Category: Wildlife Protection

 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.

 

 

 

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.

Be aware while driving this summer!

By Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

Roads are a necessary component to human survival. Since New Jersey is such a densely populated state we have a lot of them. Many of them have a negative effect on wildlife. One of these impacts is how they block or impede the natural migration of amphibians and reptiles as they search for mates or expand their territories.

During the summer I am always a little more aware while driving. In the next week many terrapins will begin to emerge from coastal waters to find nest sites. Box turtles and other freshwater turtles are seeking mates and nest sites. Snakes often bask in roadways to help them thermoregulate. Last week while I was driving down one road in the Pinelands I saw two cars pass me in the opposite lane. After they sped by, on the shoulder, I noticed something odd but I knew exactly what it was. A tail was flinging crazily in the air. I thought it was a snake but was’t 100% sure so I stopped and turned around to check it out. It turns out it was a snake and it was an endangered timber rattlesnake. This is only the second timber rattler that I’ve ever seen in the wild and they are quite a rare occurrence. It was still alive but severely injured. I pulled it off the road before another car hit it. I called Dave Golden a zoologist with NJ Fish & Wildlife and took the snake home with hopes that it would survive long enough to be transferred to the Cape May County Zoo. Unfortunately, it died an hour after I got home. As you travel our many roads this summer please be aware of your surroundings and watch out for any snakes or turtles that enter the roadway.

Timber rattlesnakes are a very docile snake, however they are still venomous and you can die if bitten. If you encounter a rattlesnake do not attempt to pick it up!!! I was extremely cautious of this snake even though it was injured. Please call 1-877-WARN-DEP immediately if you encounter a timber rattlesnake that is near your home and/or if you or it are in any kind of danger. Record information about your sighting and report it to the Endangered & Nongame Species Program here.

• Learn more about our Roads & Wildlife Working Group
• The image in this blog is available for other organizations to use under the Creative Commons license with proper attribution. Click here to view and download on Flickr.

Volunteers help install innovative new barrier to reduce terrapin road kills

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

Last week volunteers from CWF and Exelon-Oyster Creek Generating Station helped to install 1,000 feet of barrier “fencing” along the first stretch of Great Bay Blvd inside Great Bay Blvd Wildlife Management Area. The new barrier is a new design and concept for reptile conservation here in NJ and possibly the rest of N. America. While many other types of barriers have been used by other organizations this type has not. It is a corrugated rigid plastic drainage pipe that was cut in half. It was made in NJ by ADS (Advanced Drainage Solutions) and was purchased through Caterina Supply, a local supplier of the pipe. Funding was provided through a Partners Agreement between Little Egg Harbor Twp. and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (who purchased the pipe). The pipe came pre-cut from ADS and was transported by Eric Schrading with USFWS. To install the pipe we trenched a ditch and then hand dug it to the width of the 10″ pipe. It was then backfilled and screwed together where two pieces met. The main reason from switching from a traditional fence type barrier to this was to reduce future maintenance. Fences are easily damaged by motor vehicles and posts have been stolen or ripped out of the ground, so they take more time to repair throughout the year. This pipe should be maintenance free and hopefully if a car drives over it only minor damage will occur…we hope!!

If you’re interested in using this in your own reptile/amphibian conservation project email me and I’d be happy to help in any way possible!

Thank you to all the volunteers, vendors, and partners who help make this project a success!! To name a few: Home Depot of Manahawkin for donating the trencher for an afternoon, USFWS & Eric Schrading for purchasing and transporting the pipe, and Little Egg Harbor Twp. for their continued support of this project.

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.

 

Eagle population fairing well with mild winter

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

Here are a series of photos from a recent bald eagle banding trip at a nest in southern New Jersey.

NATURE WATCHING ISN’T JUST FUN, IT CAN BE USEFUL TOO

By Michael Davenport, Marine Species & GIS Programs Manager

Like many birdwatchers, although I still enjoy seeing the neighborhood cardinal in my yard, it’s the sightings of rarely encountered species, especially those classified as endangered, threatened, or special concern, which really keep my eyes scanning around during a hike.

Many birdwatchers, or nature enthusiasts of other species groups such as reptiles or butterflies, share their encounters with rare species on websites or bulletin boards.  In addition, several organizations, such as the Cornell Lab of Ornithology or NJ Audubon, recruit “citizen scientists” who collect species observation data and submit that data electronically via websites such as eBird.  That data is important for those organizations’ scientific research and assists scientists in analyzing population trends over years.  However, more often than not, it never finds its way to New Jersey’s state biologists nor the state regulators whose task it is to protect rare species habitat in the state.

The New Jersey Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) collects data for, not just rare birds, but all of the state’s endangered, threatened, and special concern species.  A Rare Wildlife Sighting Report Form is available on ENSP’s website for download as well as instructions for completing the form.  A complete list of all of the species tracked by the state can be downloaded here.

