Allegheny Woodrats

As I have written here in an earlier post, I don't get much sympathy when I do a speaking engagement on NJ's endangered species and discuss woodrats. Rats, like snakes, are often lumped together by the general public and considered pests.

There are dozens of non-game mammal species found in New Jersey. Of these, there are only three land mammal species listed as "endangered." They are the bobcat, Indiana bat and Allegheny Woodrat.

The state-endangered Eastern woodrats have been declining at an alarming rate throughout the northeastern portion of their range. The decline has been attributed, at least in part, to the parasite, raccoon roundworm. NJ's last remaining eastern woodrat (Neotoma floridana) population is at the Palisades Interstate Park in Bergen County.

The Allegheny woodrat, Neotoma magister, is a species of "pack rat" in the genus Neotoma. Once believed to be a subspecies of the Eastern Woodrat or Florida Woodrat,  extensive DNA analysis has proven it to be a distinct species.

Photo: http://science.nature.nps.gov

The Allegheny Woodrat prefers rocky outcrops associated with mountain ridges such as cliffs, caves, talus slopes, and even mines. This is mostly true for Pennsylvania and Maryland. In Virginia and West Virginia, woodrats are found on ridges but also on side slopes in caves and talus (boulders and breakdown) fields. The surrounding forest is usually deciduous

Distribution mainly occurs along the Appalachian Mountain range. Historically found as far north as Connecticut where it is now extinct, southeastern New York (near extinct), northern New Jersey, and northern Pennsylvania southwestward through western Maryland, Tennessee, Kentucky, West Virginia, northern and western Virginia to northeastern Alabama and northwestern North Carolina with isolated populations north of the Ohio River in southern Ohio and southern Indiana. The Tennessee River is generally accepted as the southern range limit.

Although the Allegheny Woodrat is not federally listed, it is in major decline and is state listed. In parts of their range (New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania), the Allegheny Woodrat population has been in decline over the past thirty years. A decline in populations of Allegheny woodrats was first noticed in the 1980s. Since that time, woodrats have become extirpated from at least two states and have declined dramatically in several others. Recent evidence suggests that the decline of this species may be proceeding further south to include states where woodrat populations were previously considered to be stable.

The Allegheny Woodrat prefers rocky outcrops associated with mountain ridges such as cliffs, caves, talus slopes (boulders and breakdown), and even mines.

The Allegheny Woodrat's diet primarily consists of plant materials including buds, leaves, stems, fruits, seeds, acorns and other nuts. They store their food in caches and eat about five percent of their body weight a day.Nocturnal, the Allegheny Woodrat spends its nights foraging, collecting food and nesting materials, very rarely traveling more than 150 feet from its home range.

They also collect and store various non-food items such as bottle caps, snail shells, coins, gun cartridges, feathers and bones. This trait is responsible for the nickname "trade" or "pack rat".

These rats form small colonies in which their nesting areas consist of a network of underground runways. They also create "latrines" - large fecal piles the rats deposit on protected flat rocks.

Researchers have found dried leaves placed around the nesting area which appear to act as alarms to warn the rats of approaching danger.

Unlike their cousins, the Allegheny Woodrat (Neotoma magister) is not a prolific breeder, averaging only one to three young per litter. In the wild, the Allegheny Woodrat has been known to live up to three years.

Predators include owls, skunks, weasels, foxes, raccoons, bobcats, large snakes and, of course, humans. At one point, the Allegheny rat was hunted for food and also killed due to false identification based on its resemblance of more problematic European rats. The Allegheny woodrat is most easily distinguished from the Norway rat by its larger, naked ears and its hairy, bicolor tail that is dark gray above and white below.

The NJ ENSP conducts annual monitoring of the Palisade population via live-trapping during the early fall. Trapping results indicate that this population has remained stable. Annual monitoring of this population has become a priority due to the rapid decline and extirpation of the species from their former range in New York and portions of eastern Pennsylvania.

More Information

On New Jersey's only remaining Allegheny woodrat population at the Hudson River Palisades NJ's Allegheny Woodrat Fact Sheet (pdf, 59kb)

The Allegheny Woodrat: Ecology, Conservation, and Management of a Declining Species

http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/14581/0 

Winter Break Hikes

Take a Hike: Winter break hikes being offered throughout Morris County, NJ | dailyrecord.com

The woods may look inactive in winter. But they're not, says Douglas Vorolieff, senior teacher naturalist at the Morris County Park Commission.

