Tag: 2016

A Closer Look at Cutting-Edge Research on the Multi-Country, Migratory Life-Cycle of GWWA

by Kelly Triece, Private Lands Biologist

While in Honduras this February 2016, I had the opportunity to meet researchers studying the Golden-winged Warbler (GWWA) in their wintering habitat. The GWWA is Neotropical Migrant songbird that breeds in New Jersey, but migrates south for the winter. Golden-winged Warblers migrate south in September, mainly through a corridor of states east of the Mississippi River and west of the Appalachians. Their peak return migration to the Upper Mid-west and Appalachians, including New Jersey, occurs in late April where they find a mate, breed and rear their young.

 

This neo-tropical songbird is a species of special conservation concern in the U.S. and endangered in New Jersey, experiencing population declines due to loss of young forest habitat on their breeding grounds, habitat loss on their wintering grounds and hybridization with the Blue-winged Warbler (BWWA). The GWWA has experienced one of the steepest population declines of any songbird species in North America. The population size of the GWWA has decreased by an average of 2.6% every year, according to the USGS Breeding Bird Survey, since the survey began in 1966.  In particular, the Appalachian populations are now approaching a rate of -9% per year. Due to the difficulty of tracking birds over large distances, the effects of their multi-country, migratory life-cycle are poorly understood.

 

While many songbirds, migrate thousands of miles every winter, most research has focused on their breeding habitat in North America. Recently, researchers have begun exploring and understanding the importance of conserving the entire life-cycle of migratory birds or any wildlife species. Ruth Bennett, a Ph.D student at Cornell University is one such scientist. Ruth and collaborators at the American Bird Conservancy and Indiana University of Pennsylvania are linking breeding and non-breeding Golden-winged Warbler populations through geolocator technology. Ruth is also studying how changes in land use that lead to habitat loss on the wintering grounds of the GWWA are linked to population declines, with support from the US Fish and Wildlife Service Region 3.

 

Ruth Bennett, P.h.D. student, aims to connect the wintering habitat of the GWWA and its breeding habitat through her research in Central America. Between November 1, 2015 and March 15, 2016, Ruth and collaborators deployed geolocators on 145 GWWA and 35 BWWA at 9 sites from Belize through Panama, including Honduras. She will then recapture the individuals next winter, 2016-2017. These geolocators supply location data for up to 12 months, giving insight into the full life-cycle of the Golden-winged Warbler and closely-related Blue-winged warblers (BWWA). Through this research she will be able to establish the migratory pathways for all recaptured individuals. She will be able to compare how habitat loss on their wintering grounds and land use changes correlate with population trends described on the breeding grounds.

 

This will be one of the first geolocator studies to establish the connectivity of a migratory species from a winter grounds origin.  This research is important, because it creates a connection between non-profit, local and state governments in the United States and those in Latin America. This may increase funding opportunities and increase the efficiency of conservation action taken on the winter grounds. This research is especially important, as it forms one of the core informational components of the Golden-winged Warbler Non-breeding Season Conservation Plan (currently in review, soon to be available at gwwa.org). The conservation plan provides a regional strategy for conserving Golden-winged Warbler wintering habitat based on the wintering ecology of this species. The plan furthermore outlines conservation projects and budgets within high priority wintering focal areas that have been developed by Latin American partners. Ongoing research will be critical to ensure that these conservation actions effectively conserve the non-breeding habitat of this declining species.

 

Ruth has a small crew of local biologists who assist in her research in Latin America. Through her research in Honduras and Central America, Ruth has been able to connect with many local biologists and conservationists. It was great to meet Ruth in Honduras and learn about her research, which so important to New Jersey, but taking place so far away.

 

Our next Honduras blog, will feature our time with Ruth at the Feria de Aves Migratorias (Migratory Bird Festival) at the Universidad de las Agricultureal (Agriculture University) in Olancho, Honduras!

 

Learn More:

• “Bird Friendly” Brew: Honduran Shade-Grown Coffee
• CWF Headed to Honduras to Study Golden-winged Warbler
• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s online field guide: Golden-winged Warbler

 

Kelly Triece is the Private Lands Biologist for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

CWF Biologist Larissa Smith Looking for Data from EagleCam Viewers

by Lindsay McNamara, Communications Manager

Conserve Wildlife Foundation eagle biologist Larissa Smith has launched a new citizen science project in an effort to learn more about New Jersey’s eagles. We know that many teachers, students and bird lovers watch the wildly popular Duke Farms EagleCam, and now those viewers can help Larissa gather data by participating in the Eagle Food Observation Project.