Rare species data within the state’s database plays a critical role in wildlife and habitat conservation. It is the foundation of the NJ DEP’s Landscape Project, a GIS product that maps critical areas for imperiled species based upon species locations and land-use classifications. The resulting maps allow state, county, municipal, and private agencies to identify important wildlife habitats and protect them in a variety of ways. This information is used to regulate land-use within the state and assists in preserving endangered and threatened species habitat remaining in New Jersey.

Reporting your rare wildlife observation is easy.  Simply complete the form, attach a map of where the animal was observed, as well as any photographs taken, and then mail or e-mail the form and map to ENSP at the address provided on the form.  For more details about the state’s rare species mapping, please visit our webpage.

PROTECTING NEW JERSEY’S BREEDING BEACH SITES

By Todd Pover, Beach Nesting Bird Project Manager

Piping plovers and American oystercatchers have already begun to return to New Jersey to breed. Least terns and black skimmers will follow in another couple of weeks. This is a busy time for the Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s (CWF) Beach Nesting Bird Project – our program to protect these birds, some of the state’s most at-risk species, kicks into high gear as the birds arrive.

 

The first major task at hand is to protect the habitat where the birds nest from human disturbance associated with intensive recreational use of our beaches. Working closely with the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife, CWF typically helps fence off and post 20-25 beach sites annually.

And we couldn’t complete this massive job without the assistance of volunteers. This year we have gotten volunteer help from a diverse group of organizations, ranging from the New Jersey Beach Buggy Association to Wetland Institute to Manasquan High School Environmental Club. A huge THANKS to all those groups and individuals that pitched in to help!

 

 

Click here to learn more information about our Beach Nesting Bird Program.

http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/protecting/projects/beachnestingbird/

Click here to learn how you can adopt a Piping Plover (or other species) to help fund our ongoing conservation projects. http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/store/adopt/

 

The 2012 Women & Wildlife Inspiration Award Winner is Jackie Kashmer.  Jackie has been a wildlife rehabilitator for 20 years but her dedication to bats and her deeper understanding of their needs is an inspiration to all.  Join us to honor Jackie and other 2012 Women & Wildlife Award Winners on Sunday, April 15th beginning at 2pm.  Click here for tickets and more information.

What is the worst thing you have to do for your job?
Spend three hours every night feeding bats.

 What is the best thing you get to do?
Turn the lights off after all the bats are fed.

What has been your biggest success in your current job?
Saving white-nose syndrome bats.

What delights you in your daily work?
Seeing that all the bats have eaten all their worms.

What is the one tool or resource that makes your job easier?
My boyfriend.

If you couldn’t do what you are doing now, what profession would you attempt?
Psychiatry – I would want to figure out what makes people spend all their time and money caring for animals that bite them every day.

What is the best thing anyone ever taught you?
Life is the train ride, not the destination.

What is one thing you learned through your work that surprised you?
That ALL wildlife, large and small, have emotions and personalities.

What wildlife “lives” in your office?
Ants.

If you could be one animal (that lives in NJ of course!) what would you be and why?
A squirrel. They’re frisky, type A personality, like me.  Also, they smell nice!

Why did you decide to protect or educate people about NJ’s wildlife?
People are clueless about anything that doesn’t directly affect them and have very little common sense when it comes to wildlife.  Thank goodness human babies are so durable!!

What were you doing before you answered these questions?
Feeding bats, of course.

One thing most people don’t know about you?
I’m a court reporter in federal court, so most people don’t know that my “real” full-time job is rehabilitating bats.

 

Learn more about Jackie’s work by reading a recent blog post.

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

By now most ospreys are back from their wintering grounds in Central and northern South America. Generally the older more experienced birds return first and the younger inexperienced adults follow. Over the past month I’ve been very busy with platform repairs and installations throughout coastal New Jersey. You may not be aware but I maintain a huge number of nesting platforms. In just the past couple weeks I’ve worked as far south as Avalon (where I lead a group of students and their parents from Collingswood to replace an existing platform) and as far north as Bayonne (where I installed 3 platforms with local middle and high school students). Both were memorable experiences for both myself and many of the students. Most of them had never been on a boat or ever had the chance to walk on the saltmarsh.

Maintenance of existing platforms is critical to the continued recovery of ospreys. Over time (and in some cases, not much time) the condition of these nesting platforms is degraded, mainly by the environmental conditions where they’re placed. For the most part the fasteners are what go first from contact with high levels of moisture in the air, after that,  the wood decays (unless a pressure treated or cedar wood is used). One way to help prevent the decay of platforms is to use marine grade stainless steel screws, galvanized bolts, and treated lumber. If we were to lose a large portion of the available nesting platforms in a given year then the population would suffer, so it’s important to make sure existing platforms remain in good condition.

Last week I got out to the “Wildlife Drive” at Forsythe NWR in Oceanville to repair a platform. The platform top had lost a side and could no longer hold nesting material. I built a new top out of salvaged wood that I collect and installed it on Thursday afternoon. The next day a male osprey began to place nesting material in the freshly repaired platform. Talk about perfect timing!

If you’re interested in helping us to maintain osprey nesting platforms, contact me about our new program to “Adopt a Platform.”