Loyal Eagle Project Volunteer Contributes to Conservation for over Two Decades
by Dr. Larry Niles, LJ Niles Associates LLC
Dr. Erica Miller and Elmer Clegg.
In the early days of the Bald Eagle project, when we really didn’t know whether the species could be restored back to New Jersey, there were a few people that offered their help without reservation to help the birds. Elmer Clegg and his wife Bunny were two and among the most dedicated. Elmer died May 20th at 79 years old. He was a loyal eagle volunteer for more than two decades.
To understand Elmer and Bunny’s contribution its important to remember the circumstances in which the eagles found themselves. The historic population of eagles, about 22 in 1950 but probably much higher in history, had been whittled down to just one unproductive pair by 1981. Biologists at the newly formed Endangered Species Program, including me, worked hard to restore the Delaware Bayshore population with new projects, like hacking young birds into the wild. By the early 2000’s, we had new nests but in places that had not known eagles for decades. In many places they were unwelcome because they thwarted sprawl development or short sighted resource use. They had to be defended, but then we couldn’t afford staff.
Dr. Erica Miller and Elmer and Bunny Clegg.
Into that breach stood Elmer and Bunny and others like them, John and Sheryl Healy and Red and Mary Jane Horner. They were stalwart defenders of wildlife that brooked no insult to the birds by watching the nest throughout the nesting period until the young birds fledged. It was rewarding but difficult work trying to persuade farmers, businessmen, irate suburbanites and many others that the eagles deserved to be where they were. A few times our conservation officers had to step in, or DEP had to drop the regulatory hammer, but mostly it was the calm persuasion of people, like Elmer, who’s true love for these birds spoke convincingly to those against the bird.
Elmer helped me understand that the future of wildlife doesn’t lie in the agencies or their staff, but in the hearts of people who care for wildlife. People like Elmer deserve to return to this earth as the species they loved so much.
Dr. Larry Niles has led conservation efforts for over 30 years.
CWF’s Shorebird Stewards Protect Delaware Bay Shorebirds and Educate the Public
by Larissa Smith, wildlife biologist
Shorebirds at Reed’s Beach Photo by Bob Bocci
This shorebird season, twenty-one stewards helped to patrol the closed shorebird beaches in Cape May and Cumberland Counties. Stewards not only make sure that no one is entering the closed areas but also educate beach goers about the shorebirds and horseshoe crabs.
Thank you to all Shorebird Stewards!
Steward Bob Bocci at Fortescue Photo by M. TribulskiStewards Dan & Cheryl Alexander at Cook’s Beach
Horseshoe crabs may be one of the most unusual animals in the world, but they’re also one of the most extraordinary. They’ve been around for hundreds of millions of years, and we’re only now starting to understand just how important they are – not just to the natural world, but also to the world of medicine. Discover the real value of horseshoe crabs, found throughout New Jersey’s Hidden Coast – the Delaware Bayshore.
A new episode of our video series “New Jersey’s Hidden Coast” will air every two weeks throughout the summer! Catch a glimpse of the bay, the horseshoe crab at the center of the bay’s system, and the incredible relationship between horseshoe crabs and migratory birds, like the red knot. We will reveal the real value of horseshoe crabs, the challenges to the ecosystem, and the potential for a thriving regional economy along the Bayshore. We will show Hurricane Sandy as a catalyst for decisive action and the work being done to rebuild the area for both people and wildlife.
Over the next several weeks, we will explore the use of “living shorelines” instead of bulkheads and the central importance of marshes to the marine ecosystem. We will discover the on-the-ground, grassroots efforts of the community to build oyster reefs alongside veterans. And we will examine the future of the Bay and the work that needs to be done to preserve our conservation successes thus far.
One in a Series of Updates on the 20th Year of the Delaware Bay Shorebird Project
by Dr. Larry Niles, LJ Niles Associates LLC
On our final effort to trap shorebirds on Delaware Bay, we had the remarkable opportunity to watch sanderling and ruddy turnstones lift off for the Arctic. We first saw them feeding on the wave-tossed shoreline within the protected area in Villas; 1500 birds weaving as a single thread 5 deep with the contours of the wave, acting like a flying flock on the ground. Then a disturbance, a crow flying low down the shoreline and 2000 birds fill the sky. Most settled again but one group of about 300 flew more with greater determination than the rest. Still low but gaining altitude the flock wavered, and a mutinous band peeled away deciding against the departure returned to the safety and abundant crab eggs on the shore just north of us. The other 150 grew more determined, more structured and rose slowly as they powered their way north. Then they disappeared into the Northern sky.