One way to spend the week between Christmas and New Year's Day is to take a guided hike through a local forest. There are many from which to choose.

In a recent walk on Pyramid Mountain in Montville, Vorolieff pointed to a bird in a tree.

"There's the dark-eyed junco," he said. "Many people don't realize some birds actually migrate to New Jersey for the winter, and the junco is one. We start seeing them in October and they'll be here until March, when they migrate north."

Vorolieff, who is to lead an easy Family Walk on Pyramid Mountain Wednesday, will introduce participants to many wonders of the woods...

Wildlife Viewing On A Comfortable Couch

The blizzard hit NJ this past Christmas weekend and I'm sure it stopped many plans to get outside. (I guess our "Warmer Planet and More Jersey Snow" post was well-timed last week!)

Luckily, there are some ways to view NJ's wildlife from the comfort of an armchair in a warm house with a nice hot drink nearby. Field guides make great winter reading and are a good way to prepare for weather that lends itself to forest and beach walks and brings out certain wildlife.

The guide I would first recommend here is to Endangered and Threatened Wildlife of New Jersey. It is the only comprehensive guide to New Jersey's most imperiled species. Endangered and Threatened Wildlife of New Jersey is a richly illustrated color guide to the state's seventy-three most imperiled species, from bobcats to bobolinks, shortnosed sturgeons to loggerhead turtles, frosted elfins to triangle floaters, blue whales to American burying beetles.

Written primarily by the people who know these species best, biologists, the book is divided into seven sections: mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, insects, and bivalves (mussels). Each animal is discussed individually including its ecology, distribution, and population status. Sixty-four detailed maps and more than one hundred spectacular color photos provide readers with a rare glimpse of these seldom-seen species.

Next up is the Field Guide to Reptiles & Amphibians of New Jersey Does it surprise you that New Jersey is home to 71 species of reptiles and amphibians? The NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife created this guide (and also separate companion audio CD).

 Written by David M. Golden, an ENSP Senior Biologist, and author Vicki Schwartz, the field guide contains 72 detailed descriptions of reptiles and amphibians that occur in N.J. With more than 100 full-color pictures and 72 distribution maps, this spiral-bound, 89-page guide will be useful for amateurs and experts alike.

Despite its small size, New Jersey boasts an unusually diverse population of Odonata -  damselflies and dragonflies. Some of these are fairly uncommon within the state, such as northern species that reach their southern limit in the northwest corner of the state and specialties found only in Pine Barrens habitats.

182 species found in NJ are included in this guide, both in species accounts and in a checklist at the end of the book. The plates also indicate which species are endangered, threatened, or of species concern. Introductory materials discuss New Jersey's geography, the biology of dragonflies and damselflies, and how to observe and record them. The core of the book are the species accounts, which describe how to identify each species, where and when to find it, and how common each species is, and each species plate has at least one photo, its key identification features, a map showing the counties where it has been recorded, and a timeline showing the months when it is most active.

A good starting place - especially if you are out in nature with kids - are the pocket wildlife guides. The "Pocket Guide to New Jersey Wildlife" is a pocket-sized, folding guide that is  beautifully illustrated in color with over 152 familiar species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies, and other insects with a map featuring prominent regional wildlife sanctuaries. It is laminated for durability when you are outdoors. There are also species specific guides available.

Some of these guides are available from select bookstores and at New Jersey Audubon centers and wildlife-oriented stores in NJ - BUT, you can do a little extra good by ordering through the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey at http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/store/books/

Patriots' Path

If you enjoy biking, horseback riding, cross country skiing and hiking, then Patriots' Path might be a trail system to explore.

The Path is a still-developing network of hiking, biking and equestrian trails and green open spaces linking several dozen Federal, state, county and municipal parks, watershed lands, historic sites and other points of interest across the Morris County Park Commission lands.

The purpose of this trail system is to provide opportunities for passive outdoor recreation while protecting and enhancing the environmental and aesthetic integrity of the stream valleys and uplands through which it passes.

