Holding a big brown bat during a maternity colony survey. Photo by MacKenzie Hall
It’s hard to believe that it has been two months since the start of my internship with the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey. As a rising senior in college (when did that happen?), I can attest to the fact that time flies. Last December I contacted MacKenzie Hall, a Private Lands Biologist with the CWF and bat expert with a proposition. My college had provided me with a stipend after the completion of a long list of requirements for an unpaid internship. Being an avid wildlife lover, biology student and a resident of New Jersey, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey seemed like the perfect fit. MacKenzie graciously agreed to take me under her [bat] wing.
On June 1, I jumped right into MacKenzie’s work with the bat population of New Jersey. I was quickly contacting volunteers, designing driving routes and delivering acoustic bat detectors. We were working on assessing the bat population of New Jersey with the use of five brand new acoustic bat detectors split amongst forty volunteers.
So far at Island Beach State Park, this year, we had two Birding-by-Kayak trips sponsored by Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ and they were a huge hit. The highlight, was a Greater Scaup which was present on both trips in the same location in the little cove called, “Spizzle Creek.” This bird should be high in the northern latitudes at this time of the year on it’s breeding grounds. Instead it did not make it up there this year due to many possible causes. We also had a Turkey Vulture fly right over us on the Sedge Islands, which was a first for me there and many others for that location. It was a strong west wind that day, which most likely brought the vulture all the way to Island Beach. Herons, egrets, warblers, flycatchers and terns were plentiful on the tours. Two weeks ago, we also had the first of the migratory shorebirds showing up on the sandbars and mudflats to refuel for their journey back south to their wintering grounds in the southern U.S, Mexico, and Central and South America. More and more shorebirds are trickling into the area each day!
Birders use kayaks to reach birding hot spots inside Sedge Islands. Photo by Skyler Streich
Conserve Wildlife Foundation is partnering with Island Beach State Park and The Friends of Island Beach this year to help keep these wonderful tours for years to come. There are many more birding tours available at the park this summer, so all you have to do is sign up and you are on your way to a learning adventure at a beautiful location!
There are 3 more “Birding by Kayak” tours being offered this season. August 18; September 1, 15. Cost is $25. To sign up call Kathy at 732-250-6314 or email her: D-Kathy@live.com.
We are also offering two great birding programs for both beginner and advanced levels of birdwatchers. The Beginner program on August 25th, will show participants how to properly use binoculars, and learn how to use field guides to identify the birds they are seeing. The Advanced program will focus on tackling the identification of the many shorebirds that will be present at Island Beach. That program is offered on July 28th and August 11th. The Cost is free. Please preregister by calling the nature center at Island Beach at; 732-793-1698 or email: ibspnature@netcarrier.com.
We hope that you join us for an unforgettable experience at Island Beach State Park!
Here on the Conserve Wildlife Foundation blog we have talked a lot about piping plovers and the conservation efforts we enact when we find a nest. But have you ever wondered how we locate their nests? The key is knowing where to look. This is my second summer working on the beach nesting bird project and this year I have been able to observe a behavior which I had only heard about the year before. Piping plovers return to the same breeding site year after year, a behavior called site fidelity.
Plovers Evolved to Nest on the Beach
This behavior is thought to help maintain the adaptation of a population to a very specific environment. In this case the piping plovers have evolved to nesting on the beach and those that nest elsewhere may not be successful. Natural selection favors the birds who exhibit site fidelity. Another benefit to this behavior comes at the beginning of the nesting season. When the plovers return to the same spot they spend less time fighting with other plovers over territory. When a nest is destroyed or predated, it takes time to re-nest; so those plovers that nest sooner have a greater chance at fledging chicks. Continue reading “The Great Piping Plover Nest Search”
There is not too much more we could have guessed would happen to a particular pair of piping plovers that nested at the North Brigantine Natural Area (NBNA) this season. Every time one of the staff members ventured out to NBNA, it seemed as though a soap opera was unfolding with dramatic twists and turns to the story! Disturbance, flooding, and the infamous Brigantine foxes were all to blame for the failure of three nests that a single pair of plovers laid. And just when we thought this pair was done for the season, they surprised us by laying their fourth nest! Over the course of two months, this very special pair of piping plovers determinedly laid 14 eggs! Continue reading “If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try and Try Again!”
