Tag: wildlife

Video from the Field: Osprey Platform Install

Posted on by Ben Wurst
Ensuring Osprey Platforms Remain Resilient

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”

Star Ledger: Earth’s wildlife is disappearing – and NJ is at risk for the same

Posted on by CWF
by Michael Sol Warren, NJ.com
Photo: NJ.com

The world’s wildlife is dying off.

That’s the main takeaway from a new report released earlier this week. The 2018 edition of the Living Planet Report, published by the World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London, found that the population size of some of the world’s vertebrate species had shrunk by 60 percent between 1970 and 2014.

Though tropical species have suffered the most, according to the report, the rash of wildlife decline hits home in the Garden State.

“It mirrors what we see in New Jersey,” said David Wheeler, the executive director of the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

Click here to read more.

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

Posted on 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.

Click here to continue reading.

Early Birds….

Posted on by larissasmith

by Larissa Smith: CWF Biologist

Some of New Jersey’s  eagle pairs are getting an early start on the 2019 nesting season. Eagles in NJ will begin incubation anywhere from January through March.  NJ Eagle Project volunteers usually report eagles back and working on the their nests in the late fall/early winter.  But some pairs have already been spotted sprucing up their nests in preparation for the upcoming nesting season.

Kettle Creek 9/27/18@Alex Tongas
Overpeck 10/24/18@D.M. De Santis

Injured Eagle Flying Once Again

Posted on by larissasmith
…thanks to help from some friends.

By: Larissa Smith, CWF Biologist

On August 20th, 2018 a resident of Monmouth Beach reported a young eagle that had been perching in the neighborhood and was possibly injured.  NJ Eagle Project Volunteer Randy Lubischer,  was able to respond and check out the situation.  The bird was a hatch year eagle, which means it fledged during this nesting season.  The eagle was feeding on a swan carcass and though Randy could get fairly close,  the bird was able to fly a short distance and appeared to have an injury to its left leg. The eagle had been seen feeding on the swan carcass for the past few days, so it was assumed that its injury was keeping it from hunting and the bird would only get weaker over time.

Injured eagle before capture@ R. Lubischer

Continue reading “Injured Eagle Flying Once Again”

Acoustic Monitoring Drives Efforts to Save Bats

Posted on by CWF

by Stephanie Feigin, CWF Wildlife Ecologist

Volunteer Nicole Dion ready to conduct mobile acoustic survey

Across the country bat populations continue to decline due to the threat of White Nose Syndrome. Last year, to collect important population data to monitor population trends of New Jersey’s bat species, Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey (CWF), in partnership with Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP), re-launched their Statewide Mobile Acoustic Surveys with new equipment and protocol. With all the kinks of a revamped project worked out, CWF entered their second year of this project. Continue reading “Acoustic Monitoring Drives Efforts to Save Bats”

Documenting the presence of plastics in osprey nests

Posted on by Ben Wurst
The threats are real and these photos should alarm you!

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

U.S. Coast Guard assists NJ Fish & Wildlife with recovering an entangled osprey on a channel marker in Cape May Harbor, Summer 2018. photo by Kathy Clark/ENSP

As I work to finalize data from this summer’s osprey surveys, I wanted to look back and highlight an important observation: more plastic is being found and recovered from active osprey nests. I guess it’s no surprise when you hear that “18 billion pounds of plastic waste flows into the oceans every year from coastal regions.” Continue reading “Documenting the presence of plastics in osprey nests”

Wakefern Food Corp. interns join Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest Winners at Sedge Island

Posted on by CWF

By Summer 2018 Wakefern Food Corp. Interns: Nadia Saponara, Sustainability & Niki Tripathi, Corporate Communications

Wakefern Food Corp. interns Niki Tripathi and Nadia Saponara

This summer, we happily traded in our summer intern cubicles, laptops and professional attire for kayaks, clam rakes and bathing suits for a trip to Barnegat Bay. We headed to Sedge Island, off of Island Beach State Park, and kicked off the day with a boat ride to the island. There, we joined fifth grade “Species on the Edge” art and essay contest winners, their parents, and state wildlife biologists with their seasoned interns.

How did we land this day-long getaway? Well, for many years, Wakefern Food Corp. (ShopRite, The Fresh Grocer, Price Rite, and Dearborn Market) has worked closely with CWF. Our company supports the “Species on the Edge” calendar contest and the bald eagle preservation program. (To find out more, visit our website). Continue reading “Wakefern Food Corp. interns join Species on the Edge Art & Essay Contest Winners at Sedge Island”

2018 Species on the Edge 2.0 Winners Announced

Posted on by CWF

Conserve Wildlife Foundation, in partnership with our sponsor PSEG Foundation, is proud to recognize the winners of our 2018 Species on the Edge 2.0 Social Media Contest. High school students from across the state submitted original social media campaigns showing why wildlife protection is so important in New Jersey. Our winners exceeded 10,000 likes on Instagram and Facebook.

 

Casey Finnegan of Toms River High School North was awarded first place and a $1,000 scholarship . Sedona Ryan, our second place winner from Haddonfield Memorial High School, received $500. Third place and $250 went to Kelly George from Toms River High School North.

The annual Species on the Edge 2.0 contest capitalizes on high school students’ expertise with social media platforms, and provides them with the opportunity to showcase their talent, creativity, and love of nature. The contest helps to develop students’ experience in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) and their project management skills. Thank you to everyone who entered.

The contest is made possible through a grant from PSEG Foundation.

 

Just Beneath the Surface: Junior’s 5 Seconds of Fame

Posted on by Ben Wurst
Long Beach Island video series highlights coastal birds of prey and “Junior,” from the Jersey City Falcon Cam!

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

When we were contacted to be a part of this LBI centered documentary series, we knew that we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to share some of our work with coastal raptors, like the osprey and peregrine falcon, and their importance in the local environment and economy. In this video you’ll see us banding “Junior,” who hatched at the Jersey City Falcon Cam this spring, but was removed from his nest after being examined and found to be malnourished. We was fostered into the falcon nest at Sedge Island. You’ll also see video of ospreys on their nest at sites surrounding Long Beach Island, and interviews with my friend, and CWF supporter, Northside Jim, and Kathy Clark, ENSP Supervisory Zoologist.  Continue reading “Just Beneath the Surface: Junior’s 5 Seconds of Fame”