Much of the Path lies along the corridors of the Whippany and Black Rivers and the South Branch of the Raritan. The Black River and South Branch of the Raritan are two of the most pristine trout production streams in the state.

The trail system is stabilized in many sections with crushed stone and gravel, other areas are left as narrow paths on earth and rock and shorter sections in Morristown and Morris Township area are paved. Several miles lie on cinder and gravel beds of old railroad lines.

Patriots' Path stretches from East Hanover which connects with the Lenape Trail in Essex County to Allamuchy Mountain State Park in Sussex County and the Village of High Bridge in Hunterdon County.

Points of interest along the trail include:

• Bamboo Brook
• The Frelinghuysen Arboretum
• Acorn Hall
• The Ford Mansion
• Pocahontas Lake
• Historic Speedwell
• Lewis Morris County Park
• Jockey Hollow
• Black River Wildlife Management Area
• Cooper Gristmill
• Chubb Park
• Ken Lockwood Gorge WMA
• Schooley's Mountain County Park
• Kay Environmental Center
• Willowwood

Very Productive Year for Osprey in NJ

Checking a nest at Great Bay Blvd. WMA, Little Egg Harbor - photo by Bill Steiner

2010 was a very productive year for ospreys in New Jersey, according to the latest Osprey Project report.

The reproductive rate was about 2 young per active nest (an all time high for the project). Calm weather contributed to the success as it makes prey easier for ospreys to find, especially fluke and flounder, one of their main prey sources.

Of the 308 active nests (where the outcome was known) 36% of nests had 3 young, 33% had 2 young, and 14% had one young. Only 11% observed had failed to produce young. For comparison, in 2006, 14% failed and in 2003, 46% failed.

• Read the full results from the 2010 survey at
  http://www.conservewildlifenj.org/downloads/cwnj_88.pdf
• Awesome Ospreys: Fishing Birds of the World
• Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ - Osprey Project
• Return of the Osprey: A Season of Flight and Wonder
• A Life of Ospreys
• Ospreys (Birds of Prey)

 

Coyotes in New Jersey

Recent reports of a coyote sighting in Montgomery put that species in the New Jersey public eye.

If you live outside the state, I'll bet that Jersey coyotes seems unusual as many people associate a coyote calling at sunset with some southwestern location.

This past week, a resident raking leaves at midday saw two coyotes in her back yard. One of the coyotes approached her and when she tried to scare it off, the animal attempted to bite at her legs. She was able to get back to her house by striking at it with the rake.

Most of the wildlife and people news the past few months in NJ has been about the bear hunt and controlled hunts of deer in order to to manage the populations. Both species are at the other end of endangered status as their numbers far exceed what the habitat can safely sustain.

"Blonde" coyote

The coyote is a wild member of the dog family. This resourceful mammal has expanded its range significantly in the recent past, colonizing the entire Northeast and now found throughout the Garden State. The coyote was never introduced or stocked in New Jersey, but has firmly established itself in our area through its extremely adaptable nature.

The coyote closely resembles a small German shepherd with the exception of a long snout and bushy, black-tipped tail. Another key difference from a domestic dog is readily noticeable even from a distance: The coyote has a habit of holding its tail in a horizontal position or lower while standing, walking and running. Past interbreeding between gray wolves and coyotes may be responsible for the larger size and color variations in our eastern coyote. Eastern coyotes differ from their western counterparts with a larger average size and various color phases, including blonde, red and black.

photos via http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/

The NJ Department of Environmental Protection recommends that residents put garbage in tightly closed containers that cannot be tipped over to prevent bear and coyote foraging. they also suggest reducing the protective cover for coyotes by clearing brush and dense weeds from around homes. So much for that landscaping...

People in areas affected certainly need to be more cautious about children and pets being on their own even in their backyards.

The recommended response to a coyote encounter is actually similar to what we are often told about bear encounters - and it certainly seems counter-intuitive to most people. Do not  run, because that initiates the "prey instinct" in the animal. The coyote will go into pursuit mode. Rather, by acting aggressively - "yelling, waving your arms, stamping your feet, or throwing stones” until it leaves. Try keeping that in mind when you encounter a snarling animal though...

