Conserve Wildlife Blog

Posts Tagged ‘american oystercatcher’

MIGRANTS AND MANATEES

Sunday, December 9th, 2012
FOLLOWING OUR FLYWAY “FRIENDS” TO FLORIDA

By Todd Pover, Beach Nesting Bird Project Manager

When cold weather settles in, as it recently did, our thoughts often turn to the south and warmer temperatures. Many of our long-distance migrant bird species are one step ahead of us, having already flown south for the winter.  Stephanie Egger and I, CWFNJ’s Beach Nesting Bird Project team, recently had the chance to join some of them in Florida.

The purpose of our trip was to attend the American Oystercatcher Working Group annual meeting to learn what our colleagues all along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts are doing to protect and study oystercatchers, and to share what we are doing in New Jersey as well. This year’s meeting was held in Cedar Key, Florida, a small town about two hours north of Tampa that is a very special place for oystercatchers. It is not unusual to find flocks of 500-1000 oystercatchers roosting on oyster shell rakes just offshore from this quiet gulf town, making it one of the most important wintering sites for this species in the U.S.

“New Jersey” oystercatchers are typically found in the Cedar Key flocks – birds that bred in New Jersey and were marked with orange color bands that have unique two-digit codes.  These bands and similar bands or flags used by other states, help researchers track movements and learn about the long-term survival of this species.  (more…)

HURRICANE SANDY STORM REPORT

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012
Assessing the damage to coastal wildlife and their habitat

By Stephanie Egger, Wildlife Biologist

CWFNJ Wildlife Biologist, Stephanie Egger, surveying American Oystercatchers post Hurricane Sandy.

As we all know Hurricane Sandy caused severe damage and devastation to New Jersey residents, homes, and their businesses, but we must not forget that wildlife can also suffer from the impacts of a hurricane.  CWFNJ’s Beach Nesting Bird Project Manager, Todd Pover, Alfred Breed, CWFNJ Field Technician, and myself, conducted wildlife/habitat assessments on beaches from Brigantine to Cape May after the storm.  Our nesting sites further north in Ocean and Monmouth Counties were still not accessible at that time to evaluate.  We assessed nesting habitat for beach nesting bird species, especially Piping Plover as well beach/inlet habitat used by migratory shorebirds, particularly American Oystercatchers.

A view of the severe erosion at Strathmere Natural Area, Cape May County, NJ.

As expected, many of our nesting sites and sites that are also used by migratory shorebirds for roosting were hit hard by Hurricane Sandy, losing a great deal of sand and suitable habitat.  However, in some locations such as Stone Harbor Point and North Brigantine Natural Area, the storm scoured out areas with too much vegetation which is good for beach nesters as they prefer sparsely vegetated areas. Sand was also pushed back into the dunes to create blowouts and overwash areas that may serve as additional habitat.  Many of the areas seem to be very low lying now from the loss of sand and might be more flood prone which could impact the beach nesters in the spring.

We also observed migratory songbirds, golden-crowned kinglets, which were taking shelter and flittering through the back dune/bayberry habitat right after the storm.  This was a good reminder of the value of New Jersey coastal habitat for songbirds as they migrate down the coast.

American Oystercatchers roosting with juvenile Black Skimmers at Strathmere Natural Area, Cape May County, NJ

As part of our assessment, we conducted American Oystercatcher surveys as a significant number use New Jersey beaches for roosting during the fall and winter.  Luckily, approximately 900-1,000 American Oystercatchers were still using our southern coastal inlets after Sandy, about the same number of birds observed the week before the storm.  Thanks to funding from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation we were already conducting fall surveys for American Oystercatchers and in the position to compare their numbers before and after the storm.

Only time will tell if the habitat will build back up enough in time for the spring as the birds begin to arrive for the nesting season or if it will have lasting impacts on migratory bird species. We hope to conduct further assessments to gain a better understanding of the short- and long-term impacts to wildlife from Hurricane Sandy and how that may affect conservation and recovery effort for these species moving forward.

 

 

 

 

For CWFNJ’s videos of wildlife and habitat assessments click on the links below:

Wildlife Assessment Post Hurricane Sandy at North Brigantine Natural Area, NJ

Wildlife Assessment Post Hurricane Sandy at Stone Harbor Point, NJ

Wildlife Assessment Post Hurricane Sandy at Strathmere Natural Area, NJ

PHOTO FROM THE FIELD

Thursday, October 18th, 2012
American Oystercatchers in our Sights

By Todd Pover, Beach Nesting Bird Project Manager

Roost Flock of American Oystercatchers with New Jersey (Orange) Bands
Photo courtesy of Pat Leary

Did you know that American oystercatchers don’t just nest in New Jersey, but that we also have the northernmost wintering population on the Atlantic Coast? Our state’s coastal inlets are also important as stopover sites for migratory oystercatchers. Yesterday, we counted a flock of over 300 oystercatchers on Champagne Island in Hereford Inlet and this morning we surveyed a smaller flock of about 75 birds in Corson’s Inlet. In addition to counting the birds, we also look for (i.e. resight) color bands during the surveys. Most of the bands are from birds that nested here, but a number of bands from other states, such as Massachusetts, are also currently being seen.  New Jersey bands are orange colored – you can see two of “ours” in the photo above.

Banding American Oystercatchers!

Saturday, June 9th, 2012

Dr. Virzi and Stephanie Egger (CWFNJ) banding an American oystercatcher chick.

By Stephanie Egger, Wildlife Biologist

Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ (CWFNJ) and the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife – Endangered and Nongame Species Program (ENSP) assisted in the banding of American oystercatchers chicks and adults this week.  Oystercatchers in New Jersey are banded as part of a long-term mark recapture research project by Dr. Tom Virzi of Rutgers University in collaboration with CWFNJ and ENSP.  One breeding adult that was recaptured yesterday was originally banded over a winter in Georgia!  Data collected included band color and combination, sex, age, weight, other physical measurements (wing, head, culmen, nares, leg) and a feather sample for DNA purposes.  Check out our video from that day!

Over the last few years, widespread mark recapture efforts along the Atlantic coast have revealed connections between breeding and wintering sites and information of the complexity of patterns of movement and dispersal.  For more information on the New Jersey data and other state efforts please see the American Oystercatcher Working Group website.

Pam Prichard (Monmouth County Monitor for ENSP) ready to release the American oystercatcher chick after all data was collected.An adult American Oystercatcher originally tagged in Georgia, breeding in New Jersey.

An adult American Oystercatcher originally tagged in Georgia, breeding in New Jersey.

Photos from the Field!

Thursday, April 26th, 2012

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.