Tag: Shorebirds horseshoe crabs project

by Ethan Gilardi, Wildlife Biologist

South Jersey Climate News recently took a deep dive into the relationship between horseshoe crabs and shorebirds on the Delaware Bay, and how global climate change has impacted this already delicate bond between species.

CWF biologist Larissa Smith was interviewed for the piece, providing context about what we are doing to help the horseshoe crabs and shorebirds through the Shorebird Stewards Program.

The article does a wonderful job explaining the precarious position NJ’s summer shorebirds find themselves in, detailing their arduous migration from South America to New Jersey to the Arctic and back, as well as explaining how and why our shorebirds and horseshoe crabs find themselves in peril.

Follow the link below to also find a video of U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Employee and volunteer Shorebird Steward Ariel Poirier, who shares some of her experiences with the program and explains what it means to be a Shorebird Steward.

Read more on South Jersey Climate News.

by Meghan Kolk, CWF Biologist

The number of red knots that visited the Delaware Bay this spring to rest and refuel on their long-distance migration from South America to the Arctic was the lowest recorded since counts began in 1982.  The baywide counts, by Conserve Wildlife Foundation and our partners, which include the New Jersey and Delaware shorelines, resulted in only 6,880 red knots, roughly a third of what was counted last year, and less than a quarter of the population in the previous two years.  In the early 1980s, when counts first began, almost 100,000 red knots migrated through the Delaware Bay.  With recent numbers that were already below the level that would ensure survival, this latest decline makes the rufa red knot subspecies even more vulnerable and pushes it closer to extinction. 

The extreme decline is thought to be caused by a poor breeding season in 2020.  Last spring, unusually low water temperatures in the Bay delayed the horseshoe crab spawn until early June.  When the red knots arrived in May, the horseshoe crab eggs were not available, and so they moved on with their migration without gaining the weight needed to finish the journey.  The horseshoe crab eggs are an essential food source for these birds that need to double their weight before continuing their northbound journey.  Without the eggs to refuel on, it is likely that 40 percent of the birds died before reaching the Arctic, diminishing the breeding population.  Numbers of other migratory shorebirds that stop in the Delaware Bay, such as ruddy turnstones, sanderlings and semipalmated sandpipers also showed declines this year. 

Another factor that may have contributed to the low numbers was adverse weather conditions in the Caribbean, making it more difficult for the birds to migrate north.  The good news is that the horseshoe crab spawn was on time this year, and there were plenty of eggs available for the migrants that stopped to refuel.  With such a long migration, there are so many factors that have to line up for a successful breeding season.  We cannot control the weather conditions or the water temperatures, but one thing wildlife biologists want to ensure is that there are enough horseshoe crabs in the Bay to sustain the birds for the long term. 

Further Reading:

• https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/05/science/threatened-red-knot-shorebird-decline.html
• https://www.njspotlight.com/2021/05/red-knot-pushed-closer-extinction-delaware-bay-migration-stopover-shocking-decline-this-year-larry-niles-lowest-since-records-kept-1982/

by Larissa Smith, Wildlife Biologist

Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Delaware Bay Shorebird Stewards will be on Restricted access beaches in Cape May and Cumberland Counties from May 15th through the 31st. We will be educating beach goers about the horseshoe crabs and shorebirds.

Plan a visit to the bay in May to witness this spectacular wildlife phenomena!

Watch the video above to learn more.

Thanks to The American Littoral Society for their help on this project.

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by Ethan Gilardi, Wildlife Biologist

With May just around the corner, biologists and volunteers alike are preparing for the arrival of migratory shorebirds on their annual stop over in New Jersey’s Delaware Bay.

Andrew S. Lewis of NJ Spotlight News recently spoke with CWF Wildlife Biologist and Shorebird Steward program organizer Larissa Smith to discuss the 2021 shorebird season. The article highlights the history of shorebird conservation in the Delaware Bay, modern challenges to conservation due to COVID-19, and how a recent grant to the Littoral Society will help bolster this year’s efforts.

Read an excerpt of the article below and continue reading on NJSpotlight.com.

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The quiet, empty beaches of South Jersey’s Delaware Bay shoreline will soon begin to stir with the sound of thousands of migrating shorebirds, pausing their long journeys from the Southern Hemisphere to the Canadian Arctic to refuel on the eggs of horseshoe crabs that emerge to spawn here each spring.

Along with this natural wonder comes a dedicated group of volunteers, called Shorebird Stewards, who assist biologists from the state and nonprofit organizations in their annual count of the bay’s most vulnerable migratory shorebirds, including the dunlin, sanderling, semipalmated sandpiper, short-billed dowitcher, ruddy turnstone and the red knot, a federally listed threatened species.

“I’ve been organizing the Shorebird Stewards since 2003, and it has always been a fairly small volunteer project, about 10-15 people,” said Larissa Smith, a biologist with the Conserve Wildlife Foundation, one of the Steward program’s partners. “This year, I’ve had more than 40 people interested.”

In a year upended by social distancing and hardship, Smith said, many people were nevertheless able to reconnect with the outdoors. “They want to help make a difference,” she said.

Continue Reading on NJSpotlight.com.

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