Coyotes are very adaptable and will survive on whatever food is available. Their preferred prey is rabbits, mice, birds and other small animals. Coyotes will take on young and weakened deer as well. They will eat carrion that they find, and also garbage, pet food and pets and domestic animals that are left unattended.

Like our black bears, they are quite tolerant of human activities - perhaps too much so. The more they encounter humans without negative consequences, the more aggressive they may become.

Although attacks on humans are extremely rare in eastern states, as with any predatory animal, they can occur. Coyotes bear litters during April and May, and this is when encounters with humans are more likely to occur.

 
Coyotes (Our Wild World)
Wild Dogs : Wolves, Coyotes and Foxes (Kids Can Press Wildlife Series)
Spirit of the Wild Dog: The World of Wolves, Coyotes, Foxes, Jackals and Dingoes

Trail Work That Doesn't Work

Though volunteers spend many hours each year maintaining trails in NJ and other states, not all "trail work" is useful.

In Essex County, the Hilltop Conservancy has been finding evidence of un authorized trail work that is destroying wildlife food sources and habitats. The volunteer group helps maintain a 240-acre reservation in northwest Essex County that spans Caldwell, North Caldwell Verona and Cedar Grove.

They discovered that someone had cleared a new trail through a meadow that’s part of a 10-acre habitat restoration project the conservancy has been working on since 2005 with the county and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. The new and unplanned "trail" would bring increased traffic that will damage or destroy the new native prairie grasses and wildflowers there.

What they find isn't generally isn't vandalism and may even be done with good intentions, but the group has taken to posting signs to tell the rogue trail workers to stop.

In the case of new trails appearing, mountain bikers often create their own trails and move objects in the way that may have been placed for trail preservation and don't offer a hazard for hikers and walkers. Mountain bikes, dirt bikes and all-terrain vehicles are not allowed on many reservations (including the Essex Hilltop) because they can cause significant damage to trails.

For example, fox grape and Virginia creeper vines are being cut out through the woods. They may look "invasive" but they are a food source for deer, birds and other small animals. The group would only remove it when it hinders an established trail.

Anyone who has done trail maintenance knows that logs and branches along steep trails are not "in the way" but often a way to prevent runoff and erosion.

It's a problem in many parks and wooded areas. If you want to volunteer and help maintain public lands, you should always work with established conservancy groups.

• Hilltop Reservation map (pdf)
• http://hilltopconservancy.org
• Star-Ledger article

Warmer Planet and More Jersey Snow

In the end, climate change will mean the planet will be warmer - but on these cold December NJ days, it's worth noting that right now we will probably be getting more cold, wet and snowy weather.

According to the Weather Underground, last winter a natural climate pattern known as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) was at the most extreme negative side since record keeping began in 1865.

The high pressure replacing low pressure over the Arctic had only been this extreme for 4 winters in the past 160 years—1969, 1963, 1936, and 1881.

The NAO is one of oldest known climate oscillations. Seafaring Scandinavians described the pattern several centuries ago. Negative NAO winters tend to bring cold winters to Europe and the U.S. East Coast, but leads to very warm conditions in the Arctic, since all the cold air spilling out of the Arctic gets replaced by warm air flowing poleward.

Other factors include the El Niño/La Niña cycle and natural oscillations in stratospheric winds.

NJ Passes Clean Water Bills

Fishing at Island Beach State Park (NJDEP)

The NJ Legislature passed a bill yesterday giving New Jersey the most restrictive standards on fertilizer in the nation.

The bill, which Governor Christie has already pledged to sign, is designed to reduce the amount of nitrogen that can wash into the state’s bays, lakes and rivers.

It restricts the nitrogen content of fertilizers and also sets limits on when homeowners and contractors can spread fertilizer on lawns. Unfortunately, golf courses are exempt from the new rules.

A package of other bills related to Barnegat Bay also passed the Assembly and should come up for a state Senate vote next Monday, sponsors say.

A compromise (after more than a year of negotiations) led to the requirement that all fertilizers contain at least 20 percent slow-release nitrogen. 30 percent was desired by environmental groups and 15 percent was the amount set by fertilizer manufacturer Scotts Miracle-Gro and Rutgers turf-grass experts.

