Tag: Wildlife News

Spring is a season of renewal. For peregrine falcons who nest atop the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth, it marks the beginning of another nesting season. As days grow longer and warmer, these incredible birds of prey are incubating four eggs, a promising sign for the continued success of New Jersey’s urban peregrine population.

Peregrine falcons, once on the brink of extinction in the eastern U.S., have made a remarkable comeback thanks to conservation efforts throughout the region. Urban nesting sites like the Union County Courthouse provide a safe haven for these raptors, offering protection from human disturbance and plentiful food sources. Over the next several weeks, the dedicated parents will take turns keeping the eggs warm until they hatch, bringing new life to downtown Elizabeth.

As we welcome spring’s renewal, we also celebrate the resilience of these magnificent birds. Join us in watching their life cycle unfold via the Union County Falcon Cam. We are thankful to continue our partnership with Union County to help stream this live view and share their incredible life history with the world.

By MICHAEL SHERIDAN, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Now here’s one whale of a tale.

A boat off the coast of New Jersey was struck by a whale that leapt from the water and landed on the craft Monday.

The massive mammal slammed into the 25-foot boat around noon, according to a post on the Friends of Seaside Park Facebook page.

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.

Story by Alison Levine

Two sets of peregrine falcon chicks were recently banded high atop buildings in Elizabeth, Union County, and Jersey City. Biologists from Conserve Wildlife Foundation (CWF) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) checked the health and measurements of the falcons, while also placing both United States Geological Service bird bands and state auxiliary bands so the birds can be identified in the future.

NJTV and TAPintoUnion captured the banding in Union County, while News 12 New Jersey and CBS-2 covered the Jersey City banding.

Story by: Alison Levine

A new report into human impacts on nature shows that nearly one million species risk becoming extinct within decades and that current efforts to conserve the earth’s resources will likely fail without radical action, UN biodiversity experts said this week. The report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) found that grave impacts on people around the world are now likely.

The report identifies five main drivers of this unprecedented decline: changes in land and sea use, direct exploitation of organisms, climate change, pollution, and invasion of alien species.

Story by: Press of Atlantic City

To the trained eye, it was clear Kevin Courts and Michael Riff were illegal terrapin harvesters.

The Hatboro, Pennsylvania, men, one shirtless, were parked next to a marsh off Sea Isle Boulevard last July, with six nets and a long pole leaning against their green truck, the state said. A conservation officer who approached them spotted a turtle crawling under the driver’s side seat and found a cooler packed with hatchlings.

• Continue reading on pressofatlanticcity.com
• Learn about CWF’s Great Bay Terrapin Project

2018 Becomes most productive year in history.

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

If you live along or visit the coast, then it’s no surprise that ospreys continue to thrive in New Jersey. 2018 was yet another banner year for these coastal nesting raptors. Their large stick nests depict our rivers and estuaries while they indicate that we’re doing a good job of protecting our local environment along the coast. Today we’ve published results from last year’s nesting season in the 2018 New Jersey Osprey Project Report.

Male osprey makes epic return to nest along Delaware Bay; turns seventeen this summer!

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.

• Visit our website for in depth information on ospreys and their current management, to make a donation, or to sign up to get project updates via email!

Reporter James O’Neill covers the impacts on plants and wildlife from the unseasonably warm weather for New Jersey this winter in this story for The Record.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL STORY

• Mid-February could be extra hard on plants, animals – The Record