Habitat Program Manager Ben Wurst wearing the black CWF mask.
Though few people had these on their shopping lists at the start of 2020, face masks have become arguably the most important way to stay healthy for New Jerseyans in the face of COVID-19.
Conserve Wildlife Foundation is now offering attractive and durable masks featuring our falcon-themed logo, so you can protect yourself – and protect wildlife at the same time!
CWF masks come in three colors: black or navy with a white CWF logo, or white with a black CWF logo. They are made of cotton and are three-ply, which makes wearing this mask very comfortable. The CWF logo is displayed on the right side of each mask. With a simple design and soft material, these masks are a convenient way to not only protect yourself and others, but also to show support for CWF.
Three juvenile Black Vultures were released back into the wild at at site in Cumberland County.
This location is the site where several other juvenile eagles were released recently after recovering from various injuries. A feeding station has been set up and stocked every other day with fresh fish to supplement their diet until they are able to hunt on their own. Game cameras set up by ENSP, Kathy Clark show that both eagles and vultures have been visiting the site. One of the first juvenile eagles to be released and banded E/96, makes almost daily visits to the site.
Diane Nickerson Director of the Mercer County Wildlife Center was caring for three Black Vulture juveniles 3.5 to 4 months old, that were ready for release. It was decided to release them at the feeding station in Cumberland County where they could be around other vultures.
Black vulture nestlings at Mercer Co. Wildlife@ Diane Nickerson
Black vultures do not build nests, they lay their eggs in tree cavities, hollow logs, caves and on the floor of abandoned buildings. Two of the vulture nestlings had been removed from a barn during renovation and dumped in the woods. Luckily a neighbor found them and they arrived at Mercer County Wildlife Center on May 28, 2020. The third nestling came from the Raptor Trust in June.
Vultures are social, they roost, eat and soar in groups. The three juveniles needed to be released where there were other vultures. The nest cams at the feeding site showed that there were plenty of both Turkey and Black vultures, at the feeding site.
Juvenile Black vultures at release@ Kathy Clark
Thank you to Mercer County Wildlife Center and everyone who made this release possible, including the Eagle Project volunteers who have been dropping fish off at the feeding station.
Bald Eagle in Bogata nest watches over newborn chicks.
The return of Bald Eagles witin the United States has been one of the greatest wildlife conservation success stories of the past few decades. Once a rarity in New Jersey and the rest of the U.S., these majestic raptors have undergone an amazing recovery to once again become a staple in the skies over our rivers and streams. But our work is never finished, as great success leads to new problems and new questions to ponder.
Earlier this year in Bogota New Jersey, at a two story home located along the Hackensack River and the congested traffic of River Road, a pair of bald eagles bucked conventions and decided that this was the place to raise a family. It isn’t out of the ordinary to see an eagle fly over that area on the prowl for a meal, but nesting in such a busy, human dominated area was a big surprise.
A ground nest with three young. photo by Ben Wurst
It’s not very common to see ospreys, a large predatory bird, nest on the ground. Despite the rarity of these sightings, it has become more common and acts as a glimpse into the past (and future), before humans dominated the landscape. Today, more and more ospreys are building nests on the ground and snags over water.
Barb fully prepared with her mask, in case of running into people in the remote area she is monitoring (left) and physically distancing on the banks of the Delaware (right).
In these unusual days, under threat of a potentially lethal pandemic and state mandated “social distancing”, I am so thankful that some of my “best friends” are bald eagle pairs and their nestlings! I observe and report on 6 nests in central and northwest NJ.
I am fortunate in that my viewing spots are all on land and roads which are not off limits. Yet most of my viewing locations are remote enough that I rarely have to confront people!
The nests in northwest Jersey are in especially remote locations. It is rare that I see even a couple cars on the roads en route to these nests, and even more unusual is seeing another person. Viewing two of these nests requires me to carry my gear a half mile while bushwhacking through rhododendron thickets.
But then I am on the river, it is calm and peaceful, and all I hear are the sounds of nature waking up in the early morning, feeling the sun rise on my face, and seeing and hearing the hungry eaglets begging their parents for breakfast! This is the perfect stress reliever needed in these troubled times!
Occasionally I have help with the two most remote nests. While these are 60-80 miles from my home, our friend (and fellow eagle project volunteer) lives near the area. When he joins me, we walk in to the viewing site separately, and set up our equipment at least 20-30 feet apart. This is social distancing as it should be!
Note: For the health and safety of our staff, volunteers and the communities where we work, CWF is only performing essential wildlife monitoring and conservation duties. While in the field, staff and volunteers are practicing social distancing and following all state and CDC guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Thank you Barb for being a dedicated volunteer and for sharing the video clips below of some of your favorite moments from previous years’ monitoring:
“Mom and one of the nestlings are in the nest and Dad flies in with a huge wad of grass/hay to line the nest bole….keeping it clean, dry and comfy for his kids!”
“In 2018, a 15 week old fledgling was still hanging around the nest (for two months it stayed!). Here he is perching in a tree, taking a moment for a nice stretch.”
The Stow Creek Viewing platform was built and installed in 1990 along the Stow Creek in Cumberland County. In 1990 there were only four eagle nests in New Jersey. The Stow Creek pair built their nest in a large sycamore tree in an active farm field. The Division of Fish and Wildlife’s Endangered and Nongame Species Program built the viewing platform across the creek, and it was featured in the first New Jersey Wildlife Viewing Guide. This beautiful site gave the public a safe spot to view nesting eagles without disturbing them.
In 2005, the eagle pair moved to a new location about 1 mile away along the Canton Drain, inside an active blue heron rookery and have nested there ever since. The sycamore tree remained empty until this season when a new pair of eagles built a nest in the tree.
The breeding season started off well enough for the peregrine
family that star on our Falcon Cam in Jersey City this year. Four eggs were
laid, three sisters hatched, were banded and were growing up high atop the
skyscraper at 101 Hudson Street. Thousands of viewers enjoyed seeing them
flapping and jumping, strengthening their flight muscles for their first flight
to fledge from the nest.
Eagle Project volunteer Randy Lubischer captured this amusing photo of a recent eagle fledge from Monmouth County, being harassed by an Eastern kingbird. In the photo below it looks like the much smaller bird is hitching a ride.
By Michael Sol Warren | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com.
Photo credit: Ed Murray, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com
Freezing water and colder winds keep most New Jerseyans away from the Shore during the winter months. After all, who wants to spend a day on the beach bundled up and shivering?
But winter on the Shore is a downright balmy vacation for some annual visitors from the Northern Latitudes — it’s seal season again in the Garden State.
Nearly 10 years ago, a US Airways flight out of New York’s LaGuardia Airport memorably ended up in the Hudson River after striking a flock of Canada geese and losing engine power just northeast of the George Washington Bridge.
The passengers and flight crew survived the so-called “Miracle on the Hudson.” But each year, thousands of planes meet up with birds and other wildlife, and those numbers are growing in New Jersey.
In 2017, there was 366 reports of wildlife strikes in New Jersey. That was up from 326 in 2016. Among those incidents included a September 2017 crash of an ultralight aircraft in Cumberland County, after its pilot was forced to bank hard after a flock of small birds entered his flightpath. A moment later, a larger bird struck the support cable on his right wing and he tried to touch down to check for damage. Hitting the ground hard, the kite-like plane was substantially damaged.
David Wheeler, executive director of the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, said the increasing number of bird strikes in New Jersey may be a matter of better reporting, as well as the increasing number of flights in the Northeast.
