Tag: beach nesting birds

Volunteer Guest Bloggers – Bahamas Piping Plover Project!

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Connecting with Piping Plovers in a New Setting

This trip to the Bahamas we had three volunteers, piping plover experts, to help us survey stretches of Abaco that we have either not been able to survey or had limited opportunity to survey in the past. Our volunteers have a wide range of experience ranging from the U.S Fish and Wildlife Service, Pronatura Noreste A.C. Mexico, and a wildlife consulting company in Virginia. Below is their experiences from the week. Enjoy!

Annette Scherer, Retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Biologist

Annette Scherer, retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Biologist (R), kayaking with Stephanie Egger, CWFNJ Biologist (L), to the marine flats in search of Piping Plovers.
Annette Scherer, retired U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Endangered Species Biologist (R), kayaking with Stephanie Egger, CWFNJ Biologist (L), to the marine flats in search of Piping Plovers.

When I retired a year ago after spending the better part of my career negotiating with stakeholders and regulatory agencies to balance piping plover protection with shoreline stabilization projects and human recreational use, I often joked that I was going to move somewhere with no plovers- no piping plovers, no snowy plovers, and not even mountain plovers.  But when CWFNJ invited me along to survey for piping plovers in Abaco, Bahamas I jumped at the chance to learn more about piping plovers on their wintering grounds. My work with plovers in the northeast U.S. had focused on plovers on their breeding grounds where individual pairs of plovers fiercely defend their nesting territory. As a result, its unusual to see more than a pair of plovers and their brood of up to 4 chicks in a single spot. Here on the wintering grounds the bird’s habitat characteristics are very similar to that of their breeding areas – wide sandy coastal beaches, but their behavior is very different. The plovers congregate in small groups, roosting and feeding together. On my first survey day, I was thrilled to observe a group of eleven plovers roosting high on the beach. It was strange to see so many plovers calmly sitting together. Each bird was nestled down in a small depression that gave protection from the wind, reminding me of the shallow scrapes they make when building nests. It was great to finally see where the birds go when they leave the northeast and personally rewarding for me to now have observed the birds throughout their entire annual cycle. Continue reading “Volunteer Guest Bloggers – Bahamas Piping Plover Project!”

Bahamas Piping Plover Project

Posted on by CWF
Eleuthera Edition

By Todd Pover, Beach Nesting Bird Project Manager
Stephanie Egger, Wildlife Biologist

Piping plover roosting beach on the island of Eleuthera, Bahamas.
Piping plover roosting beach on the island of Eleuthera, Bahamas.

Up until now, nearly all of our piping plover conservation work in the Bahamas has been focused on the island of Abaco.  One of the objectives of our Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund grant is to identify other islands and partners where and with whom the model we are developing on Abaco might be implemented as well.  With this in mind, we spent the past several days on the island of Eleuthera.

Although we believe the basic elements of our Abaco work are transferable to other islands, a “one size fits all” approach may not entirely work.  The various major islands are unified under the Bahamas flag, but each also has its own flavor, history, and way of life.  The best analogy would be that they operate much like the individual states in the U.S.

On Abaco, we have been partnering with Friends of the Environment, a non-profit organization with a strong education and outreach component to all of their work – not so different from what we do here at the Conserve Wildlife Foundation.  On Eleuthera we are hoping to partner with the Cape Eleuthera Institute (CEI) and The Island School.  Although education is at the core of their work as well, it is also different in that they carry out and support primary research and host visiting scientists and students at their campus. Continue reading “Bahamas Piping Plover Project”

Plovers in Paradise

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The Bahamas Blog – Trip 1, Day 3

By Todd Pover, Beach Nesting Bird Project Manager and Stephanie Egger, Wildlife Biologist

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Todd Pover posing next to CWFNJ Bahamas Plover-mobile

Today we hit the road in search of piping plovers in the Bahamas. We covered several sites in the southern half of Abaco between Marsh Harbor and Sandy Point. First up was the beach near Crossing Rocks. We stood a moderate chance of seeing plovers there as either tracks or birds had been detected on surveys in recent years.