A flock of shorebirds seen from Reeds Beach venture into the northern horizon for a nonstop flight to the Canadian Arctic.
Shorebirds departing Delaware Bay for their Arctic home, 2500 miles away stand as one of the most awe-inspiring and rewarding parts of our stopover project. They usually start in the early evening under a blue sky drenched with the glow of the setting sun and continue until near dark. They almost always go with a favorable southerly breeze and at least a clear sky in the north. Thousands of all the species after getting fat on the Bay’s bounty of horseshoe crab eggs – red knots, ruddy turnstones, sanderling, semipalmated sandpipers, short-billed dowitchers and dunlin – lift slowly as they fly along the Cape May peninsula coast towards Dennisville and beyond.
Led by Clive Minton, the team counts the number of flocks and flock size from our porch on Reeds Beach. This is only an index, as birds leave after daylight and from other places in the bay.
They are dangerously overloaded with fat. Two birds highlighted the importance of this. On May 30 we caught 97 knots, 168 sanderlings and 75 ruddy turnstones. Among each species were individuals of extraordinary weight. One bird weighed 242 grams, fully 120 grams higher than the fat free weight! They cart this load, like a plane with extra gas tanks, to fly two days to the Arctic islands of Canada. Imagine for a moment – you weigh 150 pounds and gain an extra hundred and fifty, then try to go anywhere, especially for 2000 miles.
In this video one can see all the different body shapes – and weights – of red knots and other species on Cooks Beach shoal. It’s easy to see many birds are ready to leave.
The fact that they can do this is a marvel of flight bio-engineering. While building weight they prepare like weight lifters, increasing muscle mass, heart size, and lung capacity. Close to leaving, they decrease the organs of digestion just to squeeze in the last few grams of fat. Then they wait for good weather, lumber into the sky and go forth into the vast north.
2016 was a good year for the shorebirds stopping over on the New Jersey coast. Most came in better-than-average condition, so they had a head start. The early spawn was strangled by cold water which seemed to hover around the temperature threshold for spawning- 59 degrees F. Tellingly however, the crabs spawned with gusto on the beaches from northern Reeds to Pierce’s Point. There the five inter-tidal creeks and inter-tidal flats warm the water that washes over spawn-inviting shoals and newly restored beaches. Throughout the stopover a majority of the bay’s population foraged on the eggs laid by vigorously spawning horseshoe crabs. On one day we saw a 10,000 red knot flocks on North Reeds Beach happily roosting and feeding on the abundant eggs.
In this iPhone panorama of north reeds beach one could see over 8000 red knots feeding on abundant crab eggs.Spawning crabs on Villas beach
Eventually the spawn accelerated and expanded but the birds still needed to get to the eggs. If constantly disturbed by people, they will move endlessly often to lesser habitat if only to avoid disturbance. In New Jersey we prevent this. Each year for the last 15 years, the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife in collaboration with Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, close the beaches important to crabs while leaving small observation areas open to the public. The impact is non-intuitive but positive.
Jim May (first photo) and Niel Olafson (second photo) have been stewarding beaches for over 10 years. Stewards not only defend beaches from the few people determined to breach the rope barriers, but bring their own outreach materials to educate people on the importance of stewardship. They also rescue stranded crabs in tough spots like abandoned bulkheads.
The closed beaches allow shorebirds to gorge on eggs unmolested by people: photographers and birders wanting to get one step closer for the perfect picture, compassionate people wanting to overturn crabs left stranded by the tide, or fishermen wanting to cast for the stripers that run in May. All with good intentions they scatter birds and force them to fly to other less suitable and less accessible beaches losing valuable gained weight in the process. The closures allow the birds to stay in the best places and eat like kings. Paradoxically the bird photographers and watchers end up with even better views because the birds adapt to the settled threat. Even fishermen find enough space to fish from the observation areas.
This person is unaware that her impact has cleared the area of shorebird leaving all the eggs to laughing gulls, who as we all know fear no human.
At the height of the season people could come to one of the five observation areas in the Reeds, Pierce’s Cove and see flocks of nearly 30,000 shorebirds including 14,000 red knots – two thirds of the whole population in the bay this year (as determined by air and ground counts). Photographers, birders and inquisitive people had a wonderful experience and the birds got fat.