A large, breeding population of the American green treefrog, Hyla cinerea, has been discovered in Salem County, New Jersey. H. cinerea is a common treefrog found in the southeastern United States with a range extending from southern Delaware down the coastal plain to Florida and along the Gulf to Texas. Although very abundant in sections of its range, it has never been documented in New Jersey.
This serendipitous discovery happened during a routine chytridiomycosis survey in southern New Jersey. After finishing up a bat acoustics training, MacKenzie (our Private Lands Biologist), offered to help me conduct my night-time amphibian survey. My intention was to visit a site in the Pinelands but I was surprised by the loud and unidentifiable calling from an impoundment across the road. As we hiked through dense phrag that had been weaved together by mile-a-minute weed, we were completely oblivious to the clear path to our right that would become apparent in daylight.
Upon reaching the water, the calling was almost deafening and any communication between us was conducted by yelling. As I waded across the impoundment, the water became very deep and the thick silt slowed movement and caused a fair amount of water to overflow my chest waders. As the emergent vegetation grew thicker, I began to notice an abundance of small, green treefrogs clasped to the phrag, calling a couple inches above the water. Confused, as they clearly weren’t peepers and we were out of Pine Barren Treefrog range, I was able to catch one and return to the other side for MacKenzie’s opinion.
Upon closer inspection, this frog was clearly not a native to New Jersey. This little light green frog was about 2 inches in length with small, bright, yellow spots on its back and a pale underside. (This first treefrog did not have the characteristic white side line, but subsequent samples did.) Luckily, MacKenzie had her camera and was able to take several diagnostic pictures that we would later investigate.
After consulting with several experts and a site visit with ENSP Biologist, Dave Golden, we confirmed that there was a large population of H. cinerea at this site in Salem County. We are currently conducting more site assessments in the area to determine the green treefrog’s range in New Jersey. Together with ENSP, we will be starting a genetic study comparing samples collected in New Jersey to local samples found in Delaware in hopes of determining the origin of the New Jersey population.
SPECIES ON THE EDGE ART & ESSAY CONTEST AWARDS CEREMONY
by Karena DiLeo, Assistant Biologist
The Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest Awards Ceremony was May 6th at the New Jersey Education Association in Trenton. We had a great turn out and would like to thank everyone who attended and submitted entries into the contest. We received over 2,000 entries this year! Winning artwork is currently on display at NJ Audubon’s Plainsboro Preserve and will travel to Liberty State Park on June 6th.
Angela Guo from Mercer County received her First Place certificate from CWF Executive Director Margaret O'Gorman and Board Member and sponsor Bob Coleman.
Kyle Whittle, a Boy Scout from West Milford, will earn his Eagle rank soon for a project that adds summer roosting habitat for forest bats. Dwindling habitat is a threat to NJ bats – even those that aren’t affected by White-nose Syndrome – and most of our 9 species need dead/dying trees with flaking bark to roost and raise their young. Artificial roosts can also be successful and long-lasting. Kyle chose to put his Eagle-eye on bats after hearing about our Indiana Bat Forestry Project through a family friend with several wooded acres to offer.
Last week I worked with Kyle and a group of his friends to mount bat roosts at the West Milford property, which sits on the edge of the Bearfort Mountains. We hiked up a steep hill of rhododendrons and hemlocks to the deeper part of the forest…a really enjoyable walk without the ladders, hammers, bundles of cedar shakes, asphalt paper, screw guns, and 15-lb bat houses!
The afternoon made good use of the teenagers’ energy, carpentry skills, and tree-climbing impulses. They put up four traditional bat houses, built earlier by Kyle, and a few tree “wraps” meant to resemble the loose bark of dead trees. We chose trees that get a lot of sun during the day; the owners will also do some girdling to open the canopy and create natural roosts.
Bats are starting to show up in their summer grounds again. Thanks, Kyle & crew, for rolling out the welcome mat!
Jefferson Salamander, a species of special concern in New Jersey, crossing to its breeding pools. Photo by MacKenzie Hall.
Well, it’s that time of year again. As the temperature slowly climb and the ground thaws with spring rains, New Jersey amphibians emerge from their upland habitat and begin their long and increasingly treacherous journey to their spring breeding pools.
