Time flies!

So hard for me to believe that we're already into the second week of July! Every one of my posts here mention how I neglect this blog... :( But I know it gets traffic, so I hate to take it down. I post more to my New Jersey Osprey Project Facebook page then I do here. I find it to be an easier way to engage fellow osprey fans. I hope you'll check it out if you're on there!

If not, I'll be working on something new soon... Possibly a new website that will be setup to track young ospreys that I'm banding with a red alpha-numeric auxiliary band. The band will be used so the individual young birds can be identified during migration, on their wintering areas, and on their home Jersey turf! There I also plan to have a blog to share news about the tagging program, which is only occurring on Barnegat Bay. A total of 100 bands will be deployed. More news to come on this front later this year. For now I'm busy surveying nests along the coast of Jersey. So far things are looking pretty good. I still need to survey many of my colonies over the next 10 days, and look at data from the many volunteer osprey banders who survey all other colonies to get a better idea of how well they're doing.

The first alpha-numeric red auxiliary band (00/C) to be placed on a young osprey in NJ. July 7, 2014

2011 Osprey Project Newsletter released!

All of the data from last year's osprey nesting surveys has been published in the "2011 Osprey Project in New Jersey" Newsletter. The report highlights the results survey results from several dedicated "osprey banders" and many other volunteers who reported active nests throughout coastal NJ. Volunteers observed a total of 345 active nests in 2011. Most were on the Atlantic coast on 1-post platforms designed specifically for ospreys. Many osprey continue to nest on communications towers and to help better manage the growing number of these nests and the maintenance of the towers, we created guidelines for towers that contain raptor nests. A total of 612 young were counted (new record) and 414 were banded (another new record). 

An osprey nestling hunkers down in its nest outside
of the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor, NJ. © Ben Wurst

 

The next aerial survey has been postponed to 2013 with such great results and it will now be conducted once every four years to get a more accurate census of the entire population. We now estimate that the population is above 500 nesting pairs, the estimated size of the population prior to its decimation from DDT, habitat loss, and persecution from 1946-72. We alone are not responsible for such a great outcome. These positive results are the outcome of early conservation efforts by state biologists, habitat protection, water-quality improvements and support by many concerned citizens throughout the state. Thank you for your support!

• Read the full newsletter

Mid-Winter Thaw!!

Well, I thought that after a very cold December that we were doomed for our winter platform installations. It seems that's not the case anymore. After some seasonably average high temperatures the ice has subsided. This opens up the chance to possibly install some platforms in the next month.

Map of the proposed platform location inside Fort Monmouth.

Last week, I met with Joe Fallon, Chief of Environment Division with the Army Corp. of Engineers at Fort Monmouth. I toured the site with Joe to survey for suitable locations for additional nest structures. Currently, there are three nest sites on the base. Two nests on platforms and one on a baseball field light (orange points on the map). Last year before the second platform was built that third pair of ospreys nested on a power pole and laid two eggs. In short, this nesting attempt cost the government facility a $50,000 transformer! Luckily, the nest survived and was moved, thanks to the hard work of Joe and other Fort Monmouth staff. The nest was slid onto a sheet of plywood and then transferred to a new nest structure that was placed 30 ft. away on a 40ft. telephone pole. The eggs survived and the adult ospreys were determined. They successfully raised two young.

An osprey nest on a boat lift near Blackberry Bay. Photo by Peggy Davis.

The Shrewsbury River area and almost all of Monmouth County has been a recent area of interest for me. Why are there so few ospreys that nest up there? The fact is, there is not enough suitable nest sites for ospreys. Habitat loss from the boom in construction in the early 1950's led to massive projects that filled wetlands and what surrounded them, osprey nesting habitat. Today, only a handful of suitable nest structures exist in Monmouth County. Most are located inside Gateway National Recreation Area on Sandy Hook. Now ospreys utilize everything that they can. Many nest on cell towers, duck blinds, channel markers and in 2009 two pairs nested on boat lifts on people's docks! Since 2009, I pledged that I would work to raise funding to place more platforms in N. Monmouth County and with the funding from Fort Monmouth we will be able to place more platforms to help the osprey colony in this area. To read more about the project, click here.

