Category: osprey

HOW YOU CAN HELP: SHOREBIRDS AND SEABIRDS

Posted on by CWF

By Alison Levine

Update May 30, 2019: Another example of the dangers of fishing (or this time crabbing) line unfolded in dramatic fashion in Tuckahoe Wildlife Management Area. CWF biologist Ben Wurst was called upon to put his climbing skills to the test to help an osprey dangling high above the ground. Thankfully Ben was able to get to the bird in time, and our friends at Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research nursed the osprey back to health and were able to re-release him near where he was found. Read more about the daring rescue on our Facebook page.

Ben Wurst puts his climbing skills to the test
to rescue and entangled osprey

As thousands of people plan their trips to the Jersey shore for Memorial Day weekend, it is a good time think about how to help out shore and sea birds. Enjoy the holiday weekend!

The 141 miles of seashore in New Jersey are home – or at least part-time host – to many of the birds Conserve Wildlife Foundation protects and nurtures. Osprey, oystercatchers, black skimmers, piping plovers, red knots, and many others rely on a healthy coast to thrive.

Piping plovers on the beach
Continue reading “HOW YOU CAN HELP: SHOREBIRDS AND SEABIRDS”

Press of Atlantic City Op-Ed: Osprey recovery successful, but we can still help them thrive, says Ben Wurst

Posted on by CWF

By Ben Wurst, CWF Habitat Restoration Manager

Ospreys have made great progress toward recovery in New Jersey, rebounding from a low of 50 nests in 1974 to 589 active nests in 2018. This progress should be celebrated, and victory can and should be declared, as The Press of Atlantic city suggested in their March 1 editorial “Maybe it’s time NJ declares victory in restoration of ospreys.”

But as a biologist who has studied ospreys for many years I also know that declaring victory doesn’t just mean we should walk away and abandon them.

Ben Wurst banding an osprey nestling. Photo by Northside Jim.
Continue reading “Press of Atlantic City Op-Ed: Osprey recovery successful, but we can still help them thrive, says Ben Wurst”

Now Streaming — Barnegat Light Osprey Cam!

Posted on by CWF

By Ben Wurst

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.

Continue reading “Now Streaming — Barnegat Light Osprey Cam!”

WHYY: Ospreys begin returning to the Jersey Shore

Posted on by CWF

Story by Justin Auciello, WHYY

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.

New Jersey 101.5: Record number of ospreys last year

Posted on by CWF

Story by Joe Cutter, New Jersey 101.5

Photo by Ben Wurst, CWF Habitat Program Manager

A new report finds that a record number of ospreys were observed in New Jersey during the year 2018. The report was prepared by the state Division of Fish and Wildlife and The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

Report co-author Benjamin Wurst, of The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, says 932 ospreys were spotted along New Jersey’s coast last year. Wurst says part of the increase has to do with less pollution.

“We are just not seeing the prevalence of these pollutants, in the form where it would actually hurt them,” Wurst said.

New Jersey’s Ospreys: A Symbol of a Healthy Coast ~ Part III

Posted on by Ben Wurst

Support New Jersey’s ospreys with donations matching a $12,500 challenge to help Conserve Wildlife Foundation purchase a boat.

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

Surveying a nest on Long Beach Island in 2017, the last year we were able to utilize a state owned boat. photo by Northside Jim.

Ospreys are living barometers. They symbolize the resilience of life along the New Jersey coast. As a top tier predator who feeds exclusively on fish, their collective health is a direct link to the health of our coastal waters. Anyone can tell you that a healthy coast is essential to life at the shore. Clean water with abundant and healthy wildlife equals a booming shore economy. We have all benefited from actions and policy that have protected our air, land and water since the 1970s. Ospreys are no exception.

Continue reading “New Jersey’s Ospreys: A Symbol of a Healthy Coast ~ Part III”

New Jersey’s Ospreys: A Symbol of a Healthy Coast ~ Part II

Posted on by Ben Wurst

New Jersey’s Ospreys: A Symbol of a Healthy Coast

Posted on by Ben Wurst

2018 Becomes most productive year in history.

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

Banding osprey nestlings with red auxiliary bands at a nest off LBI. photo by Northside Jim.

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.

Continue reading “New Jersey’s Ospreys: A Symbol of a Healthy Coast”

Video from the Field: Osprey Platform Install

Posted on by Ben Wurst
Ensuring Osprey Platforms Remain Resilient

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

On a brisk November morning, a couple dedicated NJ Osprey Project volunteers joined myself and CWF Biologist Larissa Smith to install an osprey platform on the coastal saltmarsh of New Jersey. The new platform was installed to replace a very old and unstable platform that fell this summer. The new structure is more than twice the size of the old one and will give the nesting pair, who return in the spring, a much more resilient nest site. As you can see from the video above, it takes a bit of strength to raise up a 16′ tall wood nest platform. We decided to slow it down when WCC Volunteer, Wayne R. gives it a final push. Continue reading “Video from the Field: Osprey Platform Install”

Documenting the presence of plastics in osprey nests

Posted on by Ben Wurst
The threats are real and these photos should alarm you!

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

U.S. Coast Guard assists NJ Fish & Wildlife with recovering an entangled osprey on a channel marker in Cape May Harbor, Summer 2018. photo by Kathy Clark/ENSP

As I work to finalize data from this summer’s osprey surveys, I wanted to look back and highlight an important observation: more plastic is being found and recovered from active osprey nests. I guess it’s no surprise when you hear that “18 billion pounds of plastic waste flows into the oceans every year from coastal regions.” Continue reading “Documenting the presence of plastics in osprey nests”