Despite the difficulties caused by the unusually cold spring, most birds of the three species we follow reached good departure weights and by May 26th they started to leave. By June 1st most were gone and by June 2nd we advised reopening the beaches, 5 days earlier than the usual June 7th opening.
Our team of scientists, managers, students, volunteers, and stewards deserve praise for all the various projects and research conducted throughout the season, from cannon netting and bird study, resightings of previously banded birds, research on shorebird movement, research on oyster reefs and structural aquaculture, monitoring of horseshoe crabs, monitoring crab egg densities, volunteer efforts to rescue stranded crabs, to steward protected areas and tag crabs. Also, the volunteers of Citizens United to Protect the Maurice River deserve a special thanks for their logistical support for our team, they prepared over 20 dinners for 30 plus people every night of our project. Birds and Scientists all gain weight in May!
They all deserve gratitude, from the birds and horseshoe crabs, the people who love birds and horseshoe crabs and the people who love Delaware Bay.
The 2016 shorebird team
Dr. Larry Niles has led efforts to protect red knots and horseshoe crabs for over 30 years.
Through CWF’s contest, high school students created videos to promote New Jersey’s wildlife
by Lindsay McNamara, Communications Manager
From left to right: CWF board member, PSEG manager Russ Furnari, CWF communications Manager Lindsay McNamara, first place winner Joseph Hernandez, third place winner Maya Ravichandran and PSEG Program Officer Lisa Gleason. Not pictured: second place winner Spencer Monhollen.
On Wednesday, June 1, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey and sponsor PSEG celebrated and recognized the winners of the 2016 Species on the Edge 2.0 Video Contest, a statewide educational contest with a S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) focus for New Jersey high school students.
The Species on the Edge 2.0 Video Contest invited students to submit an original video showing why wildlife protection is important in New Jersey. The contest showcased high school students’ interest in new media technologies, as well as their talent, creativity, and love of nature.
CWF’s 2016 first place winner and recipient of a $1,000 scholarship is Joseph Hernandez a senior in high school in Great Meadows, New Jersey. For the contest, Joseph created an impressive, captivating and informative video titled ‘The Secrets of Vernal Pools.’
Spencer Monhollen, CWF’s 2016 second place winner and $500 scholarship recipient is a sophomore at Oakcrest High School in Mays Landing, New Jersey. For the contest, Spencer produced an excellent video focusing on New Jersey’s bog turtles.
CWF’s 2016 third place winner and $250 scholarship recipient Maya Ravichandran is a junior at High Technology High School in Lincroft, New Jersey. For the contest, she created a video which showcases a number of bird species throughout the Garden State and threats to their survival.
To learn more about our impressive and talented winners, visit our website.
The Species on the Edge 2.0 Video Contest scholarships were made possible by sponsor PSEG.
Since 2003, over 10,000 children from across New Jersey have entered Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Species on the Edge educational contests. The contests are a great way to engage and excite students into learning about New Jersey’s over 80 endangered and threatened wildlife species.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation Releases New Amphibian Crossing Story Map
by Kelly Triece, Wildlife Biologist
Spotted Salamander Crosses a busy road to reach a nearby breeding pool. Photo by Kelly Triece
Farewell to May — also known as Wetlands Month! As a final ode to Wetlands Month, Conserve Wildlife Foundation would like to share a storyabout a very special wetland! Please check out our latest Story Map: “Connecting Habitat: Waterloo Road.” This story map shares the story about a vernal pool wetland that is located at Waterloo Village History Site in Byram Township, Sussex County, New Jersey.
This vernal pool wetland, as depicted in the Story Map, is a breeding ground for thousands of amphibians. However, each spring these amphibians must cross the heavily trafficked Waterloo Road in order to reach the pool. A single vehicle can crush dozens of the slow-moving animals as they try to cross the road during migration. High enough traffic volumes can wipe out entire populations over time.
Since 2002, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey has worked to protect early-spring breeding amphibians like the wood frog, spotted salamander, Jefferson salamander, and spring peeper during their annual migrations through the Amphibian Crossing Project. On peak nights each spring, we work with a fleet of incredible volunteers to hustle amphibians across the road at rescue sites, collect data on the numbers and species seen, measure the impacts of vehicular traffic, and document additional amphibian crossings for future protection.
