Eagle enthusiasts in New Jersey have plenty to celebrate
today on National Bald Eagle Day. Thanks to our dedicated Bald
Eagle Project volunteers we know that so far this year 96 bald eagles have
fledged from their New Jersey nests! Eagles have come a long way in the Garden
State since the early 1980s when there was only one active nest in the whole state.
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.
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.
…Let’s set aside a few minutes, shall we, and behold all the big birds and their continued resurgence in the Garden State.
Editorial by the (Bergen) Record / NorthJersey.com
Exhibit One is the peregrine falcon, which in its swooping dive can reach speeds of 240 mph, and whose remarkable comeback was charted by NorthJersey.com and the USA TODAY NETWORK New Jersey environmental reporter Scott Fallon. He wrote of how state researchers and wildlife advocates had documented a record 40 nesting pairs in 2018, a near-miraculous feat considering the species had been all but left for dead in New Jersey beginning in the 1960s….
NJTV News recently covered the continuing recovery of ospreys in the Garden State by visiting the nesting pair at Long Beach Island Foundation for the Arts & Sciences. CWF’s Ben Wurst and David Wheeler joined NJTV for this inspiring video and accompanying story.