Three nestlings produced at the Osprey Cam nest are banded for future tracking!
by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
In the late afternoon of June 24, 2014, I kicked off the 2014 Osprey Nesting Surveys by banding the three nestings at the Osprey Cam nest. I was joined by Ann Marie Mason Morrison, with Friends of Forsythe NWR, our founding partner with the Osprey Cam, and two U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service interns, Jessie and Kirsten who helped bring out all the equipment needed to the nest (two 20′ ladders).
This is one of the most difficult nests to reach in all of New Jersey! It either takes a boat (at high tide) or two 20′ ladders (at low tide) to cross a 15′ wide ditch on the coastal salt marsh. Anyone who has crossed the ditch can attest to how difficult it is. Now you can watch and see what when into banding these three nestlings. A portion of the video was cut when I was attempting to repair the sound at the camera equipment box. At the same time the nest was cleaned of harmful plastic debris that the birds used as nesting material. A total of 3 balloons and a plastic bag were removed from the nest. The three young were banded with USGS bird bands (1088-04358,59 & 60) for future tracking. Check out a photo that I got of “the runt.” Enjoy!
By Michael Davenport, Marine Species & GIS Programs Manager
Conserve Wildlife Foundation Intern, Nelson Melendez, and I recently had an opportunity to assist Endangered & Nongame Species Program Biologist Sharon Petzinger in her research on golden-winged warblers, a species just added to the state’s list of Endangered species this year. We were banding males which had been observed previously and had already claimed breeding territories. They were being banded in order to obtain data regarding their distribution and habitat use, as well as other life history information.
Only males were being targeted for banding. Males are territorial during the breeding season and do not tolerate the presence of other male golden-winged warblers. Therefore, in order to catch a male, we would use their own territorial instincts to lure them into a mist net (a mist net looks a little like a volley ball net with much finer netting which becomes invisible to birds if set-up properly).
Once a mist net was set-up near a known golden-winged’s territory, Sharon used a custom-painted “toy” bird to play the role of an unwelcome male visitor. She also used a call play-back, a recording of a male golden-winged’s song. The song would lure the male near the net, and the decoy should bring him right into the net.
We went to several locations in northwest New Jersey where golden-winged warblers had been observed earlier in the year to set-up the mist net. On this particular day, however, luck was not with us for no golden-winged warblers were caught. Several other species were captured however, such as a veery, chestnut-sided warbler, and a Brewster’s warbler. The Brewster’s warbler is actually a hybrid of a golden-winged warbler and a blue-winged warbler. Another hybrid form between those two species is known as Lawrence’s warbler.
CWF Intern, Nelson Melendez, holding a chestnut-sided warbler. Photo by Mike Davenport.
The veery and chestnut-sided warbler were released from the net unharmed. Before the Brewster’s was released, a small aluminum band was placed on its leg and measurements such as wing length and weight were taken.
Warblers are often an overlooked group of birds by some birdwatchers due to their small size and relative difficulty in observing. They are stunningly beautiful however, which becomes apparent when you have the opportunity to view them up-close. They are a very diverse species group with a variety of interesting life histories. There is currently one species (the golden-winged) listed as Endangered in the state and 11 additional species listed as Special Concern. To learn more about them, please visit our on-line field guide links below.
TRACKING THEIR PATH AS THEY HEAD SOUTH FOR THE WINTER
By Allison Anholt, Field Technician, (NJDFW) and Emily Heiser, Field Technician, (CWFNJ)
Color band being placed on oystercatcher chick at Stone Harbor, N.J.
Throughout the fall, there is a remarkable sight to see along New Jersey’s coastline. Thousands of shorebirds group together in huge flocks, using our state’s coastline as a migration stopover point to rest and feed. One particularly interesting shorebird is the American oystercatcher, which is listed as a species of special concern in New Jersey. At the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, we work with biologists from the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife to survey these birds throughout the fall season.
The oystercatcher is an especially easy bird to survey during fall migration due to its distinct features. Not only do they stand apart from other shorebird species with their unique orange bill and striking coloration, but color bands help us determine individuals as well. Banding efforts have been underway in New Jersey since 2004 in order to give insight to researchers regarding the
oystercatcher’s breeding habits, pair behavior, and migration patterns. About 300 oystercatchers have been banded in New Jersey to date, including a significant percentage of the state’s estimated 400 breeding pairs. Continue reading “AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS TAGGED AND READY FOR MIGRATION”
Hello all! I’m new to this blog so I’m going to introduce myself. My name is Agata Kaczkowski and I’m a student in New Jersey City University. Currently I’m lucky enough to be completing my internship for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey. In May, 2012 I’m expecting to graduate with a B.S. in Biology (which explains my love for nature).
As the temperature outside reached 95°F. Ben Wurst and I arrived on Sedge Island on 06/28/2010. A camp composed of middle school students greeted us as we approached the island. I was pleasantly surprised to find out how knowledgeable these kids were on the subject of ospreys! After a brief introduction, Ben and I started our journey to visit over 20 nests with hopes of finding healthy osprey chicks. Even though the weather was extremely hot the cool breeze from the ocean and the ability to soak my feet from time to time in the water made all the difference. The students followed us to the first couple of nests, where they got to hold an osprey chick as it was banded, and they took some photographs with the chicks. As we approached the second nest, the female osprey was flying really low and seemed very aggressively protective of her young. The female is usually larger and more protective of the chicks than the male. She was soaring really low as Ben was banding the chicks at the nest site, the kids observed the whole incident from their kayaks. Ben and I had over 20 nests to visit, so as the kids went back to the island we continued our journey. At the fourth nest we encountered an unpleasant situation- deceased three-week-old chick. Of the two that hatched, one had died, most likely of natural causes. We cleaned the nest and moved along.
The boat was a great way of getting from one nest to the other, although at times we had to push it because the water was too shallow for the boat. My job was to record the nest type, the number of chicks hatched, number of chicks banded and the band number (that was only if Ben thought it safe enough to band them). Most of the chicks were banded, although a couple were too young to band. We ended up banding about 26 osprey chicks around the island.
Cleaning up the fishing nets and balloon ribbons from nests was a must because the young may get tangled in the debris and not survive. I personally found bottles and shopping bags all over, which was frustrating because this is how the habitat gets destroyed. I will keep you all updated on my next field experiences…