This is our 2016 Waterloo Road Amphibian Crossing Report:
Spotted Salamander: 334
Jefferson Salamander: 147
Wood Frog: 215
Spring Peeper: 255
American Toad: 479
Pickerel Frog: 2
TOTAL Amphibians: 1,432
The Amphibian Crossing Project aims to secure funding for amphibian crossing tunnels at Waterloo Road. This project is part of a larger effort led by the Division of Fish and Wildlife called Connecting Habitat Across New Jersey (CHANJ). CHANJ aims to identify key areas and the actions needed for preserving and restoring habitat connectivity for terrestrial wildlife in New Jersey. CHANJ has the potential to increase the sustainability of New Jersey’s terrestrial wildlife populations and de-list endangered species. #CHANJiscoming #CHANJ
One in a Series of Updates on the 20th Year of the Delaware Bay Shorebird Project
by Dr. Larry Niles, LJ Niles Associates LLC
Photo by Jan van der Kam.
We conducted our first bay-wide count of shorebirds on Delaware Bay and the results suggest we are rapidly approaching the peak number of shorebirds. Last year, we counted 24,700 knots and 16,000 ruddy turnstones. This year’s counts are lower because it’s earlier, but we are still over 20,000 knots and 16,000 turnstones, and 10,000 sanderlings that have stopped over in the bay. These promising results are preliminary, but it seems we are getting close to our peak population of red knots and at the peak of the other two species – if populations are similar to last year.
This year’s aerial counts were conducted by Guy Morrison and Christian Fries, both of Environment Canada.
Bird condition also looks promising. Our catches show average weight increases for red knot compared to past years, which is good news given the very spotty horseshoe crab spawn. Ruddy turnstone average weights have increased considerably, the best in the twenty years we have been trapping (see the graph below). The distribution of these weights reveal more.
This graph shows the average weights of all ruddy turnstone catches made from 1997 to 2016. 2016 is represented by big squares and shows a very good increase in weights.
If we sample the same bird population with our cannon net catches, one would expect increasing average weights but similar distribution of weights – the same proportion of different weight birds, all getting higher. If a new group of birds arrives in the area, then one would see a new distribution of weights, only lower than the group that has been in the area longer. This can be seen in the historgram for ruddy turnstones below. The historgram supports our assumption that a new group of turnstones has arrived in the bay and are busy gaining weight. Based on our last catch, the distribution of knot weights shows no new arrivals, however the aerial survey and ground counts done after the catch point to a new group yet to be sampled. To our team of biologists this data is food for hungry minds. Within a few days, all will be revealed.
This histogram shows the number of red knots in each weight category in our catch made on May 21. See text for more explanation.
The actual distribution of the birds in the count tells another important story – the importance of the beaches and creeks between Reeds Beach and Pierce’s Point. This 3-mile section of Delaware Bay accounted for more than half of the entire population of red knots on the bay and outsized portions of the other species. This has been consistent through this season and over the last three years – ever since Conserve Wildlife Foundation (CWF) and American Littoral Society (ALS) restored the four beaches with new sand.
The restoration of these beaches avoided a potential disaster caused by Hurricane Sandy, which not only destroyed seventy percent of all the suitable horseshoe crab habitat on the New Jersey side of Delaware Bay, but it did much more. South Reeds Beach tells the story.
After the hurricane ripped through the area and pounded Reeds Beach with punishing westerly winds, most of the sand had been pushed off the beach and onto the marsh behind it. This unveiled a long standing and nearly impervious layer of rubble, remnants of long abandoned houses, bulkheads and the access road connecting them. We had no idea this laid beneath the sand of Reeds Beach South, but it explained why it never had good crab egg densities. Crabs couldn’t burrow deep enough to lay eggs.
The CWF and ALS restoration teams with funding from the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation and Community Foundation of New Jersey, along with other groups, removed the rubble and laid down a beautiful sandy beach. Every year since, horseshoe crab egg densities were among the highest in the bay. This, of course, attracted higher than average shorebird numbers which greedily consumed the newly available trove of eggs. Similar work was done at Cooks, Kimbles and Pierce’s beaches.
However, the restoration work did even more. Sand naturally erodes from these beaches just as it does on the Atlantic Coast beaches. The sand lost at Stone Harbor and Avalon beaches, for example, ends up in Hereford Inlet. The same happens on Delaware Bay beaches and the eroding sand flows into the the nearby creeks forming beautiful crab spawning shoals. I described their importance in the Reeds – Pierce’s Cove in the previous blog. These creek shoals represent the best habitat in the bay, because they are loose sand, create small inner protected areas loved by spawning crabs and are washed by warm water flowing out from the small intertidal water drainages. Early season spawning almost always occurs in or near creek mouth shoals. Thus, even sand lost from restored Delaware Bay beaches goes to a good end.
