We posted earlier this week about the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ peregrine falcon camera in Elizabeth, NJ, and today we feature their Barnegat Light Osprey Cam.
The camera at this tall nest gives us a look at this third year for this pair of ospreys at this nest site (second year of cam).
In 2018, they produced two young, three in 2019, and three in 2020. All young have been banded for future tracking.
The osprey (Pandion haliaetus carolinensis) is a large bird of prey, which is sometimes referred to as a “fish hawk.” They are found in open areas and nest near water, where they find their main food source, fish. In New Jersey, most ospreys nest along the Atlantic Coast from Sandy Hook to Cape May and then west along the Delaware Bayshore to Salem with less frequent nests along the Delaware River and in Northern Jersey.
Their website states that "ospreys are an important bioindicator species and reflect the health of their surrounding environment. A healthy coastal ecosystem equals a booming shore economy and the ospreys indicate that we're doing a good job of protecting our coastal areas. There are still many threats to ospreys, even though they have recovered from the effects of DDT and habitat loss."
You can help too.
Reduce your dependence on single-use plastics.
Purchase sustainable/local caught seafood.
Don't release balloons which often end up in waterways and mimic food.
Join in a coastal cleanup and
pick up plastic litter that you see near the ocean and waterways.
You can also check out the weather at Barnegat Light at their weather station.
And you can donate to the Foundation to help them continue
to conserve wildlife and educate in New Jersey.
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