Nitrogen is the focus because it often gets washed by rains into the state’s bays and other water bodies. It provides nutrients for algae and other aquatic plants that can grow so quickly they reduce oxygen levels in the water, threatening fish and other wildlife.

The heaviest blooms also cut off sunlight to the sea grasses that provide protective habitat to marine animals and prevent marsh erosion.

This growth can also hinder recreational boating and swimming in some waters.

How does it affect you directly?

Homeowners will be banned from applying fertilizer between Nov. 15 and March 1 and whenever the ground is frozen. In a similar vein, fertilizer can’t be used within 10 feet of any water body or just before a heavy rainfall. Professionals will be barred from applying fertilizer between Dec. 1 and March 1.

The legislation also bans the use of phosphorus in fertilizer to protect fresh water bodies such as lakes and streams. Some fertilizer manufacturers already have products that meet or exceed the standards set by the legislation.Those that do not will have one year from the bill’s implementation to comply.

The New Jersey Sierra Club applauded the legislation and noted its importance in protecting drinking water and the coastal tourism industry.

Final Bear Hunt Count Is 589

via nydailynews.com

New Jersey wildlife officials said that 589 bears were killed during the state's six-day hunt this past week which was the first since 2005.

An appeals court refused to halt the hunt earlier this month. A lawsuit, which challenges the NJ bear management policy continues.

For the NJ Department of Environmental Protection, this hunt is important to bear management in order to prevent excessive human interactions. But, on the opposite side, were opponents. The Animal Protection League and Bear Education and Resource Group both tried unsuccessfully to stop the hunt before it even started. The group consider the bear to be sport and trophy hunting and not a proper management policy.

There were 6,680 bear hunting permits issued for this year's hunt. Each hunter could bag one bear (regardless of age or gender).

New Jersey's growing black bear population is estimated at about 3400.

The NJDEP had originally estimated a total of 500-700 would be killed.

NJ's Bear Hunt Count Already at 441

According to a report on nbcnewyork.com/news/, New Jersey's black bear hunt (December 6-11 - the first in five years) which runs through Saturday, has already recorded 441 bears taken.

This is a record, but the state has an expected harvest of 500 to 700 for the week.

There have been protests by bear advocates every day of the hunt in the hope of shortening the length of the hunt or limit the bears taken.

Non-Hunting Areas in NJ For Outdoor Recreation

In addition to the information posted here yesterday, here are some other sources of information on places in NJ to use for hiking, birding and other recreational outdoor pursuits during the various hunting seasons.

A list of "Public Deer Hunting Land in New Jersey" is available online from NJ Fish & Wildlife at http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/huntland.htm

There's also information on "Lands Open or Closed to Sunday Bow Hunting" which includes Wildlife management Areas and public lands that are still closed to hunting on Sundays. The latest list I could find is from 2009 so I'm assuming there haven't been changes - see http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/news/2009/sundayhunt.htm

Of course, some of the smaller parks have no hunting allowed and those are good locations during this time too.

You can try Cheesequake State Park, Wells Mills County Park (Ocean County), the Watchung Reservation (Union County), South Mountain (Essex County), Apshawa Preserve(Passaic County) and the Ramapo Valley County Reservation (Note that the surrounding areas of Ramapo Mountain State Forest and Ringwood State Forest do allow hunting.)

For hikers, two good resources are: 

• NJ Hiking http://www.njhiking.com which has specific resources for hunting season hikers
• NY-NJ Trail Conference http://www.nynjtc.org/news/deer-hunting-dates-new-york-and-new-jersey-2010 

Being Out in Nature During Hunting Season

 

Now is the time to wear your orange blaze when you are out and about outdoors in some areas of New Jersey. It's hunting season and a hat, vest, or jacket, is a good idea - even one for your dog, especially if you let him off the leash.

The NJ Hiking blog has some good advice and reminders about Hiking in NJ During Hunting Season


The deer season runs September through February with bow season being early and then specific date ranges for shotguns. The new bear season was scheduled for today through the 11th. Small game season runs throughout the year - check http://www.njfishandwildlife.com/smgame_info.htm

There are some park areas that are closed on certain dates of shotgun season. For example, in Morris County, Pyramid Mountain, Black River, & Schooley's Mountain are closed on dates in December, January and February.

