by CWF Great Bay Terrapin Project Volunteer Intern, Matthew McCall
CWF Volunteer Intern Matthew McCall holding two adult female terrapins.
This summer I had the opportunity to work as an intern for the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF), researching and surveying Northern diamondback terrapins. Words could not describe how excited I was for this position, working with Senior Wildlife Biologist, Ben Wurst every day this summer was an incredible learning experience. Mr. Wurst taught me how to conduct surveys Great Bay Blvd Wildlife Management Area. This area is an ecological marvel, I witnessed hundreds of terrapins crossing the road on multiple occasions. I remember one day in particular when such a large quantity of terrapins were moving that it took me six hours to drive down that five-mile road, over two hundred terrapins were observed on Great Bay Boulevard that day alone.
by CWF Great Bay Terrapin Project Volunteer Intern, Madison Rose O’Malley
Madison holding an adult female terrapin with scars showing damage consistent with an impact with a boat/outboard.
This summer, I had the chance to volunteer for the Great Bay Terrapin Project to help survey the local terrapin population within Great Bay Boulevard Wildlife Management Area. Being able to assist a vulnerable population was incredibly fulfilling and I personally was able to learn a lot about their behavior during this incredible time. I got to see firsthand just how many female turtles crossed that road to lay their eggs, but unfortunately that also showed me just how many were injured or killed by reckless, inattentive, or outright malicious drivers. One thing I realized during this is just how hardy of an animal the terrapin is. I saw individuals with massive chunks taken out of them, bite marks, claw marks, and huge gashes from boat propellers forever etched into their shells. I realized that despite their vulnerability in early life and extremely slow growth, the defense of their shell and their insane ability to recover from injuries left them with very few threats for a long time. Even many major boat injuries are recoverable, emphasizing the severity of the threat posed by automobiles specifically.
The remote coastal salt marshes of the Delaware Bayshore harbor a unique and seldom observed ecosystem, boasting a rich natural history and diverse wildlife. To help prevent the loss of these valuable habitats and their inhabitants, CWF is participating in a partner-driven, multi-year project led by Ducks Unlimited and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to enhance habitat quality and restore natural hydrology to salt marshes in Delaware and New Jersey. CWF is actively involved in the second season of biological monitoring at select Bayshore salt marshes targeted for restoration efforts designed to revegetate mudflats existing on old salt hay farms (read more about salt hay farming impacts here). At this stage of the project, our role is to gather important pre-restoration data to evaluate the anticipated impact and effectiveness of restoration techniques.
A view from one of our survey points at Dix Wildlife Management Area. Photo courtesy of Emmy Casper, CWF Wildlife Biologist.
The 2024 NJ Bald eagle nesting season is winding down and so far 221 young eagles have fledged from nests throughout the state. We know that these eagles have fledged due to the eagle project volunteers who monitor all known eagle nests in New Jersey. Being a nest monitor can be a joyful experience when all goes well and the pairs successfully fledge young. But, it can also be heartbreaking when a pair fails to hatch eggs and when adults or chicks are lost during the season. Despite the ups and downs of monitoring eagle nests the volunteers continue to be dedicated to the eagle project. I asked the Eagle Project volunteers to send me their two favorite photos from the season.
Please enjoy the slideshow.
All photos were taken by trained volunteers from a safe distance using high powered scopes and cameras.
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.
So far it has been an usual year for nesting osprey in New Jersey. This spring, the pair that has nested at our osprey cam in Barnegat Light, who arrived on time, the female did not lay any eggs. Then I heard from a woman who watches a nest near the southern end of Long Beach Island who reported the same — pair present but incubation was never observed. Another report came in from an osprey nest watcher on the Mullica River (to the southwest of LBI) who reported the same — no incubation observed. We put out a call on social media for osprey nest watchers to report anything odd like this to us (while also reporting osprey nest activity online via Osprey-watch.org). Some people reported seeing the same behavior..
Winners of the 22nd annual Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest gathered to celebrate their accomplishments at an awards ceremony on June 12, 2024, at Mercer County Wildlife Center in Lambertville, New Jersey.
The Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest is open each year to all fifth graders in New Jersey. To enter, students choose a threatened or endangered New Jersey species which they research and advocate for through an original essay and art piece. Earlier this year, a panel of judges convened to choose a first and second-place winner from each New Jersey county.
The ceremony was held outdoors at the Mercer County Wildlife Center
This year’s first-place winners joined CWF’s Executive Director, Liz Silvernail, and Director of Education, Rachel McGovern for their awards ceremony. Students received certificates and had their art and essays displayed for attendees to view. The winner from Mercer County (Vedika Krishna from Stony Brook Elementary School in Pennington) also received a special prize from Mercer County Park Commission’s Acting Executive Director, Joseph Pizza during the ceremony.
From left: Rachel McGovern, CWF Director of Education; Liz Silvernail, CWF Executive Director; Vedika Krishna, first-place winner from Mercer County; Joseph Pizza, Acting Executive Director of the Mercer County Park Commission
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.
Twenty-nine Shorebirds Stewards were posted at Delaware Bay beaches in Cumberland and Cape May Counties during the annual shorebird migration in May. Stewards help to protect the feeding shorebirds by keeping disturbance to a minimum. Shorebirds birds need to feed and fatten up on horseshoe crab eggs for their journey north to their breeding grounds. Stewards educate the public about this phenomenon and the reasons for the restricted beaches. The 2024 shorebird season went smoothly, the crabs spawned throughout May, so there were plenty of eggs on the beaches. This season the shorebirds were using many of the beaches with restricted access to the public. These beaches had stewards present and viewing areas, allowing people to witness the multitudes of shorebirds, especially the Red-knot, a federally listed species. Thank you to all the stewards for making this a successful shorebird season.
photos by Shorebird Stewards
photo by Dom ManaloShorebird Steward Susan Rashphoto by Susan Rashphoto by Luke Tanphoto by Luke Tanphoto by Susan RashShorebird Steward Neil Olfusen; photo by Dom Manalophoto by Susan Rashphoto by Luke TanCWF inter James O’Rourkephoto by Dom Manalophoto by Larissa SmithShorebird Steward Jill Connellphoto by Barb Bennettphoto by Barb Bennettphoto by Kat Codyphoto by Chris HeimerShorebird Stewards Dan & Cheryl Alexanderphoto by Barb Bennett
There aren’t many times when you get to climb to the roof of a courthouse in a major metropolitan area. Except if you’re a raptor biologist! We recently joined NJ Fish & Wildlife’s Chief of the Endangered and Nongame Species Program, Kathy Clark and Union County staff and guests to band the four young falcons produced at a nest atop the Union County Courthouse, home to the Union County Falcon Cam.
