Shorebirds Archives - Page 4 of 15 - Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ

Red knot decline confirmed by CWF research highlighted in NY Times

Posted on June 12, 2020April 4, 2022 by CWF

Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s research with scientist Dr. Larry Niles was highlighted in today’s New York Times feature detailing the 80 percent decline in red knots in New Jersey’s Delaware Bay this spring.

by Jon Hurdle, The New York Times

A sudden drop in the number of red knots visiting the beaches of Delaware Bay during migration this spring has renewed concern among scientists about the survival of the threatened shore bird’s Atlantic Coast population.

According to biologists, the number of knots that stayed to feed at the bay in May declined by about 80 percent from the same time last year. The Delaware Bay is one of the world’s most important sites for shorebird migration.

Continue reading at nytimes.com.

Close to the Finish Line

Posted on May 30, 2020April 4, 2022 by CWF

by: Dr. Larry Niles of Wildlife Restoration Partnerships. Dr. Niles is working in Delaware Bay on behalf of Conserve Wildlife Foundation. He has helped lead the efforts to protect at-risk shorebirds and horseshoe crabs for over two decades.

Read part one of this update on the 2020 Delaware Bay migration stop over, “Ecological Lockdown for Horseshoe Crabs”.

Direct Flight to the Arctic or Stopover?

A migratory stopover for arctic nesting shorebirds must provide each bird the energy necessary to get to the next stopover or to the ultimate destination, the wintering or breeding area. Delaware Bay stands out among these shorebird refueling stops because it delivers fuel in the form of horseshoe crab eggs giving birds options. Our telemetry has shown that Red knots, the species we best understand, may leave Delaware Bay and go directly to their Arctic breeding areas, or stopover on Hudson Bay. The choice of going straight to the breeding area or stop at another stopover may be critical to understanding the ecological dramas now underway on Delaware Bay.

Ecological Lockdown for Horseshoe Crabs – A Delaware Bay 2020 Update

Posted on May 19, 2020April 4, 2022 by CWF

Guest post by: Dr. Larry Niles

When asked to describe the ecological conditions of any one year of our 23 years of work on Delaware Bay, Humphrey Sitters, one of the first biologists to understand the value of Delaware Bay to shorebirds would respond “every year is unprecedented”. And so it seemed until this year.

Wild for Volunteers Guest Post: Birds, Bats, Frogs and Horseshoe Crabs!

Posted on April 27, 2020April 4, 2022 by CWF

by John King

*Some of the species (super) volunteer John King has helped.*

When I retired from teaching, one of my first tasks was to search for local organizations that encouraged volunteers, especially in areas of wildlife conservation. Luckily, I found Conserve Wildlife Foundation. I have to say that over the past few years, my volunteer service with CWF has been both rewarding and inspiring!

New Podcast Episode: The Red Knot’s Journey

Posted on January 5, 2020April 4, 2022 by CWF

Conserve Wildlife Foundation is excited to release The Red Knot’s Journey, the second episode of ‘State of Change’, our podcast exploring how climate change is affecting wildlife in New Jersey.

Award Winning Program Removes Rubble for Horseshoe Crabs

Posted on December 30, 2019April 4, 2022 by CWF

reTURN the Favor Honored with 2019 New Jersey Governor’s Excellence Award

By: Meghan Kolk, Wildlife Biologist

*Volunteers making piles of rubble at Seabreeze. Photo by Meghan Kolk*.

Conserve Wildlife Foundation has been a partner in the reTURN the Favor (RTF) program since its establishment in 2013. This multi-partner program organizes a large group of trained and dedicated volunteers who collectively spend thousands of hours covering miles of Delaware Bay beaches to rescue stranded horseshoe crabs.

This year RTF was honored with a New Jersey’s Governor’s Environmental Excellence Award, New Jersey’s premier awards program for recognizing outstanding environmental performance, programs and projects throughout the state, in the Healthy Ecosystems & Habitats Category.

ASBURY PARK STUDENTS EXPERIENCE NATURE ON “WILDLIFE WEDNESDAYS”

Posted on August 6, 2019 by CWF

*Asbury Park students and staff pose with their “talons up” after seeing an*
*Osprey snatch a fish from the ocean.*

Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF), the Asbury Park mayor’s office and public schools, and New Jersey Natural Gas hosted Wildlife Wednesdays Field Experience at North Beach at the end of July. The hands-on, project-based outing taught elementary school students about Asbury Park’s rare wildlife, and how to protect and preserve the environment the kids – and wildlife- call home.

HOW YOU CAN HELP: SHOREBIRDS AND SEABIRDS

Posted on May 24, 2019 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.

WHYY: Ospreys begin returning to the Jersey Shore

Posted on March 21, 2019 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.

US Fish & Wildlife: A new reality for plovers on the Jersey Shore

Posted on October 31, 2018 by CWF

by Bridget Macdonald

*Senior biologist for the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey Todd Pover releases a piping plover, a species he has helped monitor for 25 years. (Jim Verhagen)*

On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy plowed ashore near Atlantic City, N.J., with sustained winds of 75 miles per hour. In its wake, state officials declared it the most destructive natural disaster in the history of New Jersey. It changed communities dramatically.

Natural features of the coastline underwent significant changes too, but in some cases, those changes presented new conservation opportunities that could protect people and wildlife in the face of future storms.

“We were able to identify places where piping plover habitat had been enhanced by the storm,” explained Todd Pover, a senior biologist for the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey who has been involved in monitoring the federally threatened shorebird for 25 years. Places like Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, where the storm erased the dunes in a three-quarter mile stretch of beach, creating an open expanse from ocean to bay.

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