When I used to volunteer at the Pequest Education center, we got lots of questions about the confusing NJ hunting regulations.

Don't forget your best friend!

One way to be safe is to remember that there is no hunting on Sunday in NJ except for certain Wildlife Management Areas and private lands. (Check WMAs at http://www.state.nj.us/dep/fgw/wmaland.htm )

You can also try out some of the non-hunting park areas such as Cheesequake State Park, Watchung Reservation and South Mountain. More on that tomorrow.

A Billion Years Ago in New Jersey

How old are the oldest rocks in New Jersey and where are they located?

Geologists know that the rocks in the mountains of North Jersey’s Highlands are the remnants of ancient Appalachian Mountains that at one time rivaled the Rocky Mountains.

It has been accepted that they are the oldest in the state at about a billion years old.

But the actual dating wasn't known precisely until the New Jersey Geological Survey, within the Department of Environmental Protection, teamed up with the U.S. Geological Survey and the Australian National University in a project funded by private grants to provide the most precise dating ever of New Jersey’s oldest rocks.

Rocks collected from the Highlands were analyzed using a highly sophisticated dating technique at the Australian National University. The technique allowed researchers to date the rocks to within nine million years of certainty, a degree of specificity never attained before.

The NJ Highlands at the Wanaque Reservoir

 
They found that the rocks are actually quite a bit older than the generalized billion-year-old estimate ascribed to them. Most of the rocks fell in a range of 1.02 billion to 1.25 billion years old, but a narrow belt stretching from Wanaque to Ringwood was dated at 1.37 billion years old, making these the oldest rocks in New Jersey.

“Unraveling the geologic history of the New Jersey Highlands from the age of bedrock obviously is interesting to scientists,” said State Geologist Karl Muessig. “But it also has practical applications for environmental risk assessment. For example, potassium-rich granites of a certain age in the Highlands contain higher concentrations of radioactive elements than most other granites and are likely to produce higher radon levels in soil and water. More precise mapping of these granites will help better identify areas that may pose greater public health risks from radon.”

Geologists have long understood that the mountains of the Highlands were formed during a mountain-building period known as the Grenville Orogeny, which occurred about a billion years ago.

Amazingly, this was a time when land that is now part of South America was adjacent to what is today New Jersey.

“Rocks of the New Jersey Highlands form the roots of the ancestral Appalachian Mountains that were formed during a collision of continental land masses about one billion years ago,” Volkert said. “The result of this mountain-building event uplifted the earth’s crust in eastern North America, including the Highlands, to heights rivaling the present-day Rocky Mountains.”

Hundreds of millions of years of weathering have left erosion-resistant granite and gneiss that form the rugged ridges and steep-sided hills that are characteristic of the Highlands region. But the wearing-away occurred unevenly, meaning the rocks that you see jutting from a hillside or at a valley floor - or even just a short distance from each other - are likely to be of differing ages.

When you consider that it has only been 65 million years since the extinction of the dinosaurs, and 200 million years since continental drift and plate tectonics opened up the Atlantic Ocean, the age of the rocks is awe inspiring.

via http://www.nj.gov/dep/newsrel/2010/10_0137.htm

NJ Bat Population Continues To Collapse

Little Brown Bat

Last spring, in studies about White-Nose Syndrome in New Jersey, it was reported that the fungus has killed off about 90 percent of the state's bat population.

The devastation hit the largest hibernation spot for bats in New Jersey which is Morris County's Hibernia Mine.

Normally, as many as 30,000 bats would winter there, but the 2010 count found only about 1,700 alive. To make matters worse, many of those showed signs of infection, according to the state's Endangered and Non-game Species Program.

Despite their undeserved bad reputation, bats are crucial to ecosystems. They have a positive effect - especially for humans - through devouring insects, dispersing seeds, and pollinating flowers. The widespread loss of bats has potential ramifications for human health since the huge quantities of bugs hey consume includes ones that not only damage crops but also carry West Nile and other potentially fatal diseases.

Some scientists think humans who visit caves may inadvertently spread the fungus from cave to cave. To try and halt the spread, government agencies across the country have been closing access to caves and abandoned mines.

