some are opportunistic hunters pouncing upon prey as they find it or even chasing it over short...
Woodcock
Woodcock
The woodcocks are a group of seven or eight very similar living species of wading birds in the genus Scolopax. Only two woodcocks are widespread, the others being localized island endemics. Most are found in the Northern Hemisphere but a few range into Wallacea...