 

Jim Wright — author of the popular posts about the eagles for Duke Farms’ “Behind the Stone Walls” blog, as well as, “The Bird Watcher” column for The Record — interviewed Larissa Smith in the most recent post on Duke Farms’ blog. In this interview, Larissa explains her latest citizen science project to learn more about the Duke Farms eaglets’ diet.

 

Learn More:

• An Interview with Eagle Expert Larissa Smith of CWF
• You Can Participate: Eagle Food Observations
• Help Larissa collect data! Download the Duke Farms Eagle Nest Prey Datasheet
• Duke Farms’ EagleCam

 

Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Manager for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

Enhancing public access to Barnegat Bay and its inhabitants!

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

This past Saturday we “unveiled” the new Nature Trail at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts & Sciences (LBIF). At the event we also conducted our first native plant sale, with lots of wildlife friendly plants, including milkweed, goldenrod, joe pye weed, bayberry, red cedar and many others. I lead guided tours along the trail to point out key features and work that we’ve done at LBIF. Our first stop was to the roof top of the Science Building, which is one of my favorite views. It provided visitors an opportunity to see what is the core foundation for our work, Barnegat Bay and some of the wildlife that we work tirelessly to protect and monitor: ospreys and northern diamondback terrapins, in particular.

Continue reading “Unveiling the Nature Trail at LBIF”

Tracking Young Bald Eagle “Nacote” throughout the Garden State

by Larissa Smith, wildlife biologist

On April 8th, Kelly Hunt was photographing four bald eagles at Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge (NWR), two adult birds and two immature birds. When she got home and looked at the photos she realized that one of the young birds was banded and had a transmitter. It was “Nacote” back in his home area. “Nacote” was banded and outfitted with a transmitter on May 6, 2014 at the Galloway nest. Since then we have been tracking his movements on the CWF website. These photos give a great look at what the plumage of a bald eagle going into its third year looks like. You’ll also notice that the eyes and bill haven’t yet turned yellow.

 

 

Learn More:

• Tracking New Jersey’s Bald Eagles
• New Jersey Wildlife Telemetry Study Tracks Bald Eagles on Journeys Across Hemisphere

 

Larissa Smith is a wildlife biologist for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

‘Jersey Girl’ and Her Mate Rebuild Nest for the 2016 Nesting Season

by Larissa Smith, wildlife biologist

We continue to follow the story of “Jersey Girl” B-64. She was banded in Hopewell, Cumberland County, New Jersey in 2004 and this is the fifth season her and her mate have nested in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. In 2015 after successfully raising three chicks, their nest collapsed due to rain and wind at the end of June, but luckily the three chicks had already fledged.

 

Nest observer Lind Oughton reported, “Well our great ‘Jersey Girl’ and mate have done it again. They built a brand new nest in the same tree but about 15 feet lower that the first nest. It is much more secure where it is now.” She reported incubation on February 12th and hatching around March 18th. On April 1st, she saw one chick in the nest. We will continue to follow “Jersey Girl’s” story and keep you updated.

 

Learn More:

• Successful Nesting Season for “Jersey Girl”
• New Jersey Banded Eagle “Jersey Girl” Makes the News
• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Bald Eagle Project

 

Larissa Smith is a wildlife biologist for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

 

Second Annual “Shell-a-Bration” brings volunteers to strengthen coast’s resiliency and habitat

by Lindsay McNamara, Communications Manager

Today, conservation organizations leading the efforts to restore New Jersey’s Delaware Bay beaches today organized the Second Annual “Shell-a-Bration” oyster reef building volunteer event.

 

Dedicated volunteers braved the elements and worked alongside American Littoral Society and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey to establish a near-shore whelk shell bar at Moores Beach in Maurice River Township along New Jersey’s Delaware Bayshore. The shell bar was built to prevent sand loss from wind-driven waves. An approximately 200-foot oyster reef was constructed offshore to test whether the reef bars help reduce beach erosion and create calmer water for spawning horseshoe crabs.

 

“The Second Annual Shell-a-Bration truly celebrates the ecology, community, and culture of the Delaware Bayshore,” stated Captain Al Modjeski, Habitat Restoration Program Director, American Littoral Society. “It reinforces the connectivity between the natural and human-built bayshore communities through reef building and celebrates the significance of the Bay’s resources through restoration.”

“There are many strategies to defend our Delaware Bayshore, but one of the best and most productive are these oyster reefs,” stated Dr. Larry Niles, a biologist with American Littoral Society and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey. “They not only replicate a lost but important habitat on Delaware Bay — reefs once covered much of the bayshore — but they provide just enough protection to make a difference in how long our beaches persist against the unrelenting forces of nature. In a way, we are fighting nature with nature.”