In the next few weeks I'll be constructing 6 platform tops that will be placed on 40 ft. poles throughout the base. We will be installing six additional nest platforms with a grant from the U.S. Government. Installation is expected before the end of February. Stay tuned for photos and updates on this project!

2009 Osprey Project Newsletter

Ben Wurst checks a nest at Great Bay Boulevard Wildlife Management Area

in Little Egg Harbor, NJ. Photo by Bill Steiner.

Today the 2009 Osprey Project newsletter was released to volunteers, cooperators, and the general public. The newsletter summarizes all the results from the breeding season. The results indicate how healthy the state population is and breaks down the production for each colony along the Atlantic coast and Delaware Bay. It also highlights the aerial survey that was completed this year, which helped identify more than 50 new nests this year. In all 485 pairs nested in New Jersey in 2009, a post-DDT milestone. To read more, click on the link below.

 2009 Osprey Project Newsletter

In other news, many ospreys are at their wintering grounds in northern South America, Central America, and the Caribbean.  Some ospreys are still migrating or have yet to fly south yet, but they will be doing so soon. I look forward to installing platforms in the coming weeks. I recently got a shipment of lumber to construct some platforms for installation at Fort Monmouth in Monmouth County. The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ was awarded a contract to construct and install 6 nesting platforms inside the fort. Stay tuned for progress on this project!

Thank you all for the support!

Migration Begins!

A juvenile osprey in Ocean City, NJ.

Many different things may indicate that summer is ending, labor day parties, less tourists, cooler temperatures, sour gum leaves turn red, shorter day length period, and southbound bird migration....For ospreys, it marks the beginning of the annual fall migration period back to their wintering areas where warm waters support high numbers of prey. This year all osprey young produced in New Jersey have fledged (529 young were observed this summer) and after they fledged they relied on their parents for food for several weeks. Now, many are on their own, using instincts and learned tactics to catch fast moving and cryptically colored fish. Many juvenile ospreys are dispersing from their nest sites and beginning there migration south to Central America, Northern South America, and the Caribbean Islands where they will spend the next two years and will not return to NJ to breed until late March 2011.

Route (red lines) typically followed by ospreys during fall migration. Most follow
landmasses south from Florida through Cuba into Hispaniola,
then fly directly south into Venezuela and Columbia.

Fall migrants can be seen as early as mid-August in New Jersey. Juveniles begin migration before adults. Sometimes juveniles fly completely in the wrong direction before they eventually turn and fly south. Satellite tracking studies are being conducted by on several juveniles and adults near New Bedford, Massachusetts. The data that is collected from the tags is great information and very interesting to follow where each of the birds goes during migration. Check out the link to follow the birds from Massachusetts.

This year volunteers and biologists banded 348 osprey young. In a typical year we usually get around 10 bands that are recovered. In 2008, 16 banded ospreys were found. Unfortunately almost all recoveries we get are from dead or injured ospreys. We do get great information from band recoveries. We can study survival/mortality rates, migration routes, and behavior.

Here are where bands were recovered in 2008:

Cayman Islands - Alive, was rehabilitated and released. Banded in 2006.

Mauricetown, NJ - Banded 2004.

Mauricetown, NJ - Banded 2003

Wildwood, NJ - Banded 2006

Hollywood, MD - Banded 2006

Margate, NJ - Banded 2008

Cape May, NJ - Banded 1991 - 17 years old!

St. Croix, USVI - Banded 2006

Vero Beach, FL - Banded 2008

Miami, FL - Banded 2008

Hollywood, FL - Banded 2008

Tolima, Columbia - Banded 2008

Cauca, Columbia - Banded 2008

Little Egg Harbor, NJ - Banded 2008

Mauricetown, NJ - Banded 2004

After a cold front moves through and winds are coming from the north, look up and you may notice the spectacular event that occuring all around you! If you want to get the best views of raptors and other birds during migration visit one of these locations:

Cape May Point State Park - Peak viewing period for ospreys is early October.

