The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWFNJ) has returned to the National Guard Training Center (NGTC) in Sea Girt to continue their work surveying beach wildlife, conducting vegetation control and providing rare species protection. One facet of the work done here is using game cameras, deployed throughout the site, to remotely observe and monitor mammals that utilize the area. CWFNJ has partnered with Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Consultants (VHB) and the New Jersey Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMAVA) to gather data on the species, number, movement and overall activity of mammals that are captured on the cameras. This information is used for keeping records and to better understand the travel paths various mammals take throughout the site.
The game cameras are triggered by motion, so they only capture an image when something passes within range in front of the sensor. Because motion isn’t specific to just wildlife, occasionally the cameras capture beachgoers, vehicles and moving vegetation. This means that it’s important to position the cameras appropriately so that the SD card memory doesn’t become crammed with “blank photos” caused by false triggers. Even weather can have an impact on images that are captured: a bad windstorm once resulted in over 1000 blank photos caused by the camera shaking on its mount. CWF is exploring the use of Google Photo’s Artificial Intelligence tool to sort through and review the pictures in a more efficient manner. This AI could potentially isolate photos with wildlife, domestic animals and people from the blank photos. The SD cards are collected regularly to transmit images to a computer which are later reviewed and analyzed to gather data. So far, a few different species have shown up rather frequently on the NGTC cameras.
The most common mammal observed is red fox, followed by white-tailed deer and Virginia opossum. These are all common species in New Jersey and it’s no surprise that they inhabit the beach-front property around the National Guard Training Center. All the deployed cameras captured wildlife which indicates that mammals traverse the site very frequently and utilize the paths as predicted. Through careful analysis, CWF biologists can even roughly identify individuals and come up with an approximate population number. For example, a fox with a short tail has been seen on multiple game cameras so far and is easily identifiable. CWFNJ will continue to monitor the game cameras and collect images throughout the rest of the year. Some favorites have been shared below for the public to enjoy.
CWF and Fishing for Energy are excited to announce the addition of a new port in Waretown, New Jersey, where a bin will be placed to collect marine debris removed from Barnegat Bay. Lost, abandoned, and discarded fishing gear threatens important marine wildlife in this USEPA Estuary of National Significance. Barnegat Bay contributes over $4 billion each year to the regional economy, and is home to 560,000 people, and over 1 million people during summer.
Fishing for Energy is an innovative public-private partnership that provides commercial fishermen with a cost-free solution to dispose of derelict fishing gear or gear that is lost, abandoned or discarded. Fishing for Energy is a nationwide partnership between the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program (NOAA MDP); Covanta, a world-leading sustainable waste and energy solutions company; and Schnitzer Steel Industries, one of the largest metal recycling companies in the United States.
An upland sandpiper looks out from it’s perch atop a post. Photo courtesy of USFWS.
In partnership with the USFWS New Jersey Field Office, CWF surveys a small population of upland sandpipers and other grassland birds at the McGuire Airfield in Burlington County, New Jersey. The upland sandpiper is a state endangered species nesting at only a few locations in New Jersey. Upland sandpiper, like many other grassland birds, require vast expanses of grassland habitat for nesting and caring for their chicks. Airports tend to be favorable locations consisting of maintained grassland habitat and limited human disturbance.
A total of 35 upland sandpiper observations were made at the McGuire Airfield in 2021, with an average of roughly 8 observations per survey. The overall number of upland sandpiper observations was comparable to 2018’s total of 37 sightings, but the average sightings per survey was lower than last year’s average, as well as the averages since 2017. Based on these observations, at least two to three pairs of upland sandpipers were nesting at the airfield this season. This estimation of nesting pairs is also lower than previous survey years.
Locating upland sandpiper nests is difficult due to the expansive habitat and the birds’ behavior. Most upland sandpipers nest in areas larger than 100 acres with relatively short grass heights. When nesting, the birds tend to fly in circles and loudly call from above to draw attention away from nests and unfledged chicks. Upland sandpipers are also easily disturbed during surveys, often taking flight long before surveyors get close to the nest or chicks. Additionally, the upland sandpipers’ song and call, a whistling “quip-ip-ip-ip, pulippulip, or whip-whee-ee-you,” can also be heard over a long distance.
Surveys during the breeding season from May to July have been ongoing over the past five years to determine the presence of breeding upland sandpipers in relation to ongoing habitat restoration efforts. Restoration efforts include the eradication of invasive plants and seeding of native warm season grasses. Restoration efforts will help conserve nesting habitat for grassland birds and help further limit human disturbance by minimizing mowing activities.
Female bog turtle basking. Photo Credit: Eric Sambol
I recently found myself walking along a set of railroad tracks in Union County, returning to my car after assessing habitat for an upcoming coverboard study. I stepped off the tracks at the sound of an approaching cargo train and prepared to wait it out in silence, when a gentleman appeared from the underside of a bridge a little way up the tracks. He looked like he had been swimming or fishing, though where- I had no idea. Probably in some secret location known only to lifelong residents, keenly aware of what the landscape has to offer, and the many ways in which its changed. When he learned I was a biologist, he proceeded to tell me about all the wildlife that he sees during his various excursions; coyotes, foxes, eagles—but when he got to turtles, his smile faltered, and he lamented the fact that “the Muhlenberg’s have gotten hard to find”. He certainly wasn’t wrong about that.