 

Shorebirds, like the federally listed Red Knot, depend on an uninterrupted supply of horseshoe crab eggs when they stopover in Delaware Bay during their migration. In recent years, countless horseshoe crab eggs have been lost because of the devastating storms that swept away the beaches they depend on.

The new oyster reef will attenuate waves but still allow for horseshoe crab breeding. In existing areas where crabs can breed without interruption, like creek mouths protected by sand shoals or rock jetties, egg densities can exceed ten times the egg densities on unprotected beaches.

 

“New Jersey’s Delaware Bayshore hosts an annual wildlife spectacle of global significance – the time-honored migration of Red Knots to reach the eggs of these ancient horseshoe crabs,” said David Wheeler, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey Executive Director. “Red Knots fly to New Jersey’s Delaware Bay from as far away as Tierra del Fuego in South America to feed on horseshoe crab eggs. Volunteer projects like the Shell-a-bration help connect the people of New Jersey with these endangered shorebirds and the largest population of horseshoe crabs in the world.”

 

Last year, over 130 volunteers and veterans built the South Reeds Beach oyster at the First Annual Shell-a-Bration. Veterans Day on the Bay 2015 dedicated the South Reeds Beach oyster reef to all veterans and highlighted veteran involvement in the effort to restore New Jersey’s Delaware Bayshore. Event attendees honored their own military veterans by inscribing that special person’s name on a shell and placing that shell on “Veterans Reef.” Guests also helped study the wildlife living in this new reef with hands-on, interactive marine science activities like seining, trapping, trawling, and species identification.

Veterans Reef and the Moores Beach Oyster Reef are two of the many projects that American Littoral Society and Conserve Wildlife Foundation are working on to restore the ecology and economy of the Delaware Bayshore.

 

In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, American Littoral Society and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey worked with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife and the New Jersey Recovery Fund to remove 8,000 tons of debris and added 45,000 tons of sand to the beaches just before the annual spring arrival of the red knot in 2013.

 

Additional work after 2012 restored another mile of shoreline, including two new beaches of poor quality even before Sandy. To date, the groups have placed 85,000 cubic yards of sand and restored seven beaches along New Jersey’s Delaware Bayshore. In early 2016, groups began another phase of restoration work at Cook’s Beach and Kimble’s Beach in anticipation of the return of the horseshoe crabs and red knots in May.

 

The projects are being funded by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through their Hurricane Sandy Coastal Resiliency Grants Program, and are being developed in partnership with U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife.

 

Learn More:

• RestoreNJBayshore.org
• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Delaware Bay Restoration Work

 

Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Manager for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

Photo Captures Beautiful Eaglets of Different Sizes

by Larissa Smith, Wildlife Biologist

Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s partner biologist — Principal Zoologist with Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) — Kathy Clark checked on an eagle nest built on a structure only accessible by boat. This photograph shows the three chicks and the difference in their sizes. The youngest chick is approximately 2.5 weeks old, while the oldest is around 3.5 weeks of age.

 

Learn More:

• New Jersey’s Bald Eagle Project
• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s online field guide: Bald Eagle
• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Story Map: The Return of Bald Eagles in New Jersey

 

Larissa Smith is a wildlife biologist for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

While Studying the Golden-winged Warbler in Honduras, CWF Biologist Learned about “Bird Friendly” Coffee

by Kelly Triece, Private Lands Biologist

Did you enjoy a warm cup of coffee this morning? I know I did. Over 2.25 billion cups of coffee are consumed every day.

 

Coffee is also one of the world’s top agricultural exports in many developing countries. While I was in Honduras, with the Pennsylvania Golden-winged Warbler working group, I was given the opportunity to visit a shade grown coffee farm!

 

As I traveled across the country, I was able to enjoy many fresh cups of local Honduran coffee and learn about the importance of coffee as part of the Honduran history and local economy.

 

In 2011, Honduras became the number one coffee producer in Central America. Today, there are over 100,000 registered coffee producers in the country and over 90% of them are small producers. Coffee has become a vital part of the Honduran economy and family system, helping to generate small businesses and bring revenue to the local community.

 

In Honduras, coffee is harvested from November to March every year. Coffee is hand-picked and resembles a green or red cherry fruit when ripe. After ripening and picking, coffee must be dried and the outer coating, called the parchment, or pergamino must be removed. There are various methods of parchment removal and drying. Different drying and roasting techniques give way to differing quality, taste and aroma.

