Conserve Wildlife Blog

Posts Tagged ‘banding’

Summer Mist Netting Surveys for Northern long-eared bat Come Up Short Handed

Wednesday, August 3rd, 2022

by Meaghan Lyon

Biologists Leah Wells and Meaghan Lyon banding a Big Brown Bat

Since 2018, CWF has partnered with the USFWS New Jersey Field Office in completing summer mist netting surveys for bats in the Pinelands. The goal of these surveys is to capture the federally threatened Northern long-eared bat and track these bats to maternity roosts.

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Union County Falcons Thrive in Urban Ecosystem

Wednesday, June 8th, 2022

by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager

Kathy Clark carefully places a young falcon in a reusable shopping bag.

On May 23, NJDEP Fish & Wildlife Supervisory Zoologist Kathy Clark and myself visited the Union County Courthouse in Elizabeth, NJ to band the three eyases that were produced by the nesting pair of peregrine falcons. We were joined by Union County staff and guests, who assisted with the banding. The nest is located on the roof of the building. As soon as the hatch made a sound, the adults took off and started to defend their nest and flightless young. As we enter their turf, we are dive bombed by the adults — it is clear that the female has become more aggressive — as she flies very close to us on the roof in sweeping dive bomb attacks. As Kathy goes to the nest to grab each young who are placed in reusable shopping bags, I use her trusty feather duster to ward off the adult female. All who enter the roof wear fall arrest harnesses and hard hats. Kathy and I know that the hard hats are not just worn for fall protection, but also from attacks from above. Both of us received bumps from the adult female to our helmets!

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Bald Eagle Banding and Transmitter Attachment at Duke Farms

Sunday, June 2nd, 2019

Two bald eaglets at the site of our Eagle Cam at Duke Farms were recently banded by biologists from Conserve Wildlife Foundation (CWF) and New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Endangered and Nongame Species Program (NJDEP ENSP).

This year’s banding was special, as in addition to a band the male eaglet was also fitted with a transmitter which will allow him to be tracked on our Eagle Trax page.

View of transmitter on the male eaglet, on the right

Kathy Clark, (NJDEP ENSP), and Larissa Smith (CWF) wrote about the experience, and the benefits of transmitters on the Duke Farms blog. Their FAQ’s are reprinted below.

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Duke Farms “Alumni” C/94: Update

Wednesday, August 31st, 2016
 “Tiny” has another successful nesting season in Connecticut
 By: Larissa Smith: CWF Biologist

D/94 "Tiny" 6/3/2016@ Cyndi Pratt

C/94 “Tiny” keeps a watch over nest in CT; 6/3/2016@ C.Pratt Didan

In 20015 we were contacted by Cyndi Pratt Didan regarding a pair of nesting eagles she has been observing in CT about 150 miles from Duke Farms. She was able to get a reading of the green band on the male C/94. It turns out that C/94 is a Duke Farms eagle from the 2009 nesting season. In 2009 there were three chicks in the nest and all were male. C/94 was the youngest and considerable smaller in the beginning as he was a week younger than the oldest chick and got the nick name “Tiny”.

May 18, 2009, C/94 after banding with siblings @M.Valent

May 18, 2009, C/94 after banding with siblings @M.Valent

His mate is also a banded bird from Massachusetts banded on June 11th, 2008. The pair nested in 2014 fledged two chicks and fledged one chick in 2015.

Cyndi reports that the pair built a new nest seven miles away from their old nest. This nest is in a pine tree on an island in a Reservoir. This season they fledged two young birds.
We thank Cyndi for keeping us updated on this NJ bird. It’s always good to get news about one of “our” chicks.
 

"Tiny's" mate with one of the chicks 6/3/2016@ C.Didan Pratt

“Tiny” with one of the chicks 6/3/2016@ C.Didan Pratt

Creative Somerset County Science Teacher Wins EagleCam Lesson Plan Contest

Friday, May 27th, 2016
Manville School District science teacher Lauren Kurzius joined biologists to help band Duke Farms EagleCam chicks earlier this month

by Lindsay McNamara, Communications Manager

2016 Lesson Plan Winner Lauren Kurzius

2016 Lesson Plan Winner Lauren Kurzius

Manville School District science teacher Lauren Kurzius was recognized by Duke Farms and Conserve Wildlife Foundation for winning our EagleCam lesson plan contest earlier this month! Kurzius joined wildlife biologists to help band the new Duke Farms EagleCam chicks on Monday, May 9. The EagleCam lesson plan contest, jointly organized by Duke Farms and Conserve Wildlife Foundation, called upon educators to submit lesson plans incorporating the Duke Farms EagleCam into their classrooms.

 

Installed in 2008, the Duke Farms’ EagleCam has provided a streaming look into the daily lives of the eagle family for over 10 million viewers. Kurzius is working with the Duke Farms and Conserve Wildlife Foundation EagleCam team to expand the camera’s potential as an educational vehicle by including her lesson plan for use in classrooms across the country.

 

“Duke Farms is pleased once again to support dedicated New Jersey teachers that bring wildlife ecology into their classrooms. Lauren Kurzius’ winning lesson plan (“Birds of Prey – Who Done it?”) is a terrific introduction to predator-prey interactions, patterns among organisms, and ecosystem viability while allowing them to take on the role of student detective” explained Michael Catania, Duke Farms Executive Director. “Her participation in this year’s banding of the Duke eagle chicks was one of the highlights for our staff, and certainly a thrill for her students in Manville, New Jersey to watch.”

 

The EagleCam became a prominent teaching tool in Kurzius’ classroom in 2013. She had begun viewing the eagles in 2011 and recognized its potential for using it in the classroom immediately. Regarding the banding process, she says it was “priceless,” adding, “I connected with educators, scientists, and environmentalists. I get to share that with my current students and my future students. When you have new experiences, it leads to authentic teaching. Maybe my experience will inspire one of my students to follow a career path in science and that makes the banding all worth it.”

From left to right: David Wheeler, Lauren Kurzius, Duke Farms Programs and Community Garden Manager Tanya Sulikowski, Duke Farms Executive Director Michael Catania.

From left to right: David Wheeler, Lauren Kurzius, Duke Farms Programs and Community Garden Manager Tanya Sulikowski, Duke Farms Executive Director Michael Catania.

CWF’s David Wheeler stated that “by exploring science with creativity and a sense of wonder, Lauren Kurzius inspires her students to connect with the natural world around us. That personal connection reveals just how much people can strengthen the environment and benefit wildlife like bald eagles, which have made an awe-inspiring comeback. The Duke Farms webcam offers Lauren’s students and so many others the opportunity to intimately experience the lives of these magnificent creatures.”

 

We were thrilled at the enormous response received from teachers across the state, and will continue to offer the amazing opportunity to teachers in New Jersey! Congratulations, Lauren!

 

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Lindsay McNamara is the Communications Manager for Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.