As you may know, this year the Endangered and Nongame Species Program, conducted a (nearly) state-wide osprey survey to determine how many nests are occupied. The survey ended last week. It only covered areas along the AtlanticCoast from the ManasquanRiver south to Cape May (Sedge Islands WMA was not surveyed by air). It is important that we collect data from all active nests. Many nests we don't know about, simply because there are over 700 available nesting platforms in the state!! This week I am entering the aerial survey data and gathering data from a few ground surveys that also took place along the MauriceRiver and in Sedge Islands WMA. This is where I need your help. For all other areas that were not covered by the aerial survey we would like to know if there are any new nests and their location. If you know about a new nest please mark it in Google Maps and e-mail me a link to the location. [To mark a location on the map, simply right click on the location, then select “Link.” Copy the text and send it to me]. My e-mail can be found on www.conservewildlifenj.org or you can send me the location by commenting through this blog.
The areas where coverage is lacking include:
Watersheds north of the Manasquan River (Manasquan reservoir, Shark River, Shrewsbury, Navesink, Raritan Bay and River, Sandy Hook)
Areas along the Delaware Bayshore and River, from Cape May to Trenton (not including the MauriceRiver).
If you plan on surveying the area (or nests) when young are to be banded or visible, it is not crucial to survey now. If you usually report on nests where the young are not banded you could simply wait until late June/early July to record the # of young that are produced. However, if you have information on which specific nests are occupied, please let me know. It will help me determine how many nests are currently occupied in the state and will also help us more accurately determine how many nests fail to produce young, or more accurately calculate the overall state-wide average productivity rate.
Thank you very much for your support and commitment to the project. Don't forget to take my poll!!!!
This week, biologists with the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife's Endangered and Nongame Species Program will be conducting an aerial helicopter survey. This is the first survey since 2006 when just over 400 nesting pairs were found, statewide. To read the newsletter from 2004, click here. The survey will determine how many nests are occupied and will give us some insight into how healthy the population is. The survey will also be conducted in mid-June to determine the outcome of all the nests and will help us calculate the productivity rate or the number of young produced per nesting pair. So, if you see a helicopter buzzing over osprey platforms along the coast, do not be alarmed!
Vote in my poll for the number of nesting pairs you think we will have this year.
Photo by Peggy Davis
On another note, a concerned citizen spotted a pair of ospreys that were building a nest on a boat lift on Blackberry Bay in Oceanport. She called our office and I spoke with her about the issue and started my hunt to find out who the owners were of the property. After several calls to the local township office, NJDFW Law Enforcement, then DEP's Land Use Regulation Program, I eventually found out the owners name and phone number. Basically, our position was to inform the homeowners of the occurance and to let them know that the nest could be removed, with special permission. The nest could only be removed if there were NO EGGS; if there was eggs, then they would have to get a permit from US Fish and Wildlife Service. So today I called the owner and spoke to her about the nest. I was surprised to know that she already knew about it and was not concerned!!!! She is actually happy to give up her boat lift and dock for the summer to give a pair of ospreys a chance to raise their young. This is great news! For the most part, I would have thought that most people would not want to give up the use of their dock and boat lift for a season, but this is not the case! I hope we do not see any major storms this spring and summer that could possibly blow off the nest and cause the nest to fail. Time to wait and see.... The hard part will be to try and get permission from a local private landowner for us to install an artificial nest platform near the site so the pair has a place to nest next year.
Last week I was contacted by an individual who found a dead adult osprey behind his house, which borders a small lake in Egg Harbor Township, NJ. Ospreys are listed as a threatened species in New Jersey and are protected by the US Fish and Wildlife Service's Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the state's Endangered Species Conservation Act of 1973. The person was obviously concerned that the death may have been suspicious. So was I. It's not very often that you may find a dead adult that dies while over water and drifts to the shoreline to be found. Many fatalities do occur from impacts to man-made structures, like power lines, buildings, wind turbines, and by electrocution. So earlier this week I picked up the bird and transferred it to my Dad, a veterinarian and owner of Barnegat Animal Clinic for a necropsy and/or x-ray to determine if the bird had been shot.
As you can see in the x-ray, there are two small pellets (probably from a shot gun loaded with bird shot), one in the head and one in the neck. So, this bird did not die of natural causes. From here on the case has been handed to the NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife's Bureau of Law Enforcement and a Conservation Officer will investigate the incident.
This is the first case that I have ever encountered where an osprey was found dead from a gunshot. It is really hard for me to grasp how someone could mistake one of these magnificant birds for a game bird or shoot this bird on purpose.
If you see anyone who is harassing wildlife, destroying habitat or violating any wildlife laws in New Jersey report them by calling Operation Game Thief @ 1(800)222-0456 or WARN DEP @ 1(877)WARNDEP or 927-6337.