 

In its wild form, coffee is a small tree or shrub that grows in the understory of a forest. Traditionally, coffee production occurs on large farm fields, where the land is tilled and little native vegetation grows. Coffee producers often use this traditional method as a way to increase yield and fight off diseases susceptible to the plant. Recently, however, coffee producers have begun to grow shade-tolerant coffee which is grown under a forest canopy.

 

Shade-tolerant coffee production is a method which intends to incorporate the natural principles of ecology into agricultural production.  Shade tolerant or shade-grown coffee is grown under a natural forest canopy. Shade grown coffee can have multiple benefits — reducing pests, increasing pollination and creating important wildlife habitat. Shade grown coffee plantations often have increased leaf litter which reduces erosion and allows for improved water quality.

 

Through the incorporation of native trees on farms, birds and natural predators will help reduce pest insects, which in turn, helps reduce the need for pesticides. Bird diversity is often higher on shade grown coffee farms since they eat the fruit, insects and nectar in the native tree canopy. These types of farming practices have also be termed “bird friendly” coffee, because they help support local bird populations, including migratory birds that stay in Honduras during their wintering months.

 

Upon our visit to a shade-grown coffee farm, called Lenca farms in the little town of Marcala, we were greeted with a Golden-winged Warbler! Most of the farm grew coffee right under the native forest canopy. Many of the native trees, leaf litter and herbaceous plants were left intact. It was great to meet with local Honduran farmers, who are eager to create and maintain wildlife habitat on their farms. Many Hondurans recognize the value in wildlife and are willing participants in wildlife conservation.

 

Shade-grown coffee may be important as coffee continues to be a growing commodity crop worldwide. When farmers learn to grow food in conjunction with nature, not against it, the best yields and benefits for the environment can result.

 

We were very appreciate of our time a Lenca Farms, and we didn’t leave without a fresh cup right on site!

 

Check out Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center online to learn about the certification process for coffee farms called “Bird Friendly Coffee” and to learn how to buy bird friendly coffee!

 

Learn More:

• CWF Headed to Honduras to Study Golden-winged Warbler
• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s online field guide: Golden-winged Warbler

 

 

Kelly Triece is the Private Lands Biologist for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

After more than a century, fishers are returning to New Jersey

by Kendall Miller, Communications Intern

 

New Jersey’s forests lost a charismatic top predator when the fisher was extirpated nearly a century ago. Exploitation of the fisher for its pelt — coupled with excessive logging practices during the 19th and 20th centuries — caused decimated populations of this North American native across its entire range. However, through the implementation of conservation practices, this small, yet spunky forest carnivore is experiencing a comeback.

 

Despite its past disappearance from the state, the combined effects of trapping bans and nearby relocation projects (New York and Pennsylvania) are resulting in the fisher’s resurgence in New Jersey. Within the last decade, the return of fishers to New Jersey has been an exciting new possibility, with multiple reported sightings, photos caught via trail camera and anecdotal stories by the public.

 

Recently, two trappings by state officials in North Jersey, both within a mere month of one another, mark the return of fishers to the state of New Jersey, and speaks for the potential future of this species, as well as others.

 

What exactly is a fisher?

Found only in North America, fishers historically inhabited forested and semi-forested land from coast to coast, ranging from Virginia to Quebec in the east. Found in deciduous, coniferous and mixed forests, they prefer areas with dense canopy cover, and tend to avoid areas with human disturbances.

 

Also referred to as the fisher cat and Appalachian black cat, this animal looks like fluffy cat meets fox, with a wolverine-like disposition. However, it is neither a feline nor does it catch fish. The fisher (Martes pennanti) is a member of the Mustelidae family, which includes otters, badgers, martens, ferrets, minks, wolverines and more.

 

The fisher is a long bodied and short legged animal, with a bushy tail that makes up a third of its total body length. There is a substantial size sexual dimorphism between males and females. Males weigh 8-13 pounds and reach lengths between 35-47 inches. Females weigh between 3 and 7 pounds and are between 30-37 inches long. Males have grizzled fur due to blonde guard hairs on their neck and shoulders, while females are a uniform chocolate brown.

 

A generalist carnivore species, a fisher will eat anything it can catch — typically small- to medium-sized mammals and birds. Carrion and some nuts and fruits also make up a portion of its diet. They are known to eliminate weak or injured deer, especially in times of heavy snow pack.

 

While its diet may be general, one part is very special: this is the only predator of porcupines in the country. The prickly defenses of the porcupine protect it against almost all predators except the fisher, who has developed a special way of hunting its prey. It will chase a porcupine up a tree until it can go no further and falls. Then, it will make a head-first descent down the tree with the help of semi-retractable claws and feet that can turn nearly 180 degrees. The fall stuns the porcupine, allowing the fisher to access the unprotected underside.

