Tag: endangered species

Collecting and transferring peregrine falcons to help recovery efforts in West Virginia

By Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

In early June, I assisted Kathy Clark, a zoologist with the Endangered and Nongame Species Program to help collect and transfer peregrine falcon nestlings. The nestlings are being collected to help the recovery of peregrines in New River Gorge National River, West Virginia. The goal of the project is to help promote the recovery of peregrine falcons throughout the Appalachian Mountain range.

The project began in 2006. One fledgling that was found on the ground near the Walt Whitman Bridge New Jersey was contributed to the project. Since then, New Jersey has sent over 30 peregrine nestlings to the recovery project. The falcons are raised at a mountain hack site near Beckley, West Virginia inside New River Gorge.

Peregrine falcons are listed as endangered in New Jersey. However, over the past few years the population has done very well. Around 20 pairs occur in the state. In West Virginia, they are very rare. Only one nesting pair was found in 2009.

On Wednesday, nine peregrine nestlings were collected at different locations throughout New Jersey. Coordination of these collections can be dangerous. It also requires a lot a planning and preparation. We have to climb on bridges, ledges, and tall towers and carefully collect the young. ENSP and CWF biologists collected falcons from the Walt Whitman & Burlington-Bristol Bridge, The Hilton in AC, and several old hacking/nesting towers along the Atlantic coast.

The young were transported to Tri-State Bird Rescue in Delaware. From there they were driven by volunteers to West Virginia where they will be placed in the hacking tower.

“Hacking is the process of placing young falcons in a structure and caring for the birds in a manner that minimizes human exposure until they are mature enough to fly,” explained Matt Varner, NPS wildlife biologist. “The artificial aerie or hack box simulates nesting and feeding conditions on steep rock cliffs – prey is dropped into the box through a tube so the birds don’t see or associate people with the food. This cage-like structure protects the birds from predators during the pre-flight period while allowing them to acclimate to and imprint on the Gorge. When they are ready to ‘fledge’ (fly), they are released from the box, but will return for occasional feedings until their hunting skills allow them to survive on their own.” (http://www.nps.gov/neri/naturescience/peregrine.htm)

• LEARN MORE
• New River Gorge, West Virginia Hacking Program

Protecting Beach Nesting birds in New Jersey

By Christopher Haxter, Seasonal Steward

Ever since I was young I knew I wanted to work with nature and wildlife.  As I grew up I learned many species were in trouble and needed our help.  Imagine my excitement when I got a job working for the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.  I was hired to monitor Hereford Inlet, between Stone Harbor and North Wildwood in Cape May County, for the migratory and breeding bird season.

My first day on the job was the day after my last college final (I just graduated from the Richard Stockton College of New Jersey).  After I met the people I would be working with for the next few months we were off to set up a predator exclosure, which is a special wire cage that protects piping plover nests from its many predators.  This is when I first got to observe a piping plover up close.  To put up a predator exclosure, we needed to temporarily cover the nest while we set up the cage.  The piping plover spent this time trying to draw us away from its nest; their defensive behavior is fascinating.  The first thing you notice is the ‘peep’, their call to distract you from the nest.  When you get closer to the nest, the piping p[lover starts exhibiting a behavior called ‘broken wing’.  The goal is to look injured to further distract a predator from their nest.  Ironically, looking for this behavior is one of the ways we use to find the nests.  After working this job for a few weeks, I have had the exciting experience of finding quite a few nests (including finding American oystercatcher nests).

Before the end of my first day I also got to see Stone Harbor Point, the location that I would be focusing on this summer.  This area is different every year, and this year it is quite large.  After enough exploring and assembling an accurate map I eventually learned the area well.  One area of concern I have for the future of the beach nesting birds at the “Point” is its history of flooding.  Hopefully the weather and tides will cooperate this summer.  This job has been an amazing experience so far; and when the eggs start hatching, I can only imagine things getting more exciting.

POSTSCRIPT: Just after I submitted this blog, the first piping plover nest hatched at the Point. Now I have the challenge of keeping tracking of three highly mobile chicks. On the downside, quite a few nests were lost to flood tides already. Looks like my job as a “beachnester” will have  its share of ups and downs.

• LEARN MORE

Monitoring Peregrine falcons in New Jersey

By Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

On May 13th, I got the chance to visit a peregrine nest site to perform a “nest check.” The purpose of the visit was to count the number of young, determine age and sex, and check for any other issues (like infestations of a wingless parasitic fly).Over the past few years, the wingless flies have caused nests to fail to produce young. Over the winter, we treated gravel at nest sites to help get the parasites in check. I only observed 3 parasites on the nestlings.

There were three nestlings at the nest site. They are approximately 17 – 20 days old. Age can be determined by the size and feather development of the young. Sex can be determined by the size of the nestlings and the length of the culmen (upper mandible or bill). It looked like there were two males and one female.

Most peregrines nesting in New Jersey are resident birds that remain near the nest site throughout the entire year. Peregrine nests, known as an aerie, have a simple depression in a gravel substrate, called a scrape. Peregrines nest in urban areas on buildings, under bridges and on old “hacking” towers along the Atlantic Coast of New Jersey.

The young are totally dependent upon their parents until they are ready to fly in approximately seven weeks after hatching. Upon fledging, or leaving the nest, the young remain dependent, to a degree, on the adults until they master their flight and hunting skills.

You can view the live interactions of a pair of peregrines at a nest site in Jersey City by tuning into our Peregrine Cam. Check it out today!

• LEARN MORE