A sandy shoal at the mouth of the nameless creek between Reeds and Cooks Beach. At the time of this picture, over 3,000 knots and 1,000 ruddy turnstones were using the shoal and the inner sandy beach behind the shoal. Photo by Stephanie Feigin.
One more characteristic, perhaps the most important feature, is that all these beaches, creeks and their shoals together create a small and very important landscape within the overall Delaware Bay landscape. The overall warming creates the best early season habitat for crabs and shorebirds and the continued volume of spawning maintains the value throughout the season. We now have over 10,000 knots on these beaches and thousands of other shorebirds.
All of these important natural features are greatly strengthened by the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife’s restrictions that keep people from disturbing the birds. Without them, visitors, even those with good intentions, may disturb the birds from feeding. The restrictions are implemented without conflict by a very cheery and passionate group of volunteer stewards who explain the importance of letting the birds take advantage of good habitat. Ironically, the Reeds to Pierce Cove still attracts the most people in the bay because they can easily see the birds from access areas provided at each of five road ends and the Bidwells Creek jetty.
All in all, it’s a shorebird’s – and shorebird lover’s – paradise. But soon it may be a paradise lost.
This year, state and federal agencies permitted thousands of structural aquaculture racks to sprawl over this wonderful shorebird habitat. If all goes according to their plan, soon ATV’s will be rolling all over the intertidal area, disregarding their long-term impact. Welded rebar racks will stop some a portion of the crabs from reaching the beaches, and more importantly impair their return. More and more crabs will fail to breed or die as gulls tear apart crabs stranded on the intertidal shore. Like much of New Jersey, this beautiful cove has the potential to be degraded by runaway commercial exploitation.
This photo of about 4000 red knots and turnstones was taken at low tide in an area the federal and state agencies have declared as not useful to the birds, about 300 meters from the beach. It is also the area now be filled by the sprawling oyster aquaculture. Looking close you can see the first of the racks in the background on a lease owned by family of staff of Rutgers Extension, the primary advocates of the expansion. – Dr. Larry Niles
There are ways to expand aquaculture without destroying shorebird habitat. This is not one.
Dr. Larry Niles has led efforts to protect red knots and horseshoe crabs for over 30 years.
Coalition of Agencies Working Together to Enhance Turtle Habitat in Sussex County
by Kelly Triece, Biologist
Bog Turtle photo by Brian Zarate, NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife
Through federal partnerships and incentive programs, the federally endangered bog turtle can have a fighting chance in New Jersey! The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), in partnership with Conserve Wildlife Foundation, New Jersey Audubon Society, and Wallkill River Watershed Management Group, are currently working to restore a once natural wetland on private property in Sussex County. The program is possible through the Agricultural Conservation Easement Program, Wetlands Reserve Easement (WRE). WRE is a voluntary program that provides an opportunity for landowners to receive financial assistance in exchange for permanently protecting retired agricultural land. In their first year, NRCS and USFWS helped to restore and protect 52 acres of bog turtle habitat in New Jersey!
The goal of this project is to restore hydrology, enhance bog turtle habitat, control invasive species, and stabilize the stream bank. Through the partnerships we have already planted riparian buffers along the river and plan to conduct invasive species removal and create shallow water pools for wildlife such as amphibians.
The site contains active bog turtle habitat that has been degraded over time through grazing and other human induced impacts. Bog turtles are found throughout the state, but Sussex County is a hot spot because of its prime wetlands habitat. At the bog turtle site, cattle will be actively managed to graze the area for specific periods of time throughout the year. This will reduce invasive species and create mucky soils preferred by the bog turtle.
New Jersey Audubon Society was also able to supply a native sedge plant to enhance the wetland. Last week, a youth corps group from Phillipsburg, New Jersey met on site to help plant green bulrush. The bulrush will aid to improve water quality, as it will take up phosphorous and other nutrients moving into the water column. It will also aid to reduce erosion and provide food and cover for ducks, and other water birds. So far, 5,050 plugs of green bulrush have been planted!
CWF has also partnered on other Sussex County bog turtle restoration projects with the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, USFWS, and the New Jersey Corporate Wetlands Restoration Program.
