Ben Wurst, Author at Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ

Terrapin Week: Making a Difference

Posted on July 3, 2014 by Ben Wurst

This story marks the fourth of five blog stories spotlighting New Jersey’s Diamondback Terrapin – and educating people on the research and efforts being done to protect these fascinating reptiles!

Part 1, Monday, was an introduction into the world of the Diamondback Terrapin. Part 2, Tuesday, featured CWF’s research efforts to protect the terrapins. Part 3, Wednesday, looked at great places to view these beautiful turtles . Part 4, today’s blog post, will highlight some important ways you can help protect the Diamondback Terrapins. Part 5, Friday, will showcase some other important regional research being done by our partners.

Steps You Can Take to Protect the Diamondback Terrapins!

by Ben Wurst, CWF Habitat Program Manager

A female terrapin pauses while crossing Great Bay Blvd in Little Egg Harbor, NJ.

We all can make a difference to help conserve northern diamondback terrapins. This beautiful species is a symbol of our coast – and now more than ever, we need to be sensitive to our incredible coastal estuary ecosystems!

Here are some ways that you can help make a difference to protect this amazing species:

Slow down, don’t tailgate, and be aware while driving in coastal areas from May through July.
If you see a terrapin on the road, pull over, put on your hazard lights and carefully help the turtle cross in the direction it is going. Please be careful and use your best judgement and do not get in front of a motor vehicle to stop them on area roads. Do not jeopardize your own safety for a turtle.
If you go crabbing and use commercial-Maryland style crab pots, use BRDs or “bycatch reduction devices” to prevent terrapins from getting trapped in them. Use line that sinks to prevent a crab pot from becoming lost. Abandoned crab pots can trap and kill a ton of marine life over time, including blue claw crabs, many species of fish, and terrapins.
Talk to others to educate them about terrapins and their role in the ecosystem. You can learn all about them in our Online Field Guide!
Volunteer with CWF to patrol roadways and take part in other volunteer actions in Southern Ocean County, Atlantic County, and Cape May County! We really need your help – so please contact us if you, your business, or your civic group is willing to help save the incredible diamondback terrapin!
Donate to CWF’s diamondback terrapin program. Any amount would help greatly! Click here and note Terrapin in the PayPal note, or you can mail a contribution to Conserve Wildlife Foundation, 501 East State Street, P.O. Box 420, Mailcode 501-03E, Trenton, NJ 08625-0420. Be sure to note Terrapin in the check’s subject line.

Email us at info@conservewildlifenj.org with Volunteer in the Subject line if you’re interested.

Terrapin Week: Viewing Terrapins!

Posted on July 2, 2014 by Ben Wurst

How to See Terrapins in the Wild in New Jersey

This story marks the third of five blog stories spotlighting New Jersey’s Diamondback Terrapin – and educating people on the research and efforts being done to protect these fascinating reptiles!

Part 1, Monday, was an introduction into the world of the Diamondback Terrapin. Part 2, Tuesday, featured CWF’s research efforts to protect the terrapins. Part 3, today’s blog post, will look at great places to view these beautiful turtles. Part 4, Thursday, will highlight some important ways you can help protect the Diamondback Terrapins. Part 5, Friday, will showcase some other important regional research being done by our partners.

by Ben Wurst

During full and new moon cycles females terrapins are hard NOT to see on Great Bay Blvd. in Little Egg Harbor, NJ.

During their nesting season, Northern diamondback terrapins are usually pretty easy to spot along the coast of New Jersey, and throughout their range. They are beautiful turtles with very unique coloration.

Individuals vary in coloration, but in general, their upper shell, or carapace, is dark with a diamond shaped pattern on it. Their lower shell, or plastron, is a light yellow/green color. Their skin is a grey color with black spots that vary highly between individuals. Almost all have a light upper mandible.

From May through July, spotting a terrapin is pretty easy!

Females leave the protection of the coastal waterways to find suitable nest sites to lay eggs. They seek areas with sandy soil, like dunes, parking lots and road shoulders. When our barrier islands were developed, roads were created to access those islands.

The creation of these roads also increased the amount of available nest sites for terrapins. But the development itself actually decreased the amount of suitable nesting habitat for them overall. Much of our coast is now bulkheaded.

Bulkheading restricts the natural movement of terrapins and limits their ability to find suitable nest sites. So, now they must take what they can get: roadsides. Nesting on the edges of roads is a perilous journey for terrapins. The vehicles that travel on those coastal roads may have careless drivers behind the wheel.