As we stepped out on the ocean facing beach, which looked very similar to one we might see in New Jersey (discounting the palm trees and turquoise water), we saw another familiar sight in the distance; a flock of tiny shorebirds racing up and down with the incoming waves. Classic sanderling behavior. Except they weren’t sanderlings – they were piping plovers. Ten, twenty, thirty, forty…can there really be fifty piping plovers here? The final tally came in at 53 piping plovers…the mother lode and more than we had ever seen in one place!

One of the most striking parts of this discovery was the type of habitat where this many birds

The pathway to the plover mother lode! (Crossing Rocks, Abaco)
The pathway to the plover mother lode!
Crossing Rocks, Abaco

were found. It was not on a tidal flat such as on Green Turtle Cay, which was the case yesterday, and appears to be more typical in the Bahamas for large flocks. We found them at mid-tide; some were resting on the upper beach, but many were foraging at the water’s edge. We obviously still have a great deal to learn about what type of habitat piping plovers use in the Bahamas and what influence tidal stage has on that use.

The rest of the day was bound to be a letdown after our first survey, but that wasn’t really the case. We made it to the southern end of the island (Sandy Point) where we were greeted by expansive shallow water flats. We missed peak low tide so didn’t really attempt a full survey – this was recon for our return trip in January or for local volunteers to survey.

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Stephanie Egger, CWFNJ, surveying for piping plovers at Casuarina Point

Last on the plover checklist for the day was Casuarina Point, a known piping plover site on Abaco. We hit it right at the low tide as the sun was getting ready to set. We had to wade out to the flats – they were loaded with shorebirds, mostly sanderlings this time, but another 17 piping plovers, as well. Of course, it isn’t really just about the numbers, but we were still a pretty pumped about the results. The first two days of the trip have exceeded our expectations.

Plovers in Paradise

Posted on by CWF

The Bahamas Blog – Trip 1, Day 2

By Todd Pover, Beach Nesting Bird Project Manager and Stephanie Egger, Wildlife Biologist

Meeting with Amy Roberts Primary School and Friends of the Environment
Meeting with Amy Roberts Primary School and Friends of the Environment

Today was our first official work day on Abaco, Bahamas as we spent ALL of yesterday traveling. But, today’s lineup included a meeting with our sister school, Amy Roberts Primary School on Green Turtle Cay, presenting a program to children in grades 3-6, a field visit to the tidal flats with Friends of the Environment and Loggerhead Productions, filming with Loggerhead Productions, and finally an informal meeting with the some bonefishermen and Friends of the Environment on tidal flat conservation.

Although we accomplished a lot in one day, the majority of the day was focused on

Todd Pover, CWFNJ, presenting at Amy Roberts Primary School
Todd Pover, CWFNJ, presenting at Amy Roberts Primary School

working with the school teachers and children.  We had a great morning presenting to the students and engaging them in discussions on the different aspects of the piping plover on the their breeding grounds in the U.S. and the wintering grounds in the Bahamas and demonstrating how important the Bahamas is to the life cycle of the piping plover. The teachers were very enthusiastic about incorporating the piping plover into the children’s curriculum and the sister school program.  The children in grades 3 and 4 at Amy Roberts will be part of a sister school program with an elementary school back at home in Ocean City, New Jersey.  The sister school program includes in-school presentations from CWFNJ to both of these schools, a poster/interpretive sign project, a field trip to observe piping plovers, and communication between the teachers and the students using social media and other means to discuss not only piping plovers, but just the similarities and differences in our respective cultures.