Plastron length taken using calipers. Photo Credit: Lynn Sambol
Bog turtle habitat is characterized by open canopy, tussock sedges, mucky soils, and slow-moving rivulets.
The bright orange/yellow patches on either side of the head, visible here, are the bog turtle’s most distinguishing characters. Photo Credit: Eric Sambol
Former CWF biologist Allegra Mitchell (right) teaches CWF intern Nicole Bergen (left) and former assistant biologist Meaghan Fogarty (center) how to determine if a female bog turtle is gravid. Photo Credit: Lynn Sambol
Despite early recognition as an endangered species in New Jersey, population estimates for Glyptemys muhlenbergii, more commonly known as the bog turtle, are less than half what they were in 1974 when they were first listed. This is certainly not for lack of trying; conservation-minded groups and individuals have been working hard to reverse this trend for decades. The bog turtle may be North America’s smallest turtle, but ensuring that they stick around to retain the distinction is no small feat. It takes an army, which is why CWF is so excited to be joining forces with New Jersey Audubon, New Jersey Conservation Foundation, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and US Fish and Wildlife Service in a 5-year Regional Conservation Partnership Program. Through this agreement, funded by the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), part of the USDA, we aim to restore crucial wetlands within the Upper Salem River Watershed, an important stronghold of the species.
CWF biologist Christine Healy (left) and US Fish and Wildlife Service biologist Beth Freiday (right) assess the restoration potential for historic bog turtle habitat through the FWS Partners Program. Photo Credit: Matthew Davis
CWF biologist Christine Healy with two bog turtles notched in northern New Jersey during the 2021 field season. Photo Credit: Jim Angley
Allegra Mitchell (far right) reviews bog turtle data collection with Meaghan Fogarty, Christine Healy, and Nicole Bergen (far left to right). Photo Credit: Lynn Sambol
CWF’s primary role in this collaboration will be landowner outreach. This is critical work because much of the remaining habitat for bog turtles occurs within the boundaries of private property, so landowner participation is vital to the conservation and management of the species. NRCS and FWS offer several programs to make initial restoration work and land preservation in perpetuity both feasible and economical for landowners, however, they aren’t always widely known options. Using satellite imagery and historic records, CWF helps locate parcels with potentially promising habitat and educates interested landowners on the possibilities. We’ve had much success with this method, particularly in northern New Jersey, and look forward to expanding our reach. With the public on board, we are optimistic about the future of our state reptile.
On June 24, CWF staff and PSEG Foundation representatives logged onto Zoom to celebrate the winners of the 2021 Species on the Edge 2.0 Social Media contest. Viewers watched as CWF Executive Director David Wheeler and Wildlife Biologist Ethan Gilardi congratulated the winners, with special comments made by CWF Board of Trustees President Steve Neumann and PSEG Environmental Policy Manager Russell Furnari.
Winners had time to speak about their inspirations, aspirations, and love of wildlife while accepting their awards. Whether they plan to continue onto a career in wildlife conservation/education or not, we are incredibly proud of this group of talented high schoolers.
CWF would like to wish them the best of luck on their future endeavors!
Click on the embedded video above to watch the ceremony on the CWF YouTube Channel.
Gallery:
2021 Species on the Edge 2.0 Social Media Contest Winners
What is Species on the Edge 2.0?
The fun and educational Species on the Edge 2.0 Social Media Contest capitalizes on high school students’ expertise with social media platforms and provides them with the opportunity to showcase their talent, creativity, and love of nature.
Students create their own original content (for example: video, text, photograph, computer graphic) or utilize existing Conserve Wildlife Foundation content to create a series of posts focusing on one of New Jersey’s vulnerable species that CWF helps protect.
An overturned horseshoe crab in the tide. Photo by Miguel Martinez and Joseph Bierman.
South Jersey Climate News recently took a deep dive into the relationship between horseshoe crabs and shorebirds on the Delaware Bay, and how global climate change has impacted this already delicate bond between species.
CWF biologist Larissa Smith was interviewed for the piece, providing context about what we are doing to help the horseshoe crabs and shorebirds through the Shorebird Stewards Program.
The article does a wonderful job explaining the precarious position NJ’s summer shorebirds find themselves in, detailing their arduous migration from South America to New Jersey to the Arctic and back, as well as explaining how and why our shorebirds and horseshoe crabs find themselves in peril.
Follow the link below to also find a video of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Employee and volunteer Shorebird Steward Ariel Poirier, who shares some of her experiences with the program and explains what it means to be a Shorebird Steward.
The blog Green Philly interviewed Conserve Wildlife Foundation executive director David Wheeler for this profile on CWF’s work protecting and restoring at-risk wildlife species across New Jersey and beyond.