 

These predators share prey with coyotes, bobcats, foxes and even raptors, creating competition with these species. Fishers have been known to travel hundreds of miles to meet their dietary needs, able to cross water if need be.

 

They live a solitary life-style, with home ranges between 1-3 square miles, seldom overlapping, which suggests territoriality. They are found to be active at any point during the day or night. Fishers make homes in dens year round, using a variety of forest resources such as tree hollows, stumps, debris piles, natural crevices and underground tunnels. Females with litters will use tree hollows that are far off the ground.

 

Fishers themselves have no natural enemies and few disease occurrences. Trapping by humans and vehicle collisions likely account for the majority of deaths throughout their range.

 

Learn More:

• New Jersey Herald: Another super-rare fisher found in Warren County
• Conserve Wildlife Foundation Species Spotlight: Fisher

 

Kendall Miller is the Communications Intern for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

Reflections Three Years into the Shorebird Sister School Network Program

by Stephanie Egger, Wildlife Biologist

As we begin to wrap up our third year of the Shorebird Sister School Network, we are able to reflect on how far we have come in just a short time. In our first year, we started with just one class at Amy Roberts Primary School (Green Turtle Cay, Abaco, The Bahamas), led by teacher Jan Russell, which was paired up with a class at Ocean City Intermediate School (Ocean City, New Jersey), led by teacher Deb Rosander. We presented the students with information on the full life cycle of the Piping Plover, commonly referred to as “our birds” in New Jersey. Really they are residents of The Bahamas, spending over half their life on the warm sandy beaches surrounded by turquoise water. Piping Plovers in The Bahamas,  in most cases, see less disturbance than what is experienced by plovers on their breeding grounds in the United States and Canada.

 

We not only focus on breeding, migration, and wintering of the plovers, but the importance of their habitat to a suite of species. In The Bahamas, the tidal flats used by the Piping Plovers are of huge importance to the ecological value and economy of The Bahamas, as the flats are also used by bonefish, conch, and shark species. We had both classes conduct similar projects — interpretive signs placed on the breeding and wintering grounds — using their writing skills and original artwork. The students also participated in field trips where they learned how to use spotting scopes and binoculars to find and identify shorebirds.

Three years later, we still are teaching our core lessons, but have vastly expanded on the curriculum and projects, as well as extending the program onto another island, Eleuthera, which is just south of Abaco. We now are working with Cherokee Primary in the settlement of Cherokee Sound (Abaco) and Deep Creek Primary (Deep Creek, Eleuthera). We have continued working for the last three years with Amy Roberts Primary School and Ocean City Intermediate School. Back in the United States, we have added a second class from Ocean City, as well as the Leeds Avenue Elementary School Environmental Club (Pleasantville, New Jersey) led by Mary Lenahan. We’ve added new components to the curriculum such as bird anatomy, foraging differences between species of shorebirds, invasive species, habitat assessments (including macroinvertebrates) and marine debris.

 

We continue to implement interpretive signs as a project with classes that are in their first year of the program, but have come up with new and exciting projects to keep the students (and teachers) motivated and engaged to continue participating as a sister school. For example, during the second year we worked with Amy Roberts, we removed 1,500 Australian pine (Casuarina spp.) from Green Turtle Cay as it degrades the habitat for piping plovers and other species. We created a Piping Plover activity book complete with crossword puzzles, word searches, and mapping activities designed mainly by the students at Ocean City Intermediate School, Leeds Avenue Elementary School, and Amy Roberts Primary School. Because Cherokee Primary and Deep Creek Primary are new to the program this year we hope to have their students create interpretive signs, while the second and third year students in the Program may develop PSA-type videos this year and pen pal letters to their respective sister schools in the United States.

 

Throughout the year, each class receives one or two classroom lessons and a field trip. We keep busy during the few short weeks we have in The Bahamas; coordinating the field trips, conducting surveys, presentations, and working to continue to build and strengthen our existing relationships with partners, such as Friends of the Environment and local citizen scientists. This year, we’ve reached over 120 students in the program, both from the Bahamas and in the United States.

 

One of the most rewarding aspects of the Shorebird Sister School Network is that we are able to provide lessons to the some of the same children throughout multiple years in the program, which strengthens the conservation messages we are trying to instill in the upcoming generations. We hope to foster a greater appreciation for wildlife, especially for the Piping Plover and its habitat, and inspire students to help now — and later on in their lives as adults — ensure the recovery and survival of the bird for years to come.

 

Learn More:

• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Online Field Guide: Piping Plover
• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Beach Nesting Bird Project

 

Stephanie Egger is a wildlife biologist for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.