100% of proceeds support our conservation efforts!!
by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
Each item from our auction was donated by wildlife enthusiasts and CWF supporters in New Jersey. Their donation of an item, trip, or service will directly support our mission to “Protect New Jersey’s Wildlife.” This is our largest fundraising effort of the year and will help us to make sure salamanders will cross safely on a rainy night. It will also help make sure piping plovers can successfully nest on our beaches without getting trampled by tourists. It will give a pair of ospreys a safe place to nest on our coastal saltmarshes. Lastly, it will make sure that our future generations learn why it’s important to protect wildlife and the habitat that they depend on to survive.
Win a trip to band peregrines, ospreys or bald eagles! All support our mission!!
Please check out our online silent auction to get some awesome gifts for wildlife lovers in your family this holiday season. There are plenty of items for everyone, especially for outdoor enthusiasts! We have several outdoor “excursions” which put you in touch with some of species we work so hard to protect.
by Larissa Smith, Wildlife biologist/Volunteer Manager
2013 was a good year for the New Jersey bald eagle population. A total of 148 nests were checked during the season and 119 were found to be active (with eggs). A record high of 177 young were produced. Eagle nests can now be found in all but two of New Jersey’s 21 counties.
As we wrap up the 2013 season eagle pair’s are already reported to be working on nests for the 2014 nesting season. I would like to thank all of the dedicated eagle project volunteers as well as all others involved in the eagle project.
Last year 26 nesting pairs of peregrine falcons were monitored in New Jersey. The core of the state population nests on towers (old hacking towers) and on buildings in urban areas. Each spring we assist NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program to help monitor the core of the population by performing nest checks and by installing a remote, motion-activated “spy” cam in nests to record the adults as they enter and exit nests. The footage captures the legs of peregrines. Why? Many peregrines are banded before they can fly with a federal USGS bird band and a state bi-color, alpha-numeric band. The state bi-color band can be read from the video captured by the camera. The information that these identifications provide is immensely valuable for relating peregrine origin and age to nest success, site fidelity and turnover rate in the population.
Here is a short clip from a nest site in Ocean Gate and the bird in the video was identified as a male (*8/*5, black/green) that was banded in 2005 at Sedge Island.
By Michael Davenport, Marine Species & GIS Programs Manager
The former and revised range maps for the Checkered White butterfly in New Jersey.
Just as world maps get updated with the addition of new countries (most recently South Sudan in 2011), wildlife range maps also need to be revised occasionally as new information becomes available.
There are 173 range maps available on Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s on-line field guide web pages for New Jersey’s endangered, threatened, and special concern species. Although some of these maps were created only two years ago, 23 range maps were in need of minor to major revisions since new data had become available. The range maps are based upon data within the NJ Department of Environmental Protection’s Biotics database, the official statewide database of rare wildlife. While some new data was received from biologists’ surveys, a portion of it was received from the general public who submitted Rare Wildlife Sighting Report Forms for their own personal observations.
One of the most striking range map revisions is the Checkered White Butterfly. Previously documented only at Newark Airport, this species has now also been documented in southern New Jersey. Whether or not this disjunct population has been there all these years and not reported (flying under the radar so to speak), or this represents a recent natural range expansion or introduction is unknown at this point.
Take a tour of our on-line field guide – revised maps are labeled “2012”.
By Michael Davenport, Marine Species & GIS Programs Manager
“Can you eat them?” That’s the question I get most often when I tell people that I search for rare freshwater mussels. Most people don’t realize that freshwater mussels even exist and those who do often don’t know how they are related to and different from their marine cousins. I’ve been guilty of mussel misconceptions – as a child, I had believed that all the mussel shells I saw along lake shorelines and shallow waters were discards from a clam (mussel) bake of marine shellfish.
On the left is the freshwater eastern floater mussel and on the right is the marine blue mussel. Photo by Mike Davenport.
Let’s start with mussel similarities – both freshwater and marine mussels are bivalve (two-shells connected with a hinge) mollusks (soft-bodied invertebrates). Both live in water and are filter-feeders, straining plankton (microscopic plants and animals), bacteria and other particles from the water column. And both are known as “mussels” because they somewhat resemble each other, having shells which are longer than wide. That ends the similarities.
