Conserve Wildlife Blog

Posts Tagged ‘beach’

Beach Nesting Birds- an Insider’s Look from CWF’s Seasonal Monitors

Friday, June 30th, 2023

By Todd Pover, Senior Wildlife Biologist

With about 50 pairs of both piping plovers and American oystercatchers nesting this year at Holgate, a unit of the Edwin B. Forsythe NWR, CWF’s seasonal staff that monitors breeding activity for the Refuge has been working at a non-stop pace. We asked them to take a short break from their field tasks to reflect on their season, for some this is their first experience with beach nesting birds. Specifically, they were asked about their favorite and most surprising things about the birds, so far. Read their responses below, including a little twist of the “least favorite” thing in one case.

CWF’s 2023 beach nesting bird monitoring crew for Edwin B. Forsythe NWR and Horseshoe Island.
Morgan Phillips, Gianna Canale, Audrey Randazzo, Amy Kopec, Dakota Bell (l to r).
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MAJOR INCREASE OF ENDANGERED SEABEACH AMARANTH PLANTS SOUTH OF SANDY HOOK

Thursday, December 26th, 2019

by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection

NJDEP biologist measuring seabeach amaranth
Photo by NJDEP

An annual plant census along New Jersey’s coastal beaches south of Sandy Hook shows a significant surge in the number of seabeach amaranth, a federally threatened and state endangered plant species, Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe announced today.

Biologists with the DEP and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey counted 7,195 plants, a more than 600 percent increase from the 2018 total of 1,053 plants. Similarly, 1,591 of the plants are at Island Beach State Park, compared with 307 found there in 2018 — a more than 500 percent increase.

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NJ.com: It’s seal season in New Jersey

Tuesday, March 12th, 2019

By Michael Sol Warren | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com.

Photo credit: Ed Murray, NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Freezing water and colder winds keep most New Jerseyans away from the Shore during the winter months. After all, who wants to spend a day on the beach bundled up and shivering?

But winter on the Shore is a downright balmy vacation for some annual visitors from the Northern Latitudes — it’s seal season again in the Garden State.

Documenting the presence of plastics in osprey nests

Wednesday, September 26th, 2018
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.(more…)

2017: Piping Plover Nesting Season

Thursday, November 16th, 2017
How did they do?

Emily Heiser, CWFNJ Wildlife Biologist

Statewide pair-nest success was down this year, but remains above the long-term average. photo by Northside Jim.

For the 12th year in a row, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey, in partnership with New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife’s Endangered and Nongame Species, assisted in monitoring and managing the state’s Beach Nesting Bird Project.  Four species are regularly monitored throughout the field season: piping plovers (federally threatened, state endangered), least terns (state endangered), black skimmers (state endangered), and American oystercatchers (state species of special concern). Statewide, piping plovers are of particular concern as their numbers continue to decline and federal recovery goals have not been achieved.  (more…)