2023 Coastal Birds Reports Available

[NJDFW]

The NJFW Endangered and Nongame Species Program recently released two reports covering the results of the 2023 field season.

Photo Credit: Sam Galick

The Beach-Nesting Bird Project Report includes data for all four of the highest conservation priority species in this group (Piping Plover, Black Skimmer, Least Tern, and American Oystercatcher) and the standalone Piping Plover Nesting Results report provides an additional level of detail for this federally listed species.

New in 2023 is an appendix in the Project Report entitled “Novel Approaches to Predation Management in New Jersey for the Protection of Beach-nesting Birds”. This covers four new techniques that were tried in the state this year. Two of them (fladry and urine perimeters) were through partnerships with USDA-APHIS-WS and USFWS while the other two (nocturnal monitoring and pigeon spikes) were conducted only by NJFW.

Predation and flooding/storm-related events were the primary factors leading to low productivity for three of the species (Black Skimmers were the exception). Key metrics were as follows:

Piping Plover – 118 pairs nested at 24 sites and produced 63 fledglings for a 0.53 fledglings/pair reproductive rate (1.5 is the goal). This was the same pair number as 2022 but the second-lowest reproductive rate since state-wide monitoring began in 1987.

Black Skimmers –2,685 adults (peak census tally) nested at four sites and produced 802 fledglings. This number of fledglings is considered moderate.

Least Tern –1,059 adults (peak census tally) nested at 13 sites and produced 152 fledglings. This number of fledglings is considered low and the number of sites with active nesting was the lowest recorded since 1976.

American Oystercatcher – 199 pairs nested at 56 monitored sites and produced 59 fledglings for a 0.37 fledglings/pair reproductive rate (0.50 is the goal). Please note that unlike the other three species, this is not a statewide census and the pair number does not accurately represent the state’s population (see report for details). However, this did mark the first year that structured monitoring occurred at some sites on the Delaware Bayshore, thanks to NJFW partners at The Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ and The Wetlands Institute.

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