CWF has played a major role in helping monitor breeding American oystercatchers in New Jersey ever since surveys were initiated in the state just over two decades ago in the early 2000’s. Most of the statewide effort, conducted by a variety of partners, has been focused on pairs nesting on the sandy barrier beaches of the Atlantic Coast, in conjunction with efforts there to monitor and manage other beach nesting birds, such as piping plovers and least terns. These sites are often those beaches that are highly recreated and most used by beachgoers, public beaches where these species need added protection to hatch nests and raise their young chicks.
My name is Kaiulani and I am the newest beach nesting bird crew member for CWF this year! I was super excited to get back in the field and this job offered a great opportunity to gain experience working with new birds, as well as help with the conservation efforts to protect their breeding habitats.
By Amy Kopec CWF Beach Nesting Bird Field Technician
People usually go to the beach looking for something; whether it’s shells, sea glass, or just some relaxation and better tan lines. I too am searching for something when I walk Holgate, a three and a half mile stretch of National Wildlife Refuge beach on the south end of New Jersey’s Long Beach Island. And while I do end up with a tan and some old glass bottles, that’s not really what I’m there for. What I’m actually looking for can be quite a bit harder to find.
The author spent most of the summer playing “hide and seek” trying to find these piping plover chicks. Photo courtesy of Bill Dalton.
Although estimates are hard to come by, a recent NPR segment claimed there are only about 8,000 Piping Plovers left in the world. As a designated endangered species, these beach nesting birds are given certain legal protections, and the states they are found in receive funding for research and conservation. These studies are where I come in. Over the last three summers, I have worked in two different states (Massachusetts and New Jersey) monitoring and studying Piping Plovers as they nest. These little birds are up against a lot of challenges during their breeding season–from habitat loss to flooding to predation. There is no easy solution for the recovery of this species. The variable nature of beaches from one season to the next means these birds have to be carefully monitored. And each year I seem to encounter something new while I’m searching the beach.
CWFNJ’s 2022 Edwin B. Forsythe NWR Beach Nesting Bird Field Crew. L to R: Jacob Miranda, Lexie Lawson, Amy Kopec, Erin Foley, (missing Dakota Bell).
For the past eight years, CWF has been contracted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through a cooperative agreement to provide monitoring and management of beach nesting birds at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge. The Refuge nesting sites – both the Holgate and Little Beach Island Units – provide some of the only habitat in the state closed to the public and free of human disturbance and detrimental beach management practices. The habitat at the sites is especially suitable for the state endangered piping plover as a result of optimal nesting conditions created by Superstorm Sandy and largely sustained since then through winter storms. As of the 2021 season, the Refuge sites had the highest concentration of piping plovers in the state, with Holgate having by far the most pairs (46). Furthermore, on average in recent years, Holgate has produced a higher fledgling rate than many sites in the state.
Most people are surprised to hear that American oystercatchers are present in New Jersey in the winter. They usually associate the charismatic shorebird as a breeding species here. Our state’s wintering oystercatchers, a combination of breeders from further north and our own, are at the northern extent of the Atlantic coast wintering range.
Piping plover chick feeding at the restoration-created pond. Photo courtesy of Northside Jim.
Last winter the Conserve Wildlife Foundation, in partnership with Rutgers University, the United States Fish & Wildlife Service, and New Jersey Fish & Wildlife’s Endangered and Non-Game Species Program, completed the final stages of a beach restoration project in Barnegat Light State Park.
The project, which broke ground the winter before last, aimed to create more ideal habitat for the endangered piping plover away from human disturbance at Barnegat Light’s more recreationally busy beaches. This was accomplished by removing vegetation, grading dunes to be more suitable for nesting, and creating alternative feeding sites (i.e. ephemeral pools).
Now, with the beach nesting bird season at its peak and the final stages of the project complete, we can start to assess the effectiveness of the work that has been done.
by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
NJDEP biologist measuring seabeach amaranth Photo by NJDEP
An annual plant census along New Jersey’s coastal beaches south of Sandy Hook shows a significant surge in the number of seabeach amaranth, a federally threatened and state endangered plant species, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe announced today.
Biologists with the DEP and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey counted 7,195 plants, a more than 600 percent increase from the 2018 total of 1,053 plants. Similarly, 1,591 of the plants are at Island Beach State Park, compared with 307 found there in 2018 — a more than 500 percent increase.
New Jersey has more people per square mile than any other state by far. It’s not an easy place for wildlife to survive. Yet countless wildlife species from bald eagles to bobcats are doing just that.
But what happens when you inject climate change into the mix? Superstorms and sea level rise, coastal erosion and salt water intrusion, invasive species, disrupted life cycles and wildlife disease.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation is excited to introduce the ‘State of Change’ podcast that explores how climate change is affecting wildlife in our state. Hosted by CWF executive director David Wheeler and produced by Matt Wozniak, each episode highlights a different climate change issue – and every story helps paint a portion of the big picture of our changing world.
Getting kids excited about a career in science is no walk in the park, but thanks to the Bayshore Adventure Program, it is a week at the marina.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation, the State Parks Department and the Leonardo State Marina held the Bayshore Adventure Program for 40 Monmouth County 8-11 year olds in August. The program gives kids the chance to peek into the lives of a variety of science based professionals through exciting, hands-on activities that foster exploration and discovery of the natural world.
Asbury Park students and staff pose with their “talons up” after seeing an Osprey snatch a fish from the ocean.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF), the Asbury Park mayor’s office and public schools, and New Jersey Natural Gas hosted Wildlife Wednesdays Field Experience at North Beach at the end of July. The hands-on, project-based outing taught elementary school students about Asbury Park’s rare wildlife, and how to protect and preserve the environment the kids – and wildlife- call home.
