Tag: 2010

A final report from our seasonal beach nesting bird steward at Stone Harbor Point

by Christopher Haxter, Seasonal Steward

Well as summer’s end slowly draws near, the beach nesting bird season has wrapped up on Stone Harbor Point.  All of the Piping Plover and American Oystercatcher chicks have fledged (i.e. reached the stage where they can fly).  In the past, this has often been a very depressing time.  Stone Harbor Point has a bad history of flooding, and many of the nests and chicks were destroyed; some years we only had a couple of chicks fledge.  This year, however, there is good news!  A total of 13 Piping Plover chicks and 10 Oystercatcher chicks have fledged, from 9 and 21 breeding pairs, respectively!  I owe this very successful year to the weather cooperating during the high spring tides; flooding was not a big issue this summer.  I also owe my thanks to the public for respecting the rules and staying out of the fenced areas, giving these beach nesting birds the room to successfully fledge their chicks.

This breeding season sure has had its ups and downs.  One low point that comes to mind is finding Oystercatcher nest after nest washed away from a high tide the night before (most of them luckily renested).  One of the greatest feelings is finding a chick on its fledge date, knowing that it now has a much greater chance of survival.  We also had a Least Tern colony on Stone Harbor Point that fledged a good amount of chicks.

Our focus now has shifted to migration.  Thousands of migratory shorebirds are now congregating on Stone Harbor Point.  Most are on their way south from breeding up north in Canada and the Arctic.  Oystercatchers and Piping Plovers are also preparing to head south for the winter.  They are currently gathering in huge roosting flocks before their departure.  This gives us ample opportunity for band resighting and to conduct surveys, estimating the population sizes of these shorebirds.

Since the season is just about over it means my job (as Seasonal Steward) is just about over.  Words can’t describe how much I love this job and what I have learned over the last four months.  The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ is truly making the difference for wildlife all over the state, and I’m glad I got to be a part of it!

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Counting bats or the lack thereof

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

It is clear to me that White-nose syndrome (WNS) has decimated a large portion of the bat population in New Jersey, or at least at a site where I count bats for the Summer Bat Count. In 2008 (before WNS), I counted 261 bats at the Chatsworth General Store in August. Counting bats may seem like a daunting feat, but at dusk (when there is still a little light) the bats fly out of their daytime roosts. Sometimes, 1-2 at a time or in bursts of 3-4 or more. In August 2009, I counted 169 bats at the store. This past Sunday, I only counted 23 bats. To say the least these results are alarming. I hope that at other locations in New Jersey people are still seeing bats and I hope that WNS does not continue to decimate the population.

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Juvenile eagle released back into the wild

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

Last Tuesday I met with Debra and Gail, volunteers with The Raptor Trust in northern New Jersey to help release a juvenile eagle. The release was coordinated by Kathy Clark with the Endangered and Nongame Species Program and Cathy with the Raptor Trust. They transported the eagle for more than 2 hours to see it return to the wild. I was merely there because I have experience with handling birds of prey (in case anything were to happen).

The eagle was found on Gunnison Beach in late June inside Gateway National Recreation Area on Sandy Hook.The eagle was spotted by park visitors on the beach. The eagle was distressed but had no injuries. Jeanne McArthur–Heuser, NPS transported the eagle to the Raptor Trust, located in Millington, New Jersey.

Many juvenile raptors or birds of prey are not 100% successful at catching prey. Some rely on their parents for food until they learn the skills to catch prey that they will use for the rest of their lives.

The eagle was rehabilitated at the Raptor Trust for 6 weeks. It was a male and was banded with a federal USGS bird band for future tracking. At the Raptor Trust it got plenty of rest and relaxation under their care. I met Gail and Debra in Millville where we traveled south towards Newport. We released the eagle at a location determined by Kathy Clark in Cumberland County at Nantuxent Wildlife Management Area. The release was uneventful (which is good!!!). We basically stood behind and to the sides of a large dog crate and opened the door. I held the door open and lifted up the back to try and encourage the eagle to leave the crate. After about 45 seconds, the eagle hopped out of the crate and immediately took off into the distance with a strong flight.

Without the care of the National Park Service, The Raptor Trust, and the Endangered and Nongame Species Program, this eagle might not have survived! This is a clear example of how we are all connected and how delicate the balance of nature is! We hope this eagle lives on and is able to flourish in New Jersey!

• Click here to read a news release from NPS when the eagle was found.
• Learn more about bald eagles in New Jersey.
• Bald Eagle Project Information.
• Adopt a Bald Eagle today!

To the internet, not wildlife!

By Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

The office where I work, inside Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area in northern Cape May County, recently lost its connection to the world wide interweb. The office is home to the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife staff and three CWF employees. Since the demise of our connection to the world wide interweb the office has been ghostly quiet. Some have chosen to work at home, use some vacation time, or get some field work done. I just wrapped up my primary field season surveying osprey nests along the Atlantic Coast of NJ so I chose to be constructive, literally. I started constructing some artificial nesting platforms for ospreys. Normally I do this in the winter when field work is very limited, but finishing these now will give me a chance to install them this fall. Late summer and fall are the best times to install platforms. The water and air are warm and the winds are calm, so boots and bulky clothes aren’t required. So, I’m glad the internet is down because it gave me a reason to construct these platforms earlier than usual.

