Story by NJ.com
Two volunteer groups and the Seaside Heights public works department teamed to help a baby osprey that had a balloon ribbon tangled around its leg in a nest at Island Beach State Park.
by: Larissa Smith, Biologist
This is a story that shows how individuals and groups work together to help eagles in New Jersey. On May 23rd wildlife rehabilitator, Vicki Schmidt, picked up and transported an injured juvenile eagle to Tri-State Bird Research and Rescue. The eagle had been reported injured and on the ground by a concerned citizen in Hopewell Township, Cumberland County. It was found near a known eagle nest which is located on a communications tower and the injured eagle was assumed to be the chick from that nest. New Jersey Eagle Project volunteer Jim McClain was able to confirm that he last saw the chick on May 19th, perched on one of the tower railings. When he returned on the 23rd and didn’t see the chick, he had assumed it fledged, not knowing that it had been taken to Tri-State.
Young eagles start “branching” (hopping on to branches) as well as; flapping, jumping, and hovering, to strengthen their wings for flight. Eagles fledge around 10- 12 weeks of age. In this case, the young bird most likely took it’s first attempt at a flight and hit an object which injured it’s wing and left it unable to fly. If no one had spotted this bird on the ground it could have been predated or died.
Tri-State reported minor soft tissue damage to the wing, but that the bird was alert and perching. The young eagle continued to recuperate and was banded with a federal band and released on June 1st. Tri-State volunteer Tom Jones transported the bird back to the nest area and with the help of volunteer, Jim McClain, the bird was released. The bird flew and landed on a nearby roof where it perched.
Jim reported that the fledgling and both adults were seen at the nest on June 7th and 9th, so we know that the young eagle is doing well. Thank you to all involved in this lucky eagles recovery.
Story by James M. O’Neill, The Record
Several scientists, protected by the curious combination of an umbrella, a duster and a hard hat, scrambled across the roof of a Jersey City high-rise this week to fend off the fierce attack of two adult peregrine falcons.
The scientists were there to briefly retrieve three falcon chicks from a nest box 42 floors above the city streets, so they could weigh, measure and band the birds before returning them.
The three chicks, still covered in fluffy white down, are the latest additions to a growing population in New Jersey of the world’s fastest animal.
“Harmony 2”, photographed in CT and doing well.
by: Larissa Smith, CWF biologist
Andrew Drummond captured this image of “Harmony 2” on Memorial Day in Marlboro, VT. She was banded as D/64 and outfitted with a transmitter May 29th, 2012 at Merrill Creek, Warren County. We have since been following her movements on Eagle Trax. She fledged in 2012 and spent her first winter on the lower Chesapeake Bay before traveling to Maine. She has spent the last five years in a 100-mile swath of western Connecticut and Massachusetts, and now into southern Vermont. She is of breeding age so we suspect that she will be nesting in the area next season.
by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
Yesterday NJ Fish & Wildlife Zoologist Kathy Clark and I visited 101 Hudson St. after watching the Jersey City Falcon Cam for several days since the first and only egg hatched on Wednesday evening, we became more and more concerned for the health of the 5 day old eyas. We also came upon a brood of three young (and healthy) falcons who were displaced (we’ve called them orphans) from the old Goethals Bridge, which is currently being deconstructed. Knowing that the orphans needed a home, we decided to visit JC and assess the health of the lone eyas, collect the unhatched eggs, and possibly foster in the orphans here. Continue reading “Management of Urban Nesting Falcons in New Jersey”
By Jasmine Lee, CWF Education Assistant
Spring has sprung, and peregrine falcon eggs have hatched! Viewers of our Union County Falcon Cam have enjoyed an exciting few days with the last of the four eyasses (baby falcons) emerging yesterday.
The adult female falcon 91/BA (“Cadence”) originally hails from Rochester, New York. She staked her claim on this nest last year and laid eggs very late last season, but the eyasses did not survive. This year, 91/BA got a timely start, with her first egg being laid on March 29, 2018. Incubation of her clutch of four eggs began on April 3.
While peregrine falcon feathers provide excellent insulation, it can be difficult for body heat to get past the feathers and to the eggs. An adaptation for this is the brood patch on the male’s and female’s chest. This patch has a high concentration of blood vessels close to the surface of their skin to allow for easier and better body heat transfer to the eggs.
After about 32 days, it is time for hatching to begin. The chicks begin by using a small “egg tooth” to peck a hole through the egg shell: this is called the external pip. After breaking the membrane, the chick can breathe some fresh air, and vigorously start the final process of hatching.
Around 8 AM on Saturday, May 5, the first eyas at Union County emerged! As we watch over the next few weeks, we will see a lot of activity in the nest as the parents work hard to feed the hungry chicks. The eyasses are completely dependent upon the adults and will eat an incredible amount, but they typically double in size in just six days! They will continue to be under constant care until they are ready to fly in approximately seven weeks.