Within the phylum Mollusca and the class Bivalvia, freshwater and marine mussels are within separate subclasses: Palaeoheterodonta = freshwater mussels; Pteriomorphia = marine mussels. Based on this separation, marine mussels are more closely related to oysters and scallops than they are to freshwater mussels.
One obvious difference between freshwater and marine mussels is that freshwater mussels live in freshwater streams, rivers, ponds and lakes while marine mussels live in salt water oceans and bays. There is a higher diversity of freshwater mussel species in New Jersey (12 native species) than marine species (~ 3) and most of the freshwater species are imperiled while the marine mussels are still plentiful.
Marine mussels taste wonderful in a garlic butter or marinara sauce while freshwater mussels taste like an old dirty shoe. Most freshwater mussels in New Jersey also have a protected status and cannot be harvested or collected. Even possessing the shell of an endangered or threatened species is illegal without a permit.
Although unpalatable to humans, freshwater mussels are prey for raccoons, otters, and crayfish. Marine mussels are prey for some birds, sea stars, and some marine snails.
Marine mussels reproduce by releasing their eggs and sperm into the water. The young then begin life as floating plankton for between one and six months before settling on the bottom as an adult. With freshwater mussels, the male releases sperm into the water which then enters the female via her incurrent siphon. The eggs are fertilized within the female’s body and the young mussels, known as glochidia, are then released into the water to attach themselves to a passing fish as a parasite. After feeding on the fish during their larval stage, they detach themselves, fall to the bottom, and begin their adult stage.
Most marine mussels (and the invasive freshwater Zebra mussel; which is not within either the Palaeoheterodonta or Pteriomorphia subclasses) use threads calls byssus to attach themselves to underwater rocks, jetties, and other structures. Freshwater mussels are more mobile, using their powerful foot to move along the substrate and bury themselves.
Freshwater mussels are also known for their longevity. Some species are known to live for over 100 years. Although some marine clams are thought to surpass the century mark, marine mussel likely do not.
For more information about New Jersey’s freshwater mussels, please visit the links below:
By Michael Davenport, Marine Species & GIS Programs Manager
Conserve Wildlife Foundation Intern, Nelson Melendez, and I recently had an opportunity to assist Endangered & Nongame Species Program Biologist Sharon Petzinger in her research on golden-winged warblers, a species just added to the state’s list of Endangered species this year. We were banding males which had been observed previously and had already claimed breeding territories. They were being banded in order to obtain data regarding their distribution and habitat use, as well as other life history information.
Only males were being targeted for banding. Males are territorial during the breeding season and do not tolerate the presence of other male golden-winged warblers. Therefore, in order to catch a male, we would use their own territorial instincts to lure them into a mist net (a mist net looks a little like a volley ball net with much finer netting which becomes invisible to birds if set-up properly).
Once a mist net was set-up near a known golden-winged’s territory, Sharon used a custom-painted “toy” bird to play the role of an unwelcome male visitor. She also used a call play-back, a recording of a male golden-winged’s song. The song would lure the male near the net, and the decoy should bring him right into the net.
We went to several locations in northwest New Jersey where golden-winged warblers had been observed earlier in the year to set-up the mist net. On this particular day, however, luck was not with us for no golden-winged warblers were caught. Several other species were captured however, such as a veery, chestnut-sided warbler, and a Brewster’s warbler. The Brewster’s warbler is actually a hybrid of a golden-winged warbler and a blue-winged warbler. Another hybrid form between those two species is known as Lawrence’s warbler.
CWF Intern, Nelson Melendez, holding a chestnut-sided warbler. Photo by Mike Davenport.
The veery and chestnut-sided warbler were released from the net unharmed. Before the Brewster’s was released, a small aluminum band was placed on its leg and measurements such as wing length and weight were taken.
Warblers are often an overlooked group of birds by some birdwatchers due to their small size and relative difficulty in observing. They are stunningly beautiful however, which becomes apparent when you have the opportunity to view them up-close. They are a very diverse species group with a variety of interesting life histories. There is currently one species (the golden-winged) listed as Endangered in the state and 11 additional species listed as Special Concern. To learn more about them, please visit our on-line field guide links below.
