Tag: raptors

by Rachel McGovern, Director of Education

Peregrine falcons are fascinating to learn about—they are swift, fierce, and intelligent birds. They are a joy to teach about, too! CWF is fortunate to have the opportunity to teach about these amazing birds of prey with students in Linden Public Schools, due to the generous support from Phillips 66 Bayway Refinery.

Each year, CWF visits every third-grade classroom in the Linden Public School District to deliver in-depth lessons about peregrine falcons. These lessons delve into the life history of peregrines, the reason for their decline, and how they are recovering today. Students explore how these falcons have adapted to modern-day landscapes by nesting on manmade structures rather than exclusively choosing their traditional cliffside sites. For city-dwelling students, it’s a revelation to discover that these endangered raptors thrive in environments like their own.

Central to this educational initiative is the Union County Falcon Cam– a live camera on a falcon nest located just a couple miles from Linden’s elementary schools. This camera has been in operation since 2016. It is run in cooperation with Union County and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. A live feed brings the viewer into a nest on the roof of the Union County Courthouse where Frida and Mango, the current pair at this nest, raise young each year. Students learn about the history of the camera and check in with the birds during their lesson. Teachers are also encouraged to check in with the falcons regularly for students to watch them raise their young.

Continue reading “Third Grade Students Explore the Fascinating World of Peregrine Falcons”

by Rachel McGovern, Director of Education

The spotlight was on the third graders at Ridge Street Elementary School during the Annual Bird Festival! Over the school year, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey guided third graders at Ridge Street Elementary School in Newark, New Jersey through an exploration of the state’s fascinating birds as part of the Soaring with STEAM curriculum. Students delved into the lives of ospreys, peregrine falcons, bald eagles, and other avian species while engaging in STEM-based projects. To culminate their learning journey, the third graders organized a festival aimed at educating parents, visitors, and younger students about the diverse birdlife in New Jersey.

Continue reading “Third Grade Students Host the Annual Bird Festival at Ridge Street Elementary School”

by Sherry Tirgrath, Wildlife Biologist

Three young osprey chicks found themselves without their parents after a utility pole nest caught fire at the National Guard Training Center (NGTC) in Sea Girt, NJ. Osprey often choose utility poles as nesting structures because of the 360° view they offer. Fires caused by the nests, composed mostly of dried sticks and seagrass, aren’t uncommon. Because of the safety hazard imposed by the nest, it was removed from the utility pole at the NGTC with three healthy chicks inside. The chicks were approximately a week to ten days old when removed from the nest and were brought temporarily to The Raptor Trust in Millington by Charles Appleby, Chief of the Environmental Bureau of the NJ Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (NJDMAVA) to be cared for while a new nesting platform could be built. Reuniting the chicks with their parents in a safe nest box would give them their best chance at survival.

Continue reading “Orphaned Osprey Chicks Find New Homes”

by Rachel McGovern, Director of Education

Each year, CWF hosts the Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest for fifth grade students in New Jersey. Thousands of students submit artwork and essays advocating for the protection of a threatened or endangered New Jersey species of their choice. Winners of this contest attend field trips and events during their winning year and are invited to events for years after to continue learning about wildlife and related careers in New Jersey.

Last month, a group of past contest winners braved the rain and cold to attend a special program and tour at The Raptor Trust in Millington, New Jersey. The Raptor Trust provides medical care and rehabilitation to injured and orphaned birds, leads educational programs to benefit native birds, and provides permanent homes to many non-releasable raptors.

Continue reading “Species on the Edge Contest Winners from Previous Years Visit The Raptor Trust”

Peregrine falcons have nested atop the Union County Court House in downtown Elizabeth for many years. Each year, before the young birds fledge, scientists gather up the chicks and band their legs. 

The banding was a smaller than usual human affair this year to comply with social distancing and other health restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But it was a very active avian event with the adult falcons energetically dive bombing the biologists as they brought the eyases (young falcons) indoors for the banding.

Continue reading “Four Peregrine Falcon Chicks Banded in Union County”

Free public events start February 17

Join the Mercer County Park Commission, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF), PSE&G and the Wildlife Center Friends for the the second year of “Eyes on Eagles” programming to celebrate the four pairs of bald eagles that nest in Mercer County, including two pairs that have chosen County parks for nest sites.

Continue reading “‘Eyes on Eagles’ Back for Second Year”

by David Wheeler, Executive Director

The New Jersey conservation community lost a great champion with the passing of Diane Soucy of The Raptor Trust this month. Diane was a tireless advocate for New Jersey’s wildlife, and a co-founder and driving force behind the Trust’s amazing success in caring for over 150,000 songbirds, wading birds, waterfowl, hummingbirds, and – of course – raptors.

Continue reading “In Memoriam: Diane Soucy”

Story by: Alison Levine

Eagle enthusiasts in New Jersey have plenty to celebrate today on National Bald Eagle Day. Thanks to our dedicated Bald Eagle Project volunteers we know that so far this year 96 bald eagles have fledged from their New Jersey nests! Eagles have come a long way in the Garden State since the early 1980s when there was only one active nest in the whole state.

Continue reading “Happy National Bald Eagle Day!”

Story by Justin Auciello, WHYY

Welcome home!

It’s that time of the year again when ospreys — the raptors that have staged a miraculous comeback in New Jersey since the early 1970s — migrate north from their wintering grounds in Central America, northern South America, and the Caribbean.

In recent days, ospreys, also known as fish hawks, were spotted in Ocean County and as far north as the Meadowlands.

• Continue reading on WHYY.org
• Read more on CWF’s New Jersey Osprey Project

Story by Joe Cutter, New Jersey 101.5

A new report finds that a record number of ospreys were observed in New Jersey during the year 2018. The report was prepared by the state Division of Fish and Wildlife and The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

Report co-author Benjamin Wurst, of The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, says 932 ospreys were spotted along New Jersey’s coast last year. Wurst says part of the increase has to do with less pollution.

“We are just not seeing the prevalence of these pollutants, in the form where it would actually hurt them,” Wurst said.

• Continue reading on nj1015.com.
• Help CWF purchase a boat for our osprey program. Make a donation for the boat and the Osprey Foundation will match your gift and double your impact.