A male Scarlet Tanager graced the Femelschlagers with its presence along Old Mine Road in Sussex County. WSB 2019 -Photo by John Parke
The NJA Stewardship Department World Series of Birding team, The Fight’n Femelschlagers, had a great day out in North Jersey racking up 96 different species of birds during the event! Bald Eagle, Bobolink, Indigo Bunting, Cerulean Warbler, Broad-wing Hawk, Scarlet Tanager, Yellow-Bellied Sapsucker were just some of the species we came across on our trek through different habitat types searching for birds. The highlight for the Femelschlagers was a Black Scoter off the boat launch along Old Mine Road on the Delaware River! This sea duck species is typically found along the Atlantic coast in the ocean as well as the Delaware Bay area, so to be seen in northern Jersey was great surprise for us!
Birds weren’t the only wildlife up in the trees that the Femelschagers encountered during WSB 2019. A resting porcupine was spotted in the Crater Lake area of the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation area! Photo by John Parke
We also encountered many other wildlife species throughout the day, such as Porcupine, Northern Water Snakes, Five-lined Skinks, American Toads, as well as some great native plants including Red Trillium (Wakerobin), Fringed Polygala (Gaywings), Black Spruce and Dwarf Ginseