New Jersey’s conservation community came together on November 13, 2019 to celebrate five extraordinary women and their accomplishments in wildlife conservation.
by Marissa Murdock, 2019 NJ Osprey Project Intern; Rider University ’21
This past summer I was lucky enough to work with Conserve Wildlife Foundation as a volunteer student intern. I worked alongside Ben Wurst, CWF’s Habitat Program Manager, helping with the New Jersey Osprey Project. My internship consisted of assisting with osprey surveys, banding young, and recording data so that we can estimate the health of the population in New Jersey.
Continue reading “My Summer Adventure with Osprey”
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ in partnership with the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Endangered & Nongame Species Program, is releasing results of the 2019 NJ Bald Eagle nesting season.
2019 was a record year for NJ eagles with the highest number of active nests and young fledged in the history of the project. This year, 238 eagle nests were monitored, of which 189 were active (laid eggs) and 248 young fledged. This is the highest number of fledges ever, surpassing the previous high of 216 in 2016.
We owe the incredible amount of information about NJ eagle success to the NJ Eagle Project nest watchers. An extremely dedicated group of approximately 85 volunteers monitor nests during the season, recording the important dates and watching for possible issues at nest sites.
This season two eagle cams were available to watch on the CWF website: one at Duke Farms and another at Mercer County Parks. The Duke Farms nest produced two chicks, and one was outfitted with a satellite transmitter; the movements of this eagle are on CWF’s Eagletrax website .
More details on the 2019 nesting season will be available in the annual eagle report to be posted by December. The report will include individual nest data, state totals, and eagle recoveries and resightings.
CWF partners with PSEG, the Mercer County Park Commission, Mercer County Wildlife Center, and Wildlife Center Friends and Duke Farms to protect bald eagles in New Jersey. Thank you to the Wakefern Food Corp./ShopRite Markets, Wells Fargo, Chemours and the American Eagle Foundation for additional eagle program funding.
by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
Story by: Alison Levine, Communications Coordinator
Bats. They can be kind of creepy. Full disclosure, when I was a kid a bat got into our house and was so disoriented at being in an alien environment that it actually flew into my shoulder. So, I’m not exactly unbiased. I’ve learned to appreciate the important roles bats play – many help keep insect populations under control, some are crucial pollinators for fruits – but I’ve never really warmed up to them before.
While there are plenty of people who share my slightly-creeped out feelings for bats, fortunately there are lot of people who love the furry little flying mammals.
CWF Biologist, and bat ambassador extraordinaire, Meghan Kolk goes out and handles bats on purpose. As part of a joint project with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Meghan and CWF Biologist Ethan Gilardi teamed up with USFWS staff to conduct bat surveys in the summer of 2018 and again this year.
The surveys are conducted at Joint Military Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in the northern part of Pine Barrens. The goal is to capture northern long-eared bats (Myotis septentrionalis), a federally threatened species, and track them back to their roost tree (ideally tracking females back to maternity roost trees) using radio transmitters.
Photo of big brown bat by John King
Continue reading “Maternity roosts, delayed ovulation and mating swarms: Protecting the (truly weird) reproductive cycle of bats.”
Sometimes the path to the wilderness starts with a screen. For teens growing up in New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the country, connecting with nature can seem a bit unnatural. Smartphones, tablets, computers these are all a part of everyday life, but bald eagles, diamondback terrapins, or bobcats can seem like creatures from a different world.
The Species on the Edge 2.0 contest, a statewide educational competition open to all high school students, bridges these two worlds to inspire the next generation of wildlife lovers and conservation leaders.
In celebration of these future leaders, Conserve Wildlife Foundation and contest sponsor PSEG Foundation recently presented the winners of the fourth annual Species on the Edge 2.0 contest, with scholarships at a ceremony at PSE&G headquarters in Newark.
Continue reading “Species on the Edge 2.0 Contest Winners Announced”Story by: Alison Levine
Eagle enthusiasts in New Jersey have plenty to celebrate today on National Bald Eagle Day. Thanks to our dedicated Bald Eagle Project volunteers we know that so far this year 96 bald eagles have fledged from their New Jersey nests! Eagles have come a long way in the Garden State since the early 1980s when there was only one active nest in the whole state.
Continue reading “Happy National Bald Eagle Day!”by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
This year marks nine years since we began efforts to document and reduce roadkills of N. diamondback terrapins in S. Ocean and N. Atlantic Counties within the Barnegat and Great Bay Watersheds. Our Great Bay Terrapin Project was centered around Great Bay Blvd. or Seven Bridges Road, a long saltmarsh access road where many adult female terrapins enter the roadway while seeking nest sites.
Continue reading “Public Participation Key to Protect Terrapins on Roads”Story by Alison Levine
Two sets of peregrine falcon chicks were recently banded high atop buildings in Elizabeth, Union County, and Jersey City. Biologists from Conserve Wildlife Foundation (CWF) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) checked the health and measurements of the falcons, while also placing both United States Geological Service bird bands and state auxiliary bands so the birds can be identified in the future.
NJTV and TAPintoUnion captured the banding in Union County, while News 12 New Jersey and CBS-2 covered the Jersey City banding.
Continue reading “Peregrine Falcon Bandings in Jersey City and Union County: The Importance of Banding Chicks”Two bald eaglets at the site of our Eagle Cam at Duke Farms were recently banded by biologists from Conserve Wildlife Foundation (CWF) and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Endangered and Nongame Species Program (NJDEP ENSP).
This year’s banding was special, as in addition to a band the male eaglet was also fitted with a transmitter which will allow him to be tracked on our Eagle Trax page.
Kathy Clark, (NJDEP ENSP), and Larissa Smith (CWF) wrote about the experience, and the benefits of transmitters on the Duke Farms blog. Their FAQ’s are reprinted below.
Continue reading “Bald Eagle Banding and Transmitter Attachment at Duke Farms”