by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
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.
Continue reading “Photos from the Field”by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
Surveys of osprey nests in New Jersey have occurred annually for the past forty five years. They are conducted to help determine the overall size and health of the population. The first aerial survey over Barnegat Bay counted only five active nests. Ten years earlier there had been over 50. The combined effects of DDT and habitat loss had taken their toll. No osprey nests were productive and the population at risk of being extirpated from the state.
“In 1974 there were only five active osprey nests on Barnegat Bay. Today there are approximately one hundred and fifty.”
After ospreys were listed as endangered an innovative effort to transplant viable eggs from the Chesapeake Bay to Barnegat Bay began. In addition, to help replace natural nest sites that were lost to development, man-made nest platforms were designed and installed away from human disturbance. Slowly osprey pairs became productive thanks to the die hard effort of State biologists like Pete McLain, Kathy Clark and many volunteers and partners. It’s encouraging for us to look back to see how far we’ve come in the statewide recovery of ospreys in New Jersey.
Continue reading “Ospreys Continue to Thrive in New Jersey”by Marissa Murdock, 2019 NJ Osprey Project Intern; Rider University ’21
This past summer I was lucky enough to work with Conserve Wildlife Foundation as a volunteer student intern. I worked alongside Ben Wurst, CWF’s Habitat Program Manager, helping with the New Jersey Osprey Project. My internship consisted of assisting with osprey surveys, banding young, and recording data so that we can estimate the health of the population in New Jersey.
Continue reading “My Summer Adventure with Osprey”by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
Story by Justin Auciello, WHYY
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.
Story by Joe Cutter, New Jersey 101.5
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.
by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
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”by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
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”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”