Two platforms will be going up in Lavallette, one near Tuckerton, and the other has yet to be determined (possibly Sea Isle). Stay tuned for more updates and photos!

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Roads are barriers to wildlife

By Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

This year we started a new project to try and help reduce the amount of road kills of northern diamondback terrapins along Great Bay Blvd. in southern Ocean County. Great Bay Blvd. is a 5 mile long paved road that extends into the coastal saltmarsh. The road leads to the Rutgers Marine Field Station and the old Fish Factory on Seven Island. We were able to fence a small portion of the road, install three crossing signs along the road, and develop an educational brochure (that is available at marinas in the area).

Unfortunately, terrapins are still hit by motor vehicles along other portions of the road. This is inevitable. Fencing the whole road would almost be impossible and very time consuming to maintain. This fall and winter I am going to work with the town (Little Egg Harbor) and NJ Fish and Wildlife (who owns the land around the road) to come up with a plan to minimize road kills along the road. A viable option would be to install speed humps to reduce the speed of motorists along the road and for the town to post and enforce a reduced speed limit (25mph) along the road.

We are committed to preserving this incredible species and would like to thank everyone who has helped fund this project.

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You can do to help wildlife In your backyard

By Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

1. Plant trees! The more the better, plant evergreens on the north-east side of your house and deciduous on the south side. Evergreens provide cover to birds and other wildlife in winter months and also shelter to your house from those cold NW winds. Make sure to choose native species like Eastern red cedar or Pitch pine for NW locations and Tulip poplar or Sweet gum for south locations.

2. Minimize use of pesticides and herbicides. Use only plant based pesticides, like ones made with Pyrethrum, which is made from the dried flower heads of Chrysanthemums. Try using vinegar as a natural alternative to broad spectrum herbicides. Do not use any pesticides or herbicides before any precipitation.

3. Use local and FREE mulch and compost. Many municipalities and county utility authorities provide free mulch to their residents. This is a great way to reuse a large portion of the waste stream in your county. Better yet, start a compost pile in your own backyard!

4. Use native species! They are acclimated to our climate and most are non-invasive. Many plants and trees sold at nurseries are meant to be aesthetically pleasing and most don’t provide suitable habitat for wildlife, besides providing cover.

5. Create a brush pile using branches and logs to provide cover for small mammals, reptiles, and songbirds.

6. Plant fruit bearing shrubs and trees. These can provide food for songbirds and other wildlife throughout the year. From eastern red-cedar and American holly to winged sumac and northern bayberry.

7. Reduce the size of your lawn by planting a wildflower garden. They require less water than cool season grasses and provide nectar to butterflies, bees and hummingbirds and also provide seeds to many songbirds. You will save money and time by reducing the amount of grass on your property.

8. Install bird and bat houses. Bird houses can provide a place for cavity nesting birds to nest, like chickadees, wrens, and bluebirds. Monitor the birdhouse throughout the spring and summer to be sure no exotic species are utilizing it, like European starlings. Maternity bat houses can provide female bats with a place to raise their young. Bats feed on thousands of insects each night. They help control insect populations and in some areas help pollinate fruit and vegetable crops.

9. Wildlife need water to survive. Put out a bird bath or even better, install a pond. A simple bird bath can be a medium-sized saucer or shallow bowl. Change the water frequently to prevent mosquitoes from breeding. Ponds are even better for wildlife, especially amphibians, like frogs, toads, and salamanders. A simple pond can be made out of an old bath tub. Place rocks along the edge, plant some flowers along the edges, and put some branches and rocks in the water to enhance the habitat in the pond.

10. Certify your yard with the National Wildlife Federation and get a yard sign to let others know you provide habitat for wildlife in your backyard!

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Banding American Oystercatchers

By Christopher Haxter, Seasonal Steward

The American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliates) may not get as much attention as some other species since it’s not listed as endangered or threatened in New Jersey. However, it is listed as a species of special concern because the population is thought to be in decline. On Stone Harbor Point, the site I mainly monitor for my job, I spend a good deal of time finding oystercatcher nests and chicks. Together with Piping Plovers and Least Terns, oystercatchers constitute a large portion of the beach nesting birds found on “the Point”.

Oystercatchers are hard to miss; they stand nearly one and a half feet tall, are boldly colored, and have very loud calls. On average, they lay three eggs per nest, and incubate their eggs from April-June and care for their chicks from May-July. They tend to have much more trouble with predators and flooding during the egg laying stage. Once hatched, the chicks tend to have better survival rates. As of right now on Stone Harbor Point we have at least ten pairs of American Oystercatchers with offspring. One pair is still incubating a nest, nine pairs are brooding a total of thirteen chicks, and one pair has successfully fledged two chicks.

