Author: CWF

Birding by Kayak on Barnegat Bay, surf fishing off Island Beach, night hikes, and more…

CWF is excited to partner with NJ State Parks and offer incredible programs about New Jersey’s natural world.  Programs are taking place at both Island Beach State Park and Allaire State Park.

Become a WILDCHILD, take a sunset kayak tour, try your hand at surf-fishing, go bird watching, or discover the night. Whatever you decide, you will be guided by professional educators and naturalists who have plenty of natural and wildlife stories to share with you.

At nearly 10 miles long, Island Beach is New Jersey’s most expansive stretch of undeveloped barrier island.  Our programs help you to connect with the beauty of this ecosystem and its ample natural resources.  Have your kids participate in a WILDCHILD program including surfing, surf-fishing, and island exploration. Try and catch the big one during a surf-fishing class or discover the beauty of Barnegat Bay through kayaking.

Allaire State Park covers almost 3,000 acres within the coastal plain of New Jersey.  An extension of the Pine Barrens, Allaire has sandy soils and forests of oak, cedar, and pine.  The Manasquan River flows through the park, creating floodplain that serves as habitat for many species of wildlife, including the barred owl, wood turtle, and bald eagle.  Discover moths, take a quiet bird walk, or splash around in the pond and stream during one of our summer programs.

For more information, visit CWF’s Parks Programs section on our website.

By Stephanie Egger, Wildlife Biologist

Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ (CWFNJ) and the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife – Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) assisted in the banding of American oystercatchers chicks and adults this week.  Oystercatchers in New Jersey are banded as part of a long-term mark recapture research project by Dr. Tom Virzi of Rutgers University in collaboration with CWFNJ and ENSP.  One breeding adult that was recaptured yesterday was originally banded over a winter in Georgia!  Data collected included band color and combination, sex, age, weight, other physical measurements (wing, head, culmen, nares, leg) and a feather sample for DNA purposes.  Check out our video from that day!

Over the last few years, widespread mark recapture efforts along the Atlantic coast have revealed connections between breeding and wintering sites and information of the complexity of patterns of movement and dispersal.  For more information on the New Jersey data and other state efforts please see the American Oystercatcher Working Group website.

 By Jorge H. Ruiz, Summer Intern 2012

Hi Everyone! My name is Jorge H. Ruiz, I am a New Jersey City University student working with Conserve Wildlife Foundation as part of the USDA Internship Program for summer 2012. A little background on myself, I am a full-time student majoring in Biology and Political Science, President of the Biology Club, owner of small pet-care business, and I educate people about the benefits of renewable energy with support from Viridian Energy. Now, I am more than happy and honored to be able to finally put my experience to support my involvement with Conserve Wildlife Foundation.

Right from the start of my internship with CWF I was introduced to the mission and wildlife encounters that rarely I have ever seen. On May, 24, 2012 I had the joy to be able to witness banding of three peregrine chicks by wildlife Biologist Kathy Clark. The day was filled with heavy rain and thunderstorms; however, it did not deter the group of people that all gathered at101 Hudson Street, the tallest building in Jersey City, New Jersey to be able to observe up close a rare experience with peregrine falcon chicks.  Executive Director, Margaret Gorman, Supervising Zoologist, Kathy Clark, Department Chair of Geology, Dr. Montgomery of NJCU as well as myself and others ascended over 40 floors to reach the habitat/nesting grounds of the mating pair of peregrine falcons. Once we reached the last floor, we all eagerly waited as Kathy Clark went out to the roof where the nest of the peregrine chicks was located and brought them back in a box for banding. I was astounded to learn how large the chicks were! The purpose of the visit was to count the number of young, determine age and sex, and check for any other issues that may troubling the chicks. There was one female and two males and all were in great health. I also learned from Margaret that peregrine falcons hunt pigeons and the chicks are totally dependent upon their parents until they are ready to fledge or leave the nest

I personally did not even know that Hudson County had peregrine falcons until that day. The whole experience made me aware of how the efforts of non-profits like CWF are really making a difference in keeping rare wildlife as part of our state. Peregrine falcons are an endangered species in New Jersey, and I learned that the population is steadily increasing all over NJ since efforts to stabilize the population began in 1993. The experience was amazing and I hope other young people get the opportunity to experience wildlife because people might think no wildlife exists in Jersey City, but now I can educate them and prove them wrong.

By Stephanie Egger, Wildlife Biologist

Conserve Wildlife Foundation staff recently assisted researchers from the
State University of New York with a piping plover project that involves
collecting flight pattern data about plovers in New Jersey and
Massachusetts. The information collected will be used to help determine
potential impacts of wind turbines on this federally listed species. The
field work is being headed up in New Jersey by CWFNJ “alumni” Emily Heiser.

CWF is partnering with the NJ State Federation of Sportsman’s Clubs to host a conference about wildlife conservation, looking at common areas of concern.
We would like to solicit your input so we can build a conference that is interesting, important and on topic for all those working to protect wildlife, recover species and restore habitat.

Please take 5 minutes to complete this survey and let us know what topics you would like to see at a wildlife conservation conference in 2013.
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PCYW9S7

Thank you for your input.

Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission & National Moth Week are excited to host a Moth Night on Thursday, May 10th, beginning at 8pm.

