The male eaglet was fitted with the transmitter in July 2011. In September 2011, the male flew as far west as Harrisburg, PA, and in January 2012 spent a few days in the upper Chesapeake Bay in Maryland. After that he spent the majority of his time in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania.
In early January, 2013, biologists became concerned when the signal from the transmitter was not moving. A team of biologists from the ENSP’s Clinton office went out to search the area but were not able to locate the bird. Another attempt was made on January 18th and the bird was found dead in the shoulder of the highway. The carcass was saved for later examination to determine the cause of death, though we suspect it was struck by a vehicle. The transmitter was still attached to the bird, and it will be refurbished and placed on another eaglet this nesting season.
So far, two out of the three eaglets outfitted with transmitters have not survived. Juvenile eagles have a high rate of mortality as they learn to live on their own and aren’t yet the most skilled hunters or fliers. We are learning a lot about these young eagles and their habitat choices and migratory movements. Unfortunately, we are also learning that they face many perils in the wild, as we have seen with the first eagle infected with West Nile virus, and the second struck by a vehicle.
In May, 2012, a transmitter was placed on the largest of three eaglets in the Merrill Creek nest. She fledged in July and remained in the nest area until September 10, when she took a quick flight south. She continues to be tracked around the southern tip of the Delmarva Peninsula in coastal Virginia, a favorite wintering area for many immature eagles. To follow her movements (and to see the movements of the other eagles) go to: http://www.merrillcreek.com/eagletracking.html.
Since Sandy slammed into the coast of New Jersey we have been actively surveying damage to habitat that wildlife need to survive. Ospreys are currently on their wintering grounds in N. South America but their many nesting platforms were right in the middle of the high winds and strong storm surge from Sandy. For the most part, the majority of the platforms weathered the storm. Some of the old, small, and weak platforms were carried away with the surge (like this old duck blind on Herring Island on N. Barnegat Bay).
Ospreys mate for life and have a high level of site fidelity, so the nesting pair (if they survive the wintering season) will return to the same nest, and do so year after year. For the platforms that were occupied and washed away, we aren’t sitting around waiting for issues to arise when ospreys return to their nest sites next March. Since Sandy hit on October 29th we have already installed 5 new nesting platforms. Two platforms were installed on December 1st on Herring Island, which is right in the middle of the area where Sandy had devastating effects on the shoreline. The platforms were built before the storm by Point Pleasant resident Tom Vannostrand. The new platforms were installed to replace an old duck blind that was damaged late last year (possibly from Irene) and washed away by Sandy. When the pair of ospreys returned to nest on the blind this year they found that their nesting structure was damaged and attempted to build a nest on a nearby home. Long story short, the homeowners weren’t so happy and had the nest removed by USDA.
You can help us build and replace other platforms damaged by Sandy. On January 19th, from 10-3pm we are hosting a volunteer build day to construct 20 nesting platforms.
Post-storm surveys and reports from public equal a sigh of relief!
by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
No doubt the effects of superstorm Sandy will be felt for a long time, especially to residents of coastal areas who experienced flooding with the associated storm surge. During the past two hurricanes, Irene last August and now Sandy, I was really worried that a lot of osprey nesting platforms would get damaged or lost during the storms. Luckily my worries didn’t become reality! So far most nesting platforms are still standing strong despite a 15′ storm surge with sustained winds of at least 70-80mph. I’ve heard of a few structures that have fallen down. Most were probably ones that were older structures that were constructed poorly or installed too close to the edge on the saltmarsh. Over the next couple weeks we’re planning on getting out to other colonies to survey for damage caused by Sandy.
When people first hear the word CAMP they might think of going out in the woods and setting up a tent, but CWF’s CAMP project is all about monitoring New Jersey’s amphibian population. CAMP stands for the Calling Amphibian Monitoring Project.
In 2012 33 volunteers participated and surveyed a total of 33 routes out of 63. Volunteers conduct roadside surveys (after dusk) for calling amphibians along designated routes throughout the state. Each 15-mile route is surveyed three times during the spring. Each route has 10 stops, where volunteers stop, listen and record all frog and toad calls for 5 minutes.
In 2012 15 out of the 16 New Jersey amphibian species were detected. The only species not detected was the Eastern Spadefoot. Northern Spring Peepers were the most common species detected on 31 of the routes while Green Frogs were detected on 22 routes. Both the American Bullfrog and Southern Leopard Frog were heard on 16 of the routes.
In NJ there are four frog and toad species of conservation concern; the Southern gray Treefrog is a state endangered species, the Pine Barrens Treefrog is a state threatened species, and the Carpenter Frog and Fowler’s Toad are both special concern species. The Southern Gray Treefrog was detected on 2 of the CAMP route, the Pine Barren Treefrog on 3 of the routes, the Fowler’s Toad on 13 of the routes and the Carpenter Frog on 7 of the routes.
CAMP data is entered into the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP) database housed by the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center. All of the occurrence data for these species is extracted from the NAAMP database, quality checked for validity, and entered into the Biotics database by CWF & ENSP staff. These data will then be used in future versions of the Landscape Project maps. These maps are used by planners in various state, county, municipal and private agencies to avoid conflict with critical wildlife habitat.
Thank you to all CAMP volunteers!
WOULD YOU LIKE TO HELP IN 2013?