This March marked my first official amphibian migration night with Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Amphibian Crossing Project. As always, any potential migration night begins with frantic checking for weather updates, a call to volunteers to suit up and meet us at rescue sites, early arrival to set up road signs and safety equipment, and hoping the rains continue…we wait. We wait as rush hour begins, the traffic steadily increasing as dusk falls, and then it happens: one by one, we spot wood frogs and spotted salamanders on the road edges- hesitating to leave the coverage of the forest almost like they know the roads bisecting their ancestral migration paths may prove an impassable barrier.
This past Thursday, our destination was a rescue site on East Shore Drive in Stillwater Township. With the help of dedicated volunteers, including boy scouts from local Patriots Path Council, we patrolled almost 250 meters of roadway and rescued 572 frogs, salamanders, and newts in just 2 ½ hours—that’s 229 amphibians per hour! Within this short span of time we also waved 70 cars through- most of which seemed oblivious to natural phenomenon taking place under their wheels.
Dedicated volunteers patrol roadway. From left to right: Diane Gonski, Doug Hankin, Wayne Bancroft, Eckhardt Debbert, and Paul Cook. Photo by Phil Wooldridge.
By 10pm, migration had slowed and more importantly traffic had too. So it was on to the next site. MacKenzie and I wanted to check out how a site on a busy road faired in Liberty Township. The results were disheartening—within a narrow corridor we saw at least 50 dead frogs and salamanders littering the road. During the hour we patrolled, 50 spotted salamanders were counted (and moved) trying to cross a road with still significant traffic at 11pm at night.
Wood frog dead on road. Photo by MacKenzie Hall.
If hundreds of amphibians died within hours in this narrow corridor- imagine how many thousands are killed throughout the state each rainy spring night. Each individual’s death marks a loss to the population but with females carrying between 200 and 2,000 eggs it marks a significant loss not only to their species future generations but also to the ecosystem as an important food source to other animals.
I knew the importance of amphibian migration and the potential extirpation populations were facing due to roads- I had seen other migration nights but I had never before seen the mass mortalities on a single road. So please on the next rainy spring night, leave your car in your driveway and instead grab a flashlight and see what you can find or contact CWF and become one of our dedicated Amphibian Crossing volunteers!
Because of the small amount of research undertaken when compared to other more intensely studied bird species, we are still very far from a complete understanding of the American oystercatcher. For several years staff from Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, along with other partners throughout the state have collected data for both breeding and wintering populations of American oystercatcher in New Jersey. Very little data has been collected, however, during the non-breeding/migratory season.
That data gap is now beginning to close. Thanks to a grant provided by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, CWF was able to conduct surveys during the post-breeding/migratory season on roosting flocks of American oystercatcher at southern New Jersey Atlantic coastal inlets from Brigantine to Cape May. This data, when combined with data collected by other researchers range-wide, helps us to discern life-span, survival rates, movement patterns, population numbers, age structure and other important characteristics vital to our better understanding of this species.
For this study research staff surveyed inlet flocks of American oystercatchers between late July and early December 2010. Flocks were counted and observed for banded birds. There were just over 400 individual band resights during the survey period, significantly increasing our database of resighted birds. The majority of birds that were resighted were banded in New Jersey, although a number of birds banded in other states were also observed, including from Massachusetts, Delaware, Virginia, Georgia, North Carolina, and South Carolina.
Preliminary analyses of band resights and flock counts suggest seasonal patterns of behavior and show a variety of migration strategies within the species. Some migrants were sighted only once and seem to be passing through relatively quickly en route to roost sites further south. Some individuals resighted here in New Jersey were subsequently resighted a short time later on the Florida Gulf Coast at Cedar Key, indicating impressive migration distances covered in a very short time.
Others banded oystercatchers where resighted during the survey more than once here in New Jersey and spent considerable time roosting at or near our southern coastal inlets before moving on as temperatures dropped towards the end of the survey period. Still others were present during the entire period. New Jersey is the northernmost extent of the wintering range for the Atlantic Coast population of oystercatchers.
During the survey period, Brigantine, Great Egg Harbor, Corson’s, and Townsend’s inlets all showed a gradual increase in oystercatcher numbers to their peak flock counts towards the middle and end of October, when migrants headed for warmer latitudes and winter residents consolidated into New Jersey’s two primary winter flocks at Absecon and Hereford Inlets. These two primary winter roost sites had their flock counts gradually increase to their peak counts shortly before the end of the survey period. Between 350 and 400 birds were seen in each of these flocks at their peak.
