I visited family in New Jersey over the Thanksgiving holiday this year, as I had done last year, and was again surprised at the awareness of nature (specifically of birds) displayed by people I met while out bird watching.

The state of New Jersey is often portrayed as overcrowded, polluted and heavily industrialized. Consequently it is the butt of many jokes and put-downs. But there is another side to the “Garden State” that people don’t see just driving through.

Shortly before I moved to Maine, my family moved out of Jersey City to the citified suburban town of Kenilworth. Slightly less crowded, with neat, little Cape-style houses with lawns and backyards, Kenilworth yet has some excellent natural areas to explore.

One of these, Lenape Park, is named after the first inhabitants of the region (Lenape is Native American and means “the original people”). It consists of 450 acres of wetlands, meadows and forest. It creates a green corridor along the Rahway River and is a haven for more than 190 species of birds, many of which are on the state’s Endangered and Threatened Species List.

There is a paved biking and hiking path that curves through a portion of the park, offering excellent views of the great Lenape Swamp and, therefore, providing excellent bird watching.

It was here that I headed out to early Thanksgiving morning.

The day had started out unseasonably warm, but a cold front was blowing in and conditions were changing rapidly. A wind picked up; still, it remained somewhat sunny and pleasant enough for people to come out and work up an appetite for dinner.

Joggers, walkers, and bikers also used the path with enthusiasm.

I had my first surprise when I saw a red-tailed hawk flying above the tree line. Then, a merlin sped by me, and I heard the call of another merlin from within the swamp. I looked over my shoulder and saw another red-tailed hawk in the distance, along with a smaller hawk that I thought might be a Cooper’s – but it was hard to tell because they were far away, even with the aid of binoculars.

At this point, a couple with a little girl and a baby in a stroller passed by me. The little girl asked her mother what I was looking at.

“Oh, there’s a hawk up there circling – see?” the mother responded.

I was astounded, first because the woman noticed the distant bird and could identify it as a hawk; and second, because she didn’t assume I was there looking for deer. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been out on the University of Maine’s bike path, bird watching, and had people (helpfully, they thought) tell me there were deer just past the bend or over in the next field. They’ve actually asked outright if I was looking for, or at, deer.

As I headed back to my car, the wind became stronger, and ominous clouds came rushing in, blotting out the sun. Leaves were blown from the trees in a steady shower, and the temperature dropped noticeably. I looked up. Above me, two more red-tailed hawks hung motionless in the sky, wings outstretched to their fullest, supported by the air rushing underneath them. It was an awesome sight.

A jogger approached me as I stood there gawking into the sky.

“Taking advantage of the wind up there, aren’t they?” he said as he ran by.

Indeed they were. As I watched, the hawks pulled their wings in slightly, setting them in a glide, and were gone in seconds.

This was probably the most spectacular flight display I’ve ever seen. Certainly, it was the largest number of raptors I had seen in such a short period of time – and I savored this aspect of New Jersey.

And people didn’t stop and ask me if I was looking at deer.

NEWS bird columnist Chris Corio can be reached at bdnsports@bangordailynews.net