Twenty-five routes are available for the 2013 season
For more information on volunteering e-mail: Larissa.Smith@conservewildlifenj.org
In 2012 a new record high of 135 eagle pairs were monitored during the nesting season. One hundred and nineteen of those were active which means they laid eggs. A total of 165 young were produced this year and fledged (left the nest). That is 46 more than 2011’s 119 young produced. Twenty-seven new eagle pairs were found this season, 15 in the south, 2 in central and 10 in northern NJ. While all of these numbers are good news for NJ eagles they still need protection. The two major threats that bald eagles in NJ face today are disturbance and habitat loss.
The NJ Bald Eagle Project has a dedicated group of volunteers who monitor nests throughout New Jersey. They help to prevent disturbance at nest sites by educating the public about eagles. The success of the eagle project is directly related to these wonderful volunteers.
Since 2009, we’ve been active in helping to restore wildlife habitat to a former golf course in lower Cape May County. In place of the large lodge on the site we are building a “Backyard Habitat Demonstration Site.” It will feature several different habitat treatments that homeowners can use to provide habitat for wildlife in their own backyards. It includes the creation of scrub-shrub habitat, forested habitat, nectar producing plants, wildflower meadows, a pond, and a brush pile.
The site was designed by landscape designer Jeanne Marcucci with greenjean gardens LLC. Last week the site was prepped by NJ Fish & Wildlife. After the site was plowed we laid out paths that run throughout the site. Next compost will be spread to some areas (wildflower beds) and plants will be delivered on October 9th. The team at Planet Earth Landscaping will be assisting us the the compost spreading and planting.
Volunteers are needed to help plant the many native plants that were ordered on October 10-11th from 10-2pm each day. For more information or to volunteer contact Ben Wurst.
The site where 2,700 native trees, shrubs, wildflowers, and grasses will be planted for wildlife near Villas, NJ.
LOOKING FOR HELP FROM BIRDWATCHERS TO FILL-IN DATA GAPS
By Michael Davenport, Marine Species & GIS Programs Manager
Young barn owls. Photo by MacKenzie Hall.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation staff work with the New Jersey Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) to manage and populate the state’s official database of rare wildlife, known as Biotics. Currently, this database contains over 35,000 animal and plant records within New Jersey. ENSP and CWF currently collect and enter data for the state’s 173 endangered, threatened, and special concern species.
There are several species of birds for which more observation data would be useful; and it’s likely that birdwatchers or other nature watchers may have the data needed. Most good birdwatchers keep logs of what they’ve observed, when, and where. It would be helpful if anyone with detailed observation data for the species listed at the end of this blog could submit their data for potential inclusion in the Biotics database.
To submit your observation data, please complete a Rare Wildlife Sighting Report Form. The form is available on ENSP’s website for download as well as instructions for completing the form (a map must be attached when submitted). In addition to the species listed below, please feel free to submit one or more forms for any of the state’s endangered, threatened, or special concern species. A complete list of all of the species tracked by the state can be downloaded here.
If you have a large amount of data to submit, please contact Mike Davenport of Conserve Wildlife Foundation at (609) 292-3795 – alternative data submission options may be available (such as submitting Excel spreadsheets or GIS files).
Last week we successfully installed an osprey nesting platform on the Manasquan Reservoir. The reservoir supplies water to residents of Monmouth County and can supply up to 30 million gallons of water a day. It’s also home to a variety of wildlife, such as bald eagles, osprey, waterfowl, freshwater mussels, and many other species. Since it’s creation in the early 1990s the many snags offered potential nest sites for ospreys; however, today many of the snags are falling down. The last nest site for ospreys broke in the winter of 2010-11. It was near the environmental center at the reservoir and offered visitors a close view of their nest and reproductive cycle. Since the nest tree broke no pairs have nested on the reservoir. Continue reading “Photo from the Field”
Kristin prepares to release the injured terrapin her Dad found on Rt. 72. Photo courtesy Kristin Ryerson
“What did you do this summer?” was a question I was frequently asked by family, friends and classmates when I recently returned to college this fall. Well, where to begin! Ben Wurst, CWF’s Habitat Program Manager, set a goal this summer to lower the number of road killed Northern Diamondback Terrapins on Great Bay Boulevard in Tuckerton, NJ. In previous studies, 50 terrapins could be killed in one nesting season—the main cause? People. Careless drivers who are either speeding or simply oblivious to the many yellow signs warning them of crossing nesting terrapins and the fact that they are in the middle of an extremely vital wildlife refuge. So, this summer, I had the privilege of being the Great Bay Terrapin Project’s Intern, and my job was to help save nesting terrapins crossing the road and to take valuable data on those I saw. Ben gave me some equipment and the knowledge I would need when working on the road. Through road patrols, educating the public, maintaining the previously installed barrier fencing, painting road signs and data collection, I learned more than I had imagined and had an amazing experience.
Marine debris (specifically plastics) have become a serious problem in coastal areas throughout the world, especially in the Pacific Ocean where gyres create large floating “garbage patches.” I work out on the back bays and salt marshes throughout the coastal region of New Jersey as I help to monitor and manage ospreys and their nesting platforms. Every time I’m out I encounter trash. Most of it accumulates along the wrack line on the higher portions of the marsh where storm surges, high winds, and during spring tides (during full and new moon phases) push it onto the marsh. This debris then makes its way into the nests of ospreys because this is where they collect most of their nesting material.