Seabrooke Leckie is a freelance biologist and writer living in rural eastern Ontario.  She holds a B.Sc.H. in Zoology and has worked on field research contracts in many parts of the continent, from California to Quebec, British Columbia to Ohio.  She discovered moths quite by accident one summer while away on contract, and they’ve become her number one passion.  Ms. Leckie is the co-author of the new Peterson Field Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America.

Why moths? With more than 10,000 species in North America alone, moths offer endless options for study, education, photography, and fun. Moths can be found everywhere from inner cities and suburban backyards, to the most wild and remote places. The diversity of moths is simply astounding. Their colors and patterns range from bright and dazzling, to so cryptic that they define camouflage.

Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ is excited to discover NJ’s moths and hope that you can attend this event on Thursday.

For more information, please visit,  http://www.friendsebec.com/.

What Kind of Turtle Am I?  is written by Donna M. Zappala.  She is a native of New Jersey.  Donna spent many years  teaching preschool and kindergarten.   While teaching students in the early grades, Donna would begin planning her lessons with a trip to the library to find children’s books that would enhance the topic she planned to teach. Often times, she became frustrated, not finding the best book to suit her lesson. So, now she is creating those stories she knows teachers will find useful, informative and enjoyable for themselves as well as their students.

What Kind of Turtle Am I? is Donna’s second children’s book and discusses the differences between turtles, tortoises and terrapins.  It is the story of a turtle named Izzy who goes on a search to figure out what kind of turtle she is.  She stops and asks many animals along the way and discovers, little by little, some amazing facts about herself.  In the end, Izzy realizes that she is a diamondback terrapin and her search is over as she finds other diamondback terrapins to spend time with basking in the sun.

Donna enjoys visiting schools and reading to children.   Please visit her website for more information, to purchase her books, upcoming events, and news.

By Stephanie Egger, Wildlife Biologist

The month of April has provided the first nests from our beach nesting birds!  The first nest found belongs to the American oystercatcher, a species of concern in New Jersey.  Like our other nesting shorebirds, the eggs are well camouflaged on the beach.  We use symbolic fencing (string and posts) with signs to protect their nesting areas and to alert the public of their presence.

HEADSTARTED EASTERN TIGER SALAMANDERS INTRODUCED INTO VERNAL POOL COMPLEX IN CAPE MAY

Eastern tiger salamander larvae, hatched at the Cape May County Zoo, were released into our enhanced vernal pool complex in Cape May this month.   Continued monitoring and genetic analysis of this population will determine survivorship of headstarted egg masses versus those placed in predator-exclusion cages in the pool.

The 2012 Women & Wildlife Education Award Winner is Dale Rosselet.  Dale has been sharing her passion about the environment and advancing environmental education for 29 years at NJ Audubon.   Join us to honor Dale and other 2012 Women & Wildlife Award Winners on Sunday, April 15th beginning at 2pm.  Click here for tickets and more information.

What is the best thing you get to do?   I LOVE working with teachers and get to do that on a regular basis…I will almost never turn down a professional development workshop.  I LOVE working with other staff at NJ Audubon – we have such an amazing group of creative people and the discourse is great, but I guess the coolest thing I get to do is lead occasional eco-tours to places that I would not otherwise be able to visit.  Getting out of the US and visiting these places, learning a little bit about other cultures and how people live, really broadens one’s world view and helps put things in perspective.

What has been your biggest success in your current job?  I became VP for Education at NJ Audubon after my predecessor Pat Kane retired.  She was (and is) a mentor and friend.  Under her guidance and vision we created a strong foundation for NJ Audubon’s environmental education platform.  I’ve had the pleasure of working with talented people to strengthen the work we do in urban environmental education and reaching people who don’t have access to our vast open spaces.  This part of the NJ Audubon education platform continues to grow and mature, but it is very exciting to be a part of it as that happens.

 What delights you in your daily work?  I really like the diversity of tasks that the VP for Education is responsible for.  I could be planning teacher professional development or working with staff to write a grant to help them realize a programmatic goal or cutting out photos to go on an exhibit board. I could be developing assessment tools or leading a bird field trip or talking to people in our bookstore about bird sightings.  While sometimes this diversity makes me seem schizophrenic, I wouldn’t have it any other way.

 What is the one tool or resource that makes your job easier? The resources that make my job easier are the other professionals that I work with – both at NJ Audubon and in the environmental education community.  I am constantly amazed and humbled by the commitment to this field and the broad experience and vision that people bring to the table.

 What wildlife “lives” in your office? I don’t have anything the lives in my office…except for the occasional mouse passing through, but I have a world of wildlife right outside the window.  One of my favorite things is that when I am on a conference call (and those are numerous!), I can stare out over the marsh and watch Osprey or Bald Eagle fly by or pick my binoculars up and see Indigo Buntings or Orchard Orioles in the back trees.
If you could be one animal (that lives in NJ of course!) what would you be and why?  Box turtle!  I have always had a soft spot for box turtles and when I found out that they live so long and their home range is about the size of a football field that just amazed me.  I keep a photo library of “my” box turtles in the yard and am up to about 7 individuals.

 Why did you decide to protect or educate people about NJ’s wildlife? I grew up on the edge of the Great Swamp in Morris County.  The more time we spent outside the better life was…climbing apple trees, catching frogs, picking blackberries, roaming the sandpit nearby, catching toads, getting muddy, building forts.  With this kind of background, I had no choice but to go into the education field. I wanted to make sure that people – especially children – have access to having a similar set of experiences.