Several weeks ago, a five-week-old bald eagle was found on the ground with its sibling after a severe storm, their nest destroyed, and the eaglets were transported to us for professional care. Other than being slightly dehydrated, one nestling was healthy.
Female Osprey (the width of the leg can help determine sex) holding a striped bass.
This is a project that we’ve dreamed about for some time. As you may know, much of our work with ospreys has been centered around Barnegat Bay, where the population has grown from around 60 pairs to over 140 nesting pairs over the past decade. This new camera will help us raise awareness for protecting this important indicator species in the Barnegat Bay watershed, who have direct implications for the health of our coastal environment.
There is a hole in my heart this week after hearing about the passing of my friend Pete Bacinski. I met Pete many years ago when he used to lead NJ Audubon Sussex County weekends jointly with the Weis Ecology Center.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation biologist Allegra Mitchell recently wrote about rare herps for Skylands Visitor’s website. Allegra takes you on a tour through the sometimes weird, always wonderful world of amphibians and reptiles.
As the season eases into milder temperatures at the onset of spring, all manner of creatures stretch their bodies and move more freely, searching for food and mates while they patrol their home turfs. Among these creatures are some of the most rare, interesting, and beautiful animals in the Garden State. Though they often go unnoticed or are misunderstood, reptiles and amphibians are vital to the balance of our fragile ecosystems—and some of them are in pretty big trouble.Continue reading on njskylands.com.
Jim Wright, whose “Bird Watcher” column appears twice-weekly in The Record and on NorthJersey.com, shares his favorite places to spot rare and beautiful birds in North Jersey. Video created with Wochit.
Nest cams offer you a peek into the natural world from the comfort of your own phone or computer screen. Jim Wright interviews CWF Executive Director David Wheeler about the cams and why they are such an effective way to connect people to wildlife.
“Viewers feel the drama, the danger, the sibling squabbles, the results of chases for prey, the perils of wind and rain and snow and windblown trees, and of course the joys of a new egg hatching or a bird taking flight for the first time,” Wheeler explains.
CWF has long led the efforts to offer free wildlife webcams, made possible by generous sponsors and partners such as Phillips 66 and Union County Parks, whom CWF partners with on the Union County peregrine falcon cam in Elizabeth.
A barn owl hatched in captivity in 2008 is among the residents at Woodford Cedar Run Wildlife Refuge in Medford. (Photo: File photo, Courier Post)
The Conserve Wildlife Foundation invites high schools students from across the state to submit an original social media campaign showing the importance of protecting rare wildlife in New Jersey. The “Species on the Edge 2.0” contest is in its fifth year and sponsored by the PSEG Foundation.
Do you have a teen who loves animals and getting out in nature?
You might want to encourage him or her to spend more time on the phone — at least for one specific project.
The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey is inviting high school students from across the state to participate in a social-media contest to win scholarship money.
The “Species on the Edge 2.0” Social Media Contest encourages teens to leverage their digital knowledge for the chance to win prizes.
Splashing across a stream, letting imagination take flight on the wings of a bird and the excitement of navigating a new trail are some magical moments in childhood that resonate through the years, not just as memories but as life lessons.
Kids who spend time outdoors, or #OptOutside, aren’t just having fun getting dirty. Time outdoors has been shown to reduce childhood depression and stress, build kids’ confidence and even improve performance in school.
Horseshoe crab eggs on the beach. Photo from The Wetlands Institute.
During the full and new moon events in May and June thousands of horseshoe crabs come ashore to spawn, primarily in Delaware Bay. At the same time migrating shorebirds descend upon the beaches to rest and feed on the horseshoe crab eggs before continuing onto their breeding grounds. This interaction between horseshoe crab, shorebird and humans is what lays the ground works for the Green Eggs & Sand (GE&S) workshop.
The GE&S workshop is a three-day workshop for teachers focused on understanding the issues, science and management of the horseshoe crab/shorebird interaction. Workshop participants learn from top researchers and natural managers in the field, and participate in a horseshoe crab count.
An osprey prepares to land on a natural nest in the Barnegat Bay Photo from Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey
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.
Top: Duke Farms Eagle protects two eggs that are expected to hatch soon. Photo credit Conserve Wildlife Foundation. Bottom: Peregrine Falcons in Union County exhibit mating behavior. Photo credit Union County.
A pair of American Eagles tend to their nest atop an 80-foot Sycamore tree at Duke Farms in Hillsborough, days away from the hatching of two eggs, while the courtship season has begun for a female peregrine falcon nesting on the roof of the historic 17-story Union County Courthouse in downtown Elizabeth.
The predators have achieved “rock star” status in classrooms and homes across the state and the country thanks to video cameras that have been installed on trees and within the nests of the birds by wildlife biologists, with live feeds available online.