Stephanie Egger, CWFNJ, and a student at Amy Roberts Primary School
Stephanie Egger, CWFNJ, and a student at Amy Roberts Primary School

The day started out with rough seas as we made a ferry crossing from mainland Abaco to Green Turtle Cay, but it was smooth sailing for our project the rest of the day. We are feeling very enthusiastic about the project, in part because of the warm welcome we have received here. Now we see why our plovers like the Bahamas so much:)

Plovers in Paradise

Posted on by CWF

The Bahamas Blog – Trip 1, Day 1

By Todd Pover, Beach Nesting Bird Project Manager and Stephanie Egger, Wildlife Biologist

BahamasFlyingToday we arrived on the island of Abaco in the Bahamas to start our piping plover project, which was made possible courtesy of a grant from the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund. It was mostly a travel day to for us, nonetheless, still exciting  to finally be here to start a project that was has been over a year in the planning.

We will hit the ground running tomorrow with a visit to a local school, participation in a round table discussion with stakeholders on tidal flats conservation, a piping plover survey, and filming for an educational video. And that’s just the first day!

So while we still have time to catch our breath, this is a good opportunity to review the purpose of our trip here.  Over the course of the past two decades, considerable resources have been put into the recovery of the Atlantic Coast population of piping plover, a federally threatened species, with most of the effort taking place on the breeding grounds in the U.S and Canada. Recent research has revealed that the vast majority of the population winters in the Bahamas. Furthermore, there is a growing realization that recovery and long-term sustainability will only occur with full life cycle conservation – protection during the breeding, migration, and wintering phases of the piping plover’s life. Continue reading “Plovers in Paradise”

Photos from the Field!

Posted on by CWF

By Stephanie Egger, Wildlife Biologist

Conserve Wildlife Foundation staff recently assisted researchers from the
State University of New York with a piping plover project that involves
collecting flight pattern data about plovers in New Jersey and
Massachusetts. The information collected will be used to help determine
potential impacts of wind turbines on this federally listed species. The
field work is being headed up in New Jersey by CWFNJ “alumni” Emily Heiser.

Photos from the Field!

Posted on by CWF

By Stephanie Egger, Wildlife Biologist

The month of April has provided the first nests from our beach nesting birds!  The first nest found belongs to the American oystercatcher, a species of concern in New Jersey.  Like our other nesting shorebirds, the eggs are well camouflaged on the beach.  We use symbolic fencing (string and posts) with signs to protect their nesting areas and to alert the public of their presence.

An American oystercatcher nest with 2 eggs.
American oystercatcher nesting area with protective fencing.

 

AMERICAN OYSTERCATCHERS TAGGED AND READY FOR MIGRATION

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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.
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”

Update from the field

Posted on by tpover
BANDED PIPING PLOVER CONTINUES TO DEFY EXPECTATIONS

by Todd Pover, Beach Nesting Bird Project Manager

Some of you may recall an earlier blog (If At First You Don’t Succeed, Try, Try, and Try Again, July 27, 2011) posted by Emily Heiser, one of our seasonal technicians, in which she

"Bahama Mama" - If You Look Close, You Can Detect The Color Bands On her Legs

reported on a piping plover that had nested four times this

year. One reason we know so much about this individual bird is because it is one of just a few banded piping plovers found in New Jersey-it was originally banded in the winter of 2010 in the Bahamas.

This specific bird, dubbed Bahama Mama by our staff, was first observed this year at North Brigantine Natural Area on March 29. It spend the next several months finding a mate, laying and incubating eggs, and finally trying to raise young, a cycle that ended unsuccessfully near the beginning of August. Normally that would be the end of the story for this year, but because we are conducting post-breeding/migratory piping plover surveys once a week at this site through the end of October, we have more to report.

As of last week, Bahama Mama was still present at the same site, nearly two months after breeding concluded and six months after she first arrived. The fact that she has remained there well after the nesting season ended is a huge surprise and defies conventional expectations. We fully expected her to be on her way back to the Bahamas by now. Continue reading “Update from the field”

The Great Piping Plover Nest Search

Posted on by CWF
An Insider’s Perspective

By Christoper Haxter, Field Technician

A well camouflaged piping plover nest.
A well camouflaged piping plover nest.

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”