Discover New Jersey’s Hidden Coast – the Delaware Bayshore
by Lindsay McNamara, Communications Manager
Making your plans for Memorial Day Weekend at the Jersey Shore? Discover New Jersey’s “other” coastline, a Hidden Coast, the Delaware Bayshore.
A new episode of our video series “New Jersey’s Hidden Coast” will air every two weeks throughout the summer! Catch a glimpse of the bay, the horseshoe crab at the center of the bay’s system, and the incredible relationship between horseshoe crabs and migratory birds, like the red knot. We will reveal the real value of horseshoe crabs, the challenges to the ecosystem, and the potential for a thriving regional economy along the Bayshore. We will show Hurricane Sandy as a catalyst for decisive action and the work being done to rebuild the area for both people and wildlife.
Over the next several weeks, we will explore the use of “living shorelines” instead of bulkheads and the central importance of marshes to the marine ecosystem. We will discover the on-the-ground, grassroots efforts of the community to build oyster reefs alongside veterans. And we will examine the future of the Bay and the work that needs to be done to preserve our conservation successes thus far.
One of a Series of Updates on the 20th Year of the Delaware Bay Shorebird Project
by Dr. Larry Niles, LJ Niles Associates LLC
In spite of the very spotty horseshoe crab spawn, the shorebirds on Delaware Bay seem to be gaining weight on schedule. Below you will find a graph composed of the average weights of all the red knots by our team for the last 20 years. The curve is the result of combining all the data we collected and shows the sweet spot for most knots. As they arrive, they take time to gain weight but after about 5 days they start gaining weight rapidly. After the 26th or so, birds start reaching the critical weights necessary to safely reach the Arctic breeding grounds. One can see the curve deep at the end of the month because fat birds fly off leaving the less fat behind. In general, weights above the line are good, below the line not good. The large squares on the graph are the average weight of this year. So far, so good.
Average Red knot weights from catches made in 1997 to 2016. The most recent are the big squares. So far average weights are following normal pattern of weight gain.Cannon net firing over red knots on Delaware Bay
This is a bit of a surprise for the team. The weather here on Delaware Bay is wet and cold. The water temperature struggles to lift above 59 degrees, the temperature necessary for a crab to spawn on Delaware Bay. So far, the temperature has been below 59 degrees more than above. We had good spawns in the last few days, but only in key places.
Water temperature at the mouth of Delaware Bay.
A key place for horseshoe crab spawn happens to be the mouths of small creeks. The New Jersey side of Delaware Bay is blessed with many small intertidal creeks, most draining only marsh or small inland watersheds. Some of these creeks have names, Goshen Creek, West Creek, Nantuxent Creek, but many do not. Almost all have shoals at their mouth with the bay because bay currents, tidal flow and wind driven waves act against each other to settle sand coming from adjacent beaches or from inside the creek drainage. Much of the sand lost from our restored beaches settles into these shoals. For horseshoe crabs, these shoals are sweet places.
A sandy shoal at the mouth of the nameless creek between Reeds and Cooks Beach. At the time of this picture, over 3,000 knots and 1,000 ruddy turnstones were using the shoal and the inner sandy beach behind the shoal. Photo by Stephanie Feigin.Red Knots in flight on Cooks Shoal. Photo by Stephanie Feigin.Red Knots on Cooks Shoal. Photo by Stephanie Feigin.Red Knots on Cooks Shoal. Photo by Stephanie Feigin.
Usually, the shoals lie just under the high tide line and are composed of large grain sand, the optimal conditions for a good crab spawn. However, the most important characteristic and key to this unusually cold May, is the warming water flowing out from the marsh drainages. On a flooding tide, colder warmer flows into the vast marshes of the Delaware Bay. This warms the water. On an ebbing tide, it flows out the creek and over the shoals, making them slightly warmer and more conducive to inducing crabs to spawn. Even on these cold days, they literally climb over themselves to breed on the shoals. The shoals also protect the inner mouths of the creeks thus making the sandy shores at the mouth of the creek a crab spawning heaven.
Breeding horseshoe crabs. Photo by Jan van der Kam.
However, as it seems usual with this blog, there is a growing concern. Right now, most of the red knot population on the bay is feeding on these shoals along with thousands of other species, but only half have arrived from southern wintering areas. We now have about 12,000 red knots on the bay and in a day or two we should find another 12,000 falling from the sky. Will there be enough eggs? Will the water temperature finally reach normal levels? These are the important question for the next few days.
