N.J. osprey population continues to grow, survey finds
-
A newly banded nestling and its mother keeping watch above at the Sedge Island Wildlife Management Area in Barnegat Bay. (Justin Auciello for WHYY)
-
-
Another close approach by an osprey while Ben Wurst works in a nest. (Justin Auciello for WHYY)
-
Ben Wurst tagging a chick while the mother osprey passes very close to the nest. (Justin Auciello for WHYY)
-
Osprey chicks huddling in the nest. (Justin Auciello for WHYY)
-
-
Ben Wurst raises his hand as an osprey approaches the nest. (Justin Auciello for WHYY)
-
Ben Wurst ready to access an osprey nest. (Justin Auciello for WHYY)
-
Ben Wurst unloading a ladder from the boat to access an osprey nest. (Justin Auciello for WHYY)
-
(Justin Auciello for WHYY)
-
Bands used to identify ospreys. (Justin Auciello for WHYY)
-
Approaching an osprey nest within Sedges Islands State Wildlife Management Area. (Justin Auciello for WHYY)
-
-
Two osprey chicks huddled together. (Justin Auciello for WHYY)
-
The small boat Ben Wurst uses on his osprey survey and banding missions. (Justin Auciello for WHYY)
-
Ben Wurst removing trash from an osprey nest. (Justin Auciello for WHYY)
-
Osprey chicks huddling in the nest. (Justin Auciello for WHYY)
-
Author Justin Auciello holds an osprey chick. (Photo: Ben Wurst/CWF)
-
A little teaser of what's to come later in this gallery. This is a curious osprey nestling looking directly into the camera of CWF's Ben Wurst. (Justin Auciello for WHYY)
The New Jersey osprey comeback story added another happy chapter in 2015, a study released by the Conserve Wildlife Foundation (CWF) of New Jersey finds.
Highlights of the 2015 Osprey Report, which provides the number of nesting pairs, active nests, and nest productivity for the raptors throughout New Jersey, include 534 active osprey nests (up from 420 in 2014) and nearly 600 pairs (up from 567 in 2014).
Of those, 423 known-outcome nests fledged, or produced birds able to fly, an average of 1.74 young per active nest, and nearly 80% of the population was surveyed. The surveyors found 31 new nests.
“A sample of each major colony is checked and nest outcome data are used to determine how well our ospreys are faring,” said CWF Habitat Manager Ben Wurst. “In general, New Jersey ospreys are doing quite well, continuing a trend that began five years ago.”
Only 50 osprey pairs remained in the state during the early 1970s.
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Division of Fish and Wildlife biologists, CWF biologists, and dedicated volunteers collected the data between late June and early July.
From the Meadowlands south to Cape May and west along the Delaware Bay, 432 young were banded by volunteers and staff with United States Geological Survey leg bands for future tracking, according to the report.
[Related: In Barnegat Bay’s Sedge Islands, ospreys reign]
“Ospreys are an important indicator of the health of our coastal ecosystems, so it is important to track the health of their population. Their continuing recovery is a very promising sign for our estuaries and the fish and other wildlife that depend on clean water to survive,” said CWF Executive Director David Wheeler.
“Today, no visit to a coastal waterfront would be the same without the magnificent sighting of an osprey soaring above or crashing down to the water’s surface for a fish,” he said.
The Friends of Island Beach State Park organization is currently fundraising to replace its osprey cam in the state park. Click here for more information.
WHYY is your source for fact-based, in-depth journalism and information. As a nonprofit organization, we rely on financial support from readers like you. Please give today.