Terrapins may be found in many different places along the coast, especially roads that criss-cross saltmarsh. Use extreme caution in trying to spot terrapins on active roads used by vehicles – not only to avoid driving over terrapins, but for your own safety and that of other drivers or pedestrians.

Some widely used locations include Avalon Boulevard and other west-east highways connecting the mainland with barrier islands and peninsulas. Many coastal areas in Cape May also feature high numbers of terrapins, while Monmouth County, Ocean County, and Meadowlands coastal regions feature plenty of terrapins as well.

However, one of the best places to view terrapins during their nesting season is inside the 5,000+ acre Great Bay Blvd. Wildlife Management Area, Little Egg Harbor, NJ. The WMA is located along the coast and is accessible by motor vehicle from the 5 mile long road that ends at the Rutgers Marine Field Station. The road was originally planned to connect the mainland with Atlantic City in the early 1900s. Luckily that plan fell through and the last bridge was never built (road is also called 7 Bridges Road, after the 7th bridge that was never built). There is plenty to see and do out on GBB, at all times of the year. A wide variety of wildlife can be observed from the road, including ospreys, terns, oystercatchers, herons, egrets, and shorebirds. Lots of outdoor recreation opportunites await as well, including crabbing, fishing, and kayaking. There are boat ramps along the road, and all the owners of the local marinas are very nice, including Capt. Mike’s, Rand’s Boats, and Cape Horn Marina.

More info about visiting Great Bay Blvd. WMA

Viewing terrapins:

Terrapins can be timid if approached, especially when nesting. Please keep your distance when near a nesting female. You wouldn’t want to cause a female to abandon laying eggs in a nest cavity! If she is unable to cover up her eggs with soil then they might become an easy meal for a gull or crow… Watching them nest is fun to watch as they excavate down and lay 8-12 eggs.

If you see one on the road and there is no traffic, slow down or stop and let it cross. If there is traffic coming, stop your vehicle, put on your hazard lights and carefully get out and move the terrapin in the direction it is heading. Terrapins can bite, so be careful and pick it up from the side of it’s shell (called the bridge). Use 1-2 hands to ensure you have a good grip. Sometimes they use their legs to try and get you to let go! Put it on the soft shoulder to be out of harms way. If you have a GPS or a smartphone, record the location and submit us a sighting via our online terrapin sighting form. Data collected from the form will help guide future conservation efforts for them in NJ.

Other great viewing areas:

Gateway National Recreation Area – Sandy Hook Unit
Island Beach State Park
Edwin B. Forsythe NWR – Oceanville
Wetlands Institute – Stone Harbor
Reeds Beach
Fortescue Beach

Ben Wurst is a wildlife biologist for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

Edwin B. Forsythe NWR Osprey Banding

Posted on June 26, 2014 by Ben Wurst

Three nestlings produced at the Osprey Cam nest are banded for future tracking!

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

In the late afternoon of June 24, 2014, I kicked off the 2014 Osprey Nesting Surveys by banding the three nestings at the Osprey Cam nest. I was joined by Ann Marie Mason Morrison, with Friends of Forsythe NWR, our founding partner with the Osprey Cam, and two U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service interns, Jessie and Kirsten who helped bring out all the equipment needed to the nest (two 20′ ladders).

This is one of the most difficult nests to reach in all of New Jersey! It either takes a boat (at high tide) or two 20′ ladders (at low tide) to cross a 15′ wide ditch on the coastal salt marsh. Anyone who has crossed the ditch can attest to how difficult it is. Now you can watch and see what when into banding these three nestlings. A portion of the video was cut when I was attempting to repair the sound at the camera equipment box. At the same time the nest was cleaned of harmful plastic debris that the birds used as nesting material. A total of 3 balloons and a plastic bag were removed from the nest. The three young were banded with USGS bird bands (1088-04358,59 & 60) for future tracking. Check out a photo that I got of “the runt.” Enjoy!

Osprey Cam update: First egg to 21 days old

Posted on June 19, 2014 by Ben Wurst

Young osprey develop so fast!

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

They were incubated for 38 days, which is slightly more than the average of 35 days in NJ.

The first two eggs hatched on May 29th, and the third on June 1.

Two weeks old. — Downy and body feathers start to emerge at 14 days old.