Higbee Beach WMA - A diverse wildlife management area in Cape May that has many different habitat types.

Hawk Mountain, PA - "Hawk Mountain is the world's first refuge for birds of prey. Open year-round, visitors enjoy scenic vistas, 8-miles of ridge and valley trails, a Visitor Center, Bookstore, and native plant garden, and each autumn, the chance to observe large numbers of hawks, eagle and falcons as they migrate past our lookouts. Operating as a non-profit eco-tourism site, your trail fee or membership dues directly support scientific research, public education and Sanctuary maintenance."

Kiptopeke State Park, VA - "Since 1963, Kiptopeke has been the site of bird population studies. Sponsored by the Coastal Virginia Wildlife Observatory and licensed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, volunteers capture, examine, weigh, band and release resident and migratory birds each year from mid-August through November. In the raptor research area, hawks, kestrels, osprey and other birds of prey are observed and banded from September through November. Kiptopeke’s hawk observatory is among the top 15 nationwide."

For more information about raptor migration and birding in New Jersey visit: http://www.birdcapemay.org/hawkwatch.shtml

2009 Osprey Project Photo contest

This year I wanted to have the general public and our volunteers help choose a photo that will be featured in our annual Osprey Project Newsletter published by the Endangered and Nongame Species Program and Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ. Click here to read previous years newsletters. 

To view the photos click on the slide show below and and vote for your favorite photo by clicking on the "LIKE" icon to the lower left of each photo. Note - you can only "like" one photo!!!

Thanks for voting!

Osprey Nestling Relocation

Over the weekend I was contacted by Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research to find a nest platform where a juvenile osprey could be placed. We have 475 pairs in the state, but I needed to find a specific platform where the nestling(s) would be similar in age (6-7 weeks old) to the juvenile from Tri-State. Instantly I thought of one pair that nested on a new structure inside Forsythe NWR in Oceanville along the "Wildlife Drive." When I was there on July 8th banding (nestlings between the ages of 4-6 weeks old) this nest had two hatchlings. The hatchlings were approximately 2-3 days in age and need very close parental care. On Monday, I got confirmation that there was one nestling in the nest at Forsythe, so I proceeded with the transfer of the juvenile osprey from Tri-State. The nestling was now 6 weeks old.

 An adult perched on the platform.

I picked up the osprey in Vineland, where I met Russ, a volunteer with Tri-State, who donates his time to help injured wildlife. I then drove to Forsythe NWR and met Jeff Sloane, a biological technician and two interns. We met out on the "Wildlife Drive" at the osprey nest where we were going to place the bird. Both adults were present at the nest (a good sign). We then loaded up the ladder and the osprey and paddled across the ditch to the nest.

Jeff Sloane, Biological Technician with USFWS carries the young osprey up to the nest.

I removed the juvenile osprey from a box and handed it to Jeff, who then placed it in the nest. The adults circled, calling to their chick to "lay down." Osprey nestlings rely heavily on their plumage or feather coloration as camouflage to help them avoid predation. Basically we are seen as predators. Once Jeff placed the bird in the nest he climbed down and we proceeded to leave the area quietly. Once Jeff climbed down and was removing the ladder, the juvenile osprey from Tri-State instantly took flight and fledged! We watched as it flew into the wind towards Atlantic City. It's flight was strong and it landed nearby in the saltmarsh.

 Jeff places the osprey in the nest.

Since all juvenile ospreys look alike (buff feather tips and orange eyes) it will hopefully beg for food from another adult in the area. Unfortunately, there is no way for us to track this bird or where it travels to. It is banded with a federal USGS bird band, so if for any reason it does not survive and someone finds the band, then we will get information on where and when it was found. Until then, we just have to hope for the best.