As the primary surveyor for CWFNJ, one unexpected discovery I made early in the survey period was the identification of several alternative high-tide roosting sites at vernal marsh ponds close to, but some distance from, the inlets, and away from previously recorded roost site locations. Further research may help clarify if these alternative sites are a normal part of early migratory oystercatcher habitat, or are in response to the documented high levels of human disturbance in their normal roosting locations during the tourist season. Birds were observed regularly feeding at these ponds during the high-tide roost. It is possible that early in migration season the birds are still actively building reserves of energy to take them safely through the winter, and inhabit the vernal ponds to be close to an easily accessed food source. Wintering flocks, in contrast, are less likely to be seen feeding during the high-tide roost, and more likely to assume their energy conservation pose, standing on one leg with bill tucked under a wing, and the other leg drawn up tight beneath the body, with little or no feeding activity observed.
As fall progressed and human disturbance tapered off to some degree, the flocks did move to their more traditional roost sites, which are generally the beaches, sandbar islands and bayside sandflats of our inlets. Frequent shoulder-season human disturbance of the roosting flocks in these areas from watercraft users, beach walkers, anglers, ORVs, and dogs warrants additional systematic quantitative assessment and analysis for possible negative effects on the survival rates of migratory oystercatchers. Such analysis will aid in the evaluation of the need for the implementation of habitat management actions to mitigate any negative effects discovered.
The American oystercatcher precariously inhabits a narrow ribbon of coastal habitat which is also used by many other threatened and endangered plants and animals. It thus has strong potential as a “sentinel species” to help us to gauge both the current health of our ecosystem and the success or failure of habitat management actions undertaken. Continued data collection and analysis will enable us to take science-based steps in our efforts to understand the American oystercatcher, and to preserve and protect the beautiful barrier-island beaches, bays, and adjacent tidal marsh that make up our southern Jersey Shore.
Yesterday, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection released a rule proposing certain changes to endangered species list and other considerations about rare wildlife in the state.
The list of species protected on the Endangered Species list has not been updated since 2003. This new proposal reflects years of work by wildlife biologists engaged in endangered species protection.
The rule change proposes to add five species to the list of endangered species in the state and change the consideration of eight other species to offer different levels of protection for breeding and non-breeding populations.
The species being added to the list are the black rail, golden-winged warbler, red knot, Indiana bat and gray petaltail (a dragonfly). The Indiana Bat is being added because it is on the federal endangered species list and any species on this list also found in New Jersey is, by default, considered endangered in New Jersey. The other species are being added to the list as a result of a review of their status using something called the Delphi Technique.
The Delphi Technique is an iterative process whereby wildlife biologists and academics, using the best available data, come to consensus agreement of the status of the species under consideration. This review is then approved by the Endangered and Nongame Species Council which is made up of wildlife biologists, academics and other interested parties. Delphi Reviews of birds, freshwater mussels, butterflies, dragonflies and damselflies were carried out between 2000 and 2005. The results of these reviews inform this proposed rule change.
In addition to adding five species to the endangered species list, the Department is proposing to modify the endangered status of eight species of birds for either the breeding or non-breeding populations.
The bald eagle is currently classified as endangered for both breeding and non-breeding populations. The classification of the bald eagle will continue to be endangered for the breeding population, which includes all bald eagles present in the State during the breeding season. However, the non-breeding population, which includes all bald eagles present in the State outside of the breeding season, will be reclassified as threatened.
Six bird species – the pied-billed grebe, northern harrier, northern goshawk, peregrine falcon, short-eared owl and vesper sparrow – currently listed as endangered for both breeding and non-breeding populations will continue to be classified as endangered for breeding populations but will be listed as special concern for their non-breeding populations.
The Endangered Species List is not a one-way street and while we worry about the removal of protections for species, we must recognize and celebrate the recovery and return of these species. In the 1950’s, no peregrine falcons nested east of the Mississippi River, today our non-breeding population is strong and growing. In the late 1980’s, one pair of bald eagles remained in New Jersey, today the winter population is counted in the high 200’s and the breeding population approaches 100 pairs. Species recovery can succeed and with this proposed rule change, we should celebrate these successes.
But, we should mourn the additions to the list and wonder why, since the Endangered Species Act passed in 1973, we still see declining populations and we still add species to the Endangered Species List in New Jersey.