Today marks 21 days old (for the oldest two young). They're now very active in the nest and like to check out all the cool nesting material mom & dad used in the nest. — Today marks 21 days old (for the oldest two young). They’re now very active in the nest and like to check out all the cool nesting material mom & dad used in the nest.

Photo from the Field

Posted on June 11, 2014 by Ben Wurst

Slow down, don’t tailgate and help a terrapin cross safely!

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

Female terrapins often cross roads to find suitable nest sites along the Jersey Shore. © Ben Wurst

This week the annual nesting season of northern diamondback terrapins began. Females leave protection of our coastal estuaries to seek out suitable nest sites, course gravel and sand, which is often along roadsides. These individuals often cross roads to get to these nest sites. Please be courteous of terrapins and slow down, leave a greater following distance, and help a terrapin cross when you see one on the road.

You can report sightings of terrapins on roads on our website
Share photos of terrapins with our Flickr group

Three little hatchlings!

Posted on June 2, 2014 by Ben Wurst

Eggs hatch at Osprey Cam nest in Oceanville

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

Three eggs have hatched at the Osprey Cam nest at Forsythe NWR in Oceanville.

It’s been a hectic spring (to say the least). I’ve been swamped with field work since early April. Time has been flying by!!

The osprey pair nesting at the nest with our Osprey Cam on it has successfully hatched three young. The eggs hatched at ~37 days and in the order they were laid. Ospreys exhibit asyncronous hatching, which helps make sure that only the strongest young survive to fledge. In years with a good supply of fish then all young will survive. When there is harsh weather or a lack of prey (fish) then the oldest and strongest will survive, this is often called natural selection. The last two catches, from the male, have been very large white perch. There has been so much food that the young all get their fill. Sometimes the runt won’t get fed right away, but if he peeps a lot and begs for food, then he will get his share too.

Regarding the trash in the nest:

We are watching the plastic in the nest and will take action if necessary to remove it. Our policy is only to act when a bird is in a life threatening situation. Us entering a nest creates disturbance which might cause even more harm (more so when a bird is potentially entangled). Extreme care (and patience) must be taken in these types of situations. Trust us. We’d LOVE to not see the trash in the nest, BUT this is a teachable moment for all who are watching the Osprey Cam. Please share our post on social media and encourage your friends to pick up the next piece of litter they see or to not release balloons! If we all act, then we can all make a difference!

Donations needed for Falcon Project!

Posted on May 5, 2014 by Ben Wurst

New cart needed to carry remote, motion activated camera to nests

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

Each spring we work with NJ Fish & Wildlife Biologists to deploy a remote, motion activated camera at coastal peregrine falcon nests. The camera is set at the entrance to nestboxes or Dog Igloos to capture video of the adults as they enter and exit the nestbox when they are incubating eggs. As the pair exchanges incubation duties they go in and out, past the small camera. Most adults where leg bands (that they were given before fledging): one USGS band (silver or black:NJ, and one auxiliary color band with an alpha/numeric code). The data that’s collected helps biologist to keep track of the population and also allows us to find out the age of adults, their origin, nest site fidelity, and turnover rates.

To carry this wonderful camera to nest sites we use a small cart (made by Wheeleez, Inc.) transport it over the saltmarsh environment. Why is the Wheeleez cart important? Well, the cart has huge tires with low ground pressure. This helps us to leave a small footprint on our coastal saltmarshes. It glides easily over spartina covered marshes and fits perfectly over extension ladders that we use to cross small ditches on our way out to falcons nests that are on old hacking towers. There are around 10 towers where we deploy this camera and the cart is crucial to this project!

The current cart is over 10 years old and is falling apart. It’s wheels fall off and now it’s being held together with cable ties… We could carry it by hand, but there’s a heavy battery inside the Pelican Case that houses the camera system. We also carry a 16 or 20′ ladder to access nests, which are on 30-40′ towers. Carrying both by oneself would be extremely difficult, especially considering we sometimes walk long distances to a nest (and often cross many ditches). We’re asking for your support to help us purchase a new cart. We need to raise $300 within the next 14-21 days.

Donate

Battle of the Bags!!

Posted on April 17, 2014 by Ben Wurst

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

The osprey pair at our Osprey Cam nest has been “decorating” their nest with plastic marine debris. They’re turning out to be hoarders of plastic mesh bags. So far they’ve collected three to use as nesting material. How will this play out? We can’t say for sure but are closely monitoring with the Osprey Cam.