Wheeler notes, “The project that is really inspiring is our work in Delaware Bay at the mouth of the Delaware River, dividing Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. This estuary holds one of the largest gatherings on the East Coast of migratory shorebirds and horseshoe crabs. These shorebirds fly from as far away as Tierra del Fuego and come to this region in massive numbers to feast on horseshoe crab eggs, which is an ancient creature that has swum before the dinosaurs and has survived five mass extinctions. They then head up to the Arctic for a hemisphere-wide migration, and Delaware Bay is the centerpiece of that.
“Horseshoe crabs have been declining severely, so shorebirds have also been declining severely. Our scientists and teams of volunteers have helped to stabilize these populations and prevent further decline. This is not only tremendously valuable to the ecosystem built around horseshoe crabs because it feeds fish, Diamondback Terrapins, and birds. Horseshoe crabs also provide something called lysate through their blood, which is the single way to test vaccines for a toxin, including the COVID vaccine. It’s such an amazing story and it all comes back to this prehistoric creature.”
The Associated Press released a video story exploring how the rise in popularity of live streaming bald eagle nest cameras has revealed the diversity of personalities and behaviors of the U.S. national symbol.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation executive director David Wheeler and New Jersey Eagle Project volunteer Kevin Buynie are featured.
“Duke’ with transmitter, June 1, 2021 @ Barb McKee
Seven months ago, I learned that “Duke” had flown back to Somerset County in central Jersey, and was perched along the Raritan River not far upstream of his natal nest at Duke Farms. He was also very close to my home on the Millstone River in Hillsborough. Thus began my shared adventure with Duke, the 2019 fledgling who was outfitted with a satellite transmitter at banding (E/88) that May. I wrote a CWF blog, “Duke’s” Homecoming in January about those months during the fall and winter, of following and photographing Duke as he explored areas I knew well from bicycling and volunteering for the Eagle Project. I am very grateful and humble to have “found” Duke on quite a few occasions throughout November, December, and January. The trees were bare of leaves, and Duke’s full attention was on keeping himself fed. I gradually learned his habits and noted he tended to stick with several favorite roosts, perches, and hang-outs! It took patience, persistence, and a lot of luck! January 19, 2021, was the last time I saw Duke reasonably close, photographed and videographed him on a field in Hillsborough owned by Duke Farms.
Following that frigid, breezy, gray day in mid-winter, January 19, Duke headed north to Tewksbury where he spent most of his time on large, private farms and estates not conducive to allowing access to a wandering, eagle-watching, trespassing photographer! I could imagine he was finding prey in the fields, along the creeks, and in the occasional farm pond. I took many photos of bucolic scenery to share with others who were interested in Duke’s travels. At the end of January, central Jersey got snow storms which dumped an estimated accumulation of more than 2 feet of snow on the ground. Animals seemed to vanish. Even road kill was scarce. I worried that Duke would starve….that is, until while scrutinizing Google Earth, I realized he had settled on a hunting preserve that raised game fowl! He simply perched near the pens, let the hawk do the hunting, and no doubt “stole” from the smaller raptors! I stopped being so worried! For the entire snow-covered month of February, and half of March, Duke remained in Tewksbury. A couple times he dashed back to Duke Farms (approximately 20 miles to the south) and the Raritan River nearby. On one of those quick visits to his natal “home” he even visited me, perching again near our landing on the Millstone and downstream near the confluence with the main Raritan.
Banded red knot feeds on the shoreline. Photo by Kevin Knutsen
The number of red knots that visited the Delaware Bay this spring to rest and refuel on their long-distance migration from South America to the Arctic was the lowest recorded since counts began in 1982. The baywide counts, by Conserve Wildlife Foundation and our partners, which include the New Jersey and Delaware shorelines, resulted in only 6,880 red knots, roughly a third of what was counted last year, and less than a quarter of the population in the previous two years. In the early 1980s, when counts first began, almost 100,000 red knots migrated through the Delaware Bay. With recent numbers that were already below the level that would ensure survival, this latest decline makes the rufa red knot subspecies even more vulnerable and pushes it closer to extinction.
The extreme decline is thought to be caused by a poor breeding season in 2020. Last spring, unusually low water temperatures in the Bay delayed the horseshoe crab spawn until early June. When the red knots arrived in May, the horseshoe crab eggs were not available, and so they moved on with their migration without gaining the weight needed to finish the journey. The horseshoe crab eggs are an essential food source for these birds that need to double their weight before continuing their northbound journey. Without the eggs to refuel on, it is likely that 40 percent of the birds died before reaching the Arctic, diminishing the breeding population. Numbers of other migratory shorebirds that stop in the Delaware Bay, such as ruddy turnstones, sanderlings and semipalmated sandpipers also showed declines this year.
Another factor that may have contributed to the low numbers was adverse weather conditions in the Caribbean, making it more difficult for the birds to migrate north. The good news is that the horseshoe crab spawn was on time this year, and there were plenty of eggs available for the migrants that stopped to refuel. With such a long migration, there are so many factors that have to line up for a successful breeding season. We cannot control the weather conditions or the water temperatures, but one thing wildlife biologists want to ensure is that there are enough horseshoe crabs in the Bay to sustain the birds for the long term.