But there are massive die-offs in the U.S. due to the fungus that is commonly called "white-nose syndrome" because of the whitish powder that appears on the nose, ears and wing membrane of infected bats.

Geomyces destructans is a filamentous fungus of unknown origin and seems to be new to North America.

It was documented but not yet recognized as Geomyces destructans in 2006 at Howes Cave, New York. In 2007, people began to report that little brown bats were flying outside nearby caves during daylight in the midst of winter - something that should not be happening.

Little brown bats are smaller than a human thumb, and dependent on its two grams of stored fat to keep it alive through the cold season. Without hibernation, it will not survive and it being awakened even once can cost it a month's worth of fat. That is why NJ's bat hibernation locations are protected.

The little brown bat population is continuing to decline, with the numbers down 50% from last summer and 80% from 2008, according to the results of New Jersey's annual summer bat count.

Six species have the disease, one of which had been declared endangered long before white-nose syndrome. That is the Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis). Three others are at very high risk.

In New Jersey, the Conserve Wildlife Foundation has teamed with owners of 15 forest areas in the northwestern part of the state to create more habitat for bats.

The endangered Indiana bat roosts in summer under the loose bark of dead trees and switches those roosts every few days. Since dead and dying trees are often cut down, CWF works with landowners to girdle some trees to kill them so they provide more roost sites, or even to attach cedar shakes and other items to tree trunks to create roost spots.

Endangered Indiana Bat

December Birding in South Jersey

Birders don't give up when the weather gets cold. Migrations continue through the end of the year (though not in as great a number as autumn).

A post by Paul Kerlinger about birding this month at Cape May reports gannets and other fish-eating birds at the Jersey Cape.

With the summer and early autumn migrants (warblers, shorebirds, hawks etc.) gone to the tropics like some other New Jerseyeans, now we can view some late season migrating waterbirds

The list includes Northern Gannets, scoters (mostly Black and Surf, with small numbers of White-winged), Red-throated Loons, diving ducks like Long-tailed, alcids (mostly Razorbills), jaegers (mostly Parasitic, with the occasional Pomarine), and kittiwakes.

If you do spot any hawks, it will probably be the red-tailed hawks or fewer red-shouldered hawk, Northern Goshawks, sharp-shinned and Cooper’s hawks, and Northern Harriers. Don't be shocked if you spot a Golden or Bald eagle.

Snowy Owl on NJ beach

Moving towards the Delaware Bayshore marshes might allow you on a late afternoon to spot some of my favorites - the owls. Short-eared Owls can be seen and heard "barking" as they hunt rodents, as they swoop low over the marsh grasses. There are also Snowy owls, Great Horned, Long-eared and other owls in the area.

If you're new to birding, you can sign up for one of the Cape May Bird Observatory owl field trips. Author Patricia Sutton (How to Spot an Owl) leads trips for the Observatory. You can purchase books and scopes at the Cape May Bird Observatory shop or at one of the other birding stores in the area.

And in January, you can spot thousands of Snow Geese in the salt marshes of Forsythe (formerly Brigantine) National Wildlife Refuge (near Absecon in Atlantic County). A staggering half-million Snow Geese will be in South Jersey during the winter.





WHERE TO GO

The Cape's back bays, creeks, marshes and the Cape May Bird Observatory http://www.birdcapemay.org at 7th Street in Avalon are places to try this month.

Behind the Coast Guard Base (along Ocean Drive in Wildwood Crest) is a good place for waterfowl like diving buffleheads and Hooded Mergansers. You will often spot the more- diurnal-in-winter Black-crowned Night-herons and Great Blue Herons hunting for crabs and fish.

Delaware Bayshore spots like Jake’s Landing and Dennis Creek are good for spotting Short-eared Owls (and Northern Harriers) doing some marsh hunting for voles and mice. 

• Information on birds at Cape May Month By Month
• Birds And Birding at Cape May
• Cape May Birds: An Introduction to Familiar Species in Cape May County (A Pocket Naturalist Guide)
• Clay and Pat Sutton's Nature of the Cape columns
• How to Spot Hawks and Eagles

And if you just want to walk the Cape and do some casual observing, try Cape May Walking Tours: Short, Fun, No-stress Tours for All Ages and Abilities