One of the ways to track these birds year after year is to put colored bands on their legs that are marked with letters and numbers so individual birds can be identified. Tom Virzi, one of our research partners (from Rutgers University), has been studying oystercatchers in New Jersey since 2004. Last week I had the privilege of helping two of his interns, Jason Pietrzak and Allison Anholt, band some oystercatcher chicks on Stone Harbor Point.

The first step was to capture the chicks. Since the chicks can’t fly yet, all we had to do was surround and grab them. Sometimes easier said than done – the two chicks we went after were already a month old, so they were quite fast. Once captured we inspected the chicks, making sure they were healthy and their legs were fully grown. The band that goes around the leg of the chick is a small orange plastic cylinder with a black number/letter code (each state participating in this banding project has a unique color). After banding, we took measurements, including beak/head/wing length, and then collected a few feathers so the chicks could be sexed using DNA analysis.

The chicks were surprisingly calm throughout the process and the parents stood near us watching carefully. When we were finished we released the chicks back to the parents and kept an eye on them to make sure the parents accepted the chicks.

Adult oystercathers are also banded, but because they can fly the process is much different and involves some trickery. To try to capture the adults we set up a decoy, played some oystercatcher calls, and placed a board lined with many tiny nooses in the sand to capture the foot of the bird. When the adults defend their territory and fight with the decoy they get caught in the trap. We did attempt this but were not successful this time.

When a banded bird is re-sighted, and the code is observed and recorded, we are able to follow them for years. The data gathered from banding oystercatchers is essential in studying their long term habits, population trends, chick survival rates, and movement patterns.

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An osprey nestling lays low in a nest

By Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

The iris is the thin colored part of an eye that is responsible for controlling the size of the pupil and the amount of light that enters the pupil. As a hatching the iris of an osprey is blood red in color. As a nestling (pictured below) they turn to an amber or orange color. The eye color and plumage of juveniles help distinguish them from adults, which have a yellow iris. Juvenile ospreys also have “buff” or tan feather tips on their contour (body) feathers. This helps camouflage them before they can fly and it also helps distinguish them from adults, who have dark brown body feathers.

To see more photos of ospreys and their young, click here. Check out the slideshow at the top of the page.

By Larissa Smith, Biologist & Volunteer Manager

Ospreys love to bring garbage back to their nests. While out checking on nests I’ve found everything from rope, fishing line, flip flops, plastic bags, a Frisbee, hats and even a plastic crab in nests.  The problem is that every year while volunteers and staff are checking on nests at least one chick is found entangled in this garbage. Fishing line gets caught around their feet and legs and a plastic bag can entangle a chick.  If no one went out to check on these nests most of these chicks wouldn’t make it.  It’s not only the chicks that suffer from the garbage we throw out. Adult ospreys have been found dead and hanging from fishing line.  Ospreys and other species whose diet consists of mostly fish are particularly vulnerable to injury and death from fishing line and hooks.  During a visit to an NJ eagle nest a chick was found with a fishing hook embedded in its mouth.  I have also found horseshoe crabs and terrapins entangled in fishing line and these are just a few examples of  how garbage effects wildlife.

There are some simple steps that we can all take to keep trash out of the environment.

• Pick up and dispose of any fishing line or hooks you use or find.

• Use reusable bags instead of plastic whenever possible and encourage others to do the same.

Thank you!

Educating people about Barnegat Bay and its bird populations

By Skyler Streich, Barnegat Bay Birder-in-Residence

My name is Skyler Streich.  I am an avid birder with excellent identification skills of eastern bird species of the United States.  I have been birdwatching intensely for 5 years and since then have accumulated quite a knowledge and understanding of birds, their habitats and behavior.  My background is a BS in Geology with a concentration in Paleontology. I got into birds when I was studying abroad in Costa Rica and one day on my campus in San Jose I saw a hummingbird fly to a flower to drink the nectar.  Since then I became hooked and fascinated with birds. I have had positions with the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife as a Piping Plover Monitor, The Nature Conservancy as a Seasonal Field Biologist working with the endangered Black-capped Vireo, and a Natural Educator for both Island Beach State Park and Cattus Island Park, NJ. I have also conducted numerous bird surveys for The Audubon Society of Rhode Island, International Shorebird Surveys and CBC counts.   Nationally I have birded all through the eastern states as well as through southern Florida, Texas, southeast Arizona, western Washington, here and there throughout the interior states and Hawaii.  Internationally I have birded in Costa Rica, Panama, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Nova Scotia and PEI, British Columbia, England, France, Spain and Portugal and Tanzania.  For my position with Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ as a Barnegat Bay Birder-in-Residence I will be conducting morning bird walks and kayak birding tours at Island Beach State Park, NJ.  I will also be a roving interpreter at IBSP and helping out with research with the marsh and beach-nesting birds in NJ.