An Inspiring Recovery
In 2017 there were 34 nesting pairs of peregrine falcons were reported in all of New Jersey. Around two-thirds are known to have made their homes in buildings like the County Courthouse.
Until recent decades, the peregrine falcon population was in steep decline along with other birds of prey due to habitat loss and the pesticide DDT. By 1964, peregrine falcons had disappeared completely from New Jersey and all other states east of the Mississippi River.
Peregrine falcons were one of the first birds to be the focus of conservation efforts after the 1960’s.
In the 1980’s an intensive re-introduction effort began in the tri-state region, with biologists from the Endangered and Nongame Species Program and CWF leading the way in New Jersey. Since 2000 the New Jersey population has stabilized at approximately two dozen nesting pairs annually.
Livestreaming in Union County
2018 marks CWF’s second year partnering with Union County, providing a live stream of the action in and around the peregrine falcon nest located on the roof of the County Courthouse in midtown Elizabeth. CWF is proud to share the excitement in livestreaming the UCNJ Falcon Cam on our website and to use the webcam in our Union County school presentations, generously funded by Phillips 66.
Go to our website today to watch our new feathered friends as they continue to interact, and to learn more about the Peregrine Falcon. For more information about peregrine falcons, you can also visit the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Division of Fish & Wildlife.
by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
Around 3% of ospreys who were banded with USGS aluminum bird bands as nestlings in New Jersey are re-sighted after fledging or leaving their nest. Most of those recoveries or resightings are centered around mortality based events where a bird is injured or killed and the band is then close enough to read. Since the numbers on the leg bands are so small, it is often hard to read when they are still alive. However, when enough photos are obtained or a camera is installed on a nest then the likelihood of reading the band on a live bird increases. Continue reading “Identifying “Bandit” at Pete McLain Osprey Cam Nest”
by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
North American ospreys migrate long distances to and from their breeding and wintering grounds in the southern U.S., Central America, Caribbean Islands, and N. South America. For the past four years we have been banding young ospreys who originate from nests on Barnegat Bay with an auxiliary band to help determine their movements after fledging. Project RedBand was designed to help track the migration, dispersal, life span, and foraging habits of ospreys from Barnegat Bay, a unique estuary along the Atlantic Coast of New Jersey. The project was also designed to help engage the public in osprey management and conservation. Since the red bands are highly visible and readable with optics, it allows the public the ability to identify the individual and then learn about their past. Lastly, we now rely heavily on citizen scientists who report nesting activity on Osprey Watch. Continue reading “Osprey 04/D Back in Jersey!”
by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
The spring arrival of the North American osprey (Pandion haliaetus carolinensis) to their nesting grounds in New Jersey was delayed slightly due to prevalent north winds. As we saw many birds begin to arrive to their nest sites, which they return to year after year, we were particularly interested in the return of one very special osprey. This individual, if he survived the winter would be the oldest living osprey ever recorded in New Jersey to be observed on his nesting grounds. Ospreys face many threats and their life span averages around 8-10 years, but some can reach 20 years old.
We would not know how old this bird is without the USGS bird band that was affixed to his left leg before fledging in the summer of 2001. Photographer Brian Kushner, who has been watching this nest for the past 10 years, was able to photograph the band, which allowed us to track down his origins. He was banded on July 5, 2001 before he could fly. The nest was less than 5 miles away from where he currently nests along the Delaware Bayshore. Typically it is very difficult to ID birds by their USGS bird bands, and most recoveries or sightings of bands occurs during an injury or death, but Brian’s been able to use his photography equipment to positively ID this bird. Banding data shows that males return as adults to nest in very close proximity to their natal areas while females tend to wander further away to nest.
Ospreys are currently laying eggs and starting incubation, which occurs right after the first egg is laid. Nests with eggs and young are protected from disturbance during this time, and established nests cannot be removed without consulting with NJ Fish & Wildlife and USDA Wildlife Services. Please refer to our “Living with Ospreys in New Jersey” guidance document for more information.
by: Larissa Smith, CWF, biologist
Currently, we are tracking two NJ eagles outfitted with transmitters. One of these,”Haliae” was outfitted with a transmitter on May 31st, 2013, at the Merrill Creek Reservoir. We have been following her movements on NJ EagleTrax. Since 2015 she has spent her time in Maryland and eastern PA along the Susquehanna River. This past November a photo was taken of Haliae at Conowingo Dam, MD. At that time it appeared that one of the straps on her harness had come loose and we expected the transmitter to fall off in the near future, but continue to receive signals.
On April 12, 2018 Keith Opperhauser photographed Haliae along the Susquehanna River in Darlington, MD. The harness strap is clearly loose below her chest, but the transmitter is still attached. Haliae will be five years old this May and reaching breeding age. We don’t know how long the transmitter will stay attached or continue to transmit, but we’re glad to know that she is doing well.
