Well-travelled bird spotted in New Jersey

Red Knot in summer breeding plumage, on the Gulf coast of Texas on April 22, 2005. (AP Photo/Heather Forcier)

  Eyewitness NewsREEDS BEACH, N.J. -- A famous bird that's flown more than 325,000 miles over nearly 20 years has been spotted in southern New Jersey, near the Delaware Bay.

The red knot was spotted Monday in Reeds Beach by the scientist who banded it nearly two decades ago.

The bird was last spotted in Argentina in November, as it began its 9,000-mile trek to Canada. The birds fly 18,000 miles a year.

This bird has covered a distance equal to flying to the moon and halfway back.

Experts say 80 percent of the red knot population has disappeared in the bird's lifetime. Conservancy groups are working to protect the Delaware Bay, where the birds stop to eat horseshoe crab eggs.

The bird is the subject of a book due out in July.

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(Copyright ©2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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Black bear spotted near school in New Jersey

A black bear spotted roaming near a school in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey on Wednesday, April 25, 2012. (WABC Photo)

  Eyewitness NewsBERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J. (WABC) -- A black bear spotted roaming near the Thomas P. Hughes School elementary school in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey caused some concern on Wednesday.

The Board of Education Honeywell Alert system notified all parents about the bear, but it never posed an immediate threat. The bear moved away from the school before student dismissal.

Police said the bear eventually disappeared into a wooded area near Watchung Way around 4:30 p.m.

Township residents are encouraged to contact the Berkeley Heights Police Department, at 908-464-1111, whenever a bear is observed along a roadway or in a residential area.

Most black bears, it should be noted, will continue on their way if left unbothered, officials said. In the highly unusual event that a bear shows aggressive tendencies and poses an immediate danger to persons or domesticated animals, then police officers are authorized to dispose of it.

For more information about bears, please visit the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife's website, www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/bearinfo.htm , which offers many methods and suggestions on the topics of living within black bear areas, and how to react when encountering a bear.

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