By Michael Davenport, Marine Species & GIS Programs Manager
New Jersey’s list of endangered and threatened species increases to 84 this week with the addition of the Atlantic sturgeon. It is the second fish, along with the shortnose sturgeon, on that list.
After a lengthy review process, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) listed the Atlantic sturgeon as Endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act. Species which occur in New Jersey and are listed as Endangered on the federal level, automatically become listed as Endangered at the state level as well.
Sturgeon are often referred to as “living fossils” because they are among the oldest groups of bony fishes and have retained primitive characteristics. Like the shortnose sturgeon, Atlantic sturgeon are slow-growing, long-lived fish which mature late in life. Both species have been overfished both for the eggs and their flesh and their populations have yet to recover. Despite the current ban on their capture, they continue to face threats due to unintentional catch (bycatch), pollution, dredging of critical habitat, and boat strikes.
While both species of sturgeon inhabit the Delaware and Hudson rivers, the Atlantic sturgeon also occurs in marine waters with Delaware and Raritan bays and along New Jersey’s Atlantic coast. To learn more about this species, please visit our on-line field guide page.
Bald eagles are beautiful birds so it only makes sense that people want to get a closer look at them. But often people don’t realize that by innocently stopping to look at an eagle nest they are putting the eggs or young in jeopardy. As the New Jersey eagle population increases eagles are starting to nest in closer proximity to humans and human activity. Any activity that causes the eagles to change their normal behavior is “disturbance.” People walking too close to the nest to get a closer look or take photos will cause the birds to get off the eggs or leave the young unattended. This leaves the eggs or young exposed to the elements and predators. The safe distance for viewing is at least 1,000’ from the nest site. If the birds are looking at you then you are too close.
The best way to see what goes on at an eagle’s nest without the chance of disturbing the birds is to watch them online. The Duke Farms eagle nest site has had a camera streaming the picture since 2008. This provides an up close and personal view that you cannot see from the ground. The Duke Farms eagle cam should be streaming live in the next few weeks. To view the eagle cam go to www.conservewildlifenj.org
If you have any questions about eagles or their nests or would like to report a nesting pair, please contact Larissa Smith.
Figure 1: A diagram of how the hydraulic fracturing process works to extract natural gas
Many residents of New Jersey may have heard about hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus Shale and the potential ecological impacts to the Delaware River Basin. The following provides an overview of the process of hydraulic fracturing and impacts to our natural resources in New Jersey.
The Marcellus Shale is sedimentary rock buried thousands of feet under the ground. It extends from upstate New York south through Pennsylvania and to West Virginia and west to parts of Ohio. The natural gas in the shale is trapped in tiny spaces and fissures within the rock.
Hydraulic fracturing or fracking uses high-pressure pumps to inject a mix of water, sand, and chemicals into drilled wells that will fracture the shale rock to open cracks and release natural gas (Figure 1). A well can be repeatedly fracked and each gas field incorporates many wells. The process takes an enormous amount of water using an average of 4.5 million gallons of water to frack a well and a well can potentially be fracked up to 18 times. Many chemicals are used in this process, some of which are known to be toxic and known carcinogens (e.g. benzene, glycol ethers). Some chemicals are unknown because they are still considered proprietary by the industry. Many of the chemicals cannot biodegrade so if released into the air or water they are there to stay. Continue reading “Fracking in the Delaware River Basin”
2011 was a great year for bald eagles in NJ. This season a record high of 118 chicks fledged from nests throughout New Jersey. A total of 111 eagle pairs were monitored of these 95 were active which means that they laid eggs. Seventy-one of these were successful in producing the 118 fledges. This is especially good news after 2010’s less than stellar nesting season where only 69 young chicks fledged.
The success of the NJ Bald Eagle Project is directly due to the dedicated volunteers. Every eagle nest that can be viewed is monitored by a volunteer/s. Volunteers report on important dates such as incubation, hatching and fledging. They also help to protect the nest by reporting disturbance and educating the public about eagles. We can’t thank our eagle project volunteers enough for all the time and energy which they put into this project.
More details on the the 2011 nesting season will be available later this year in the 2011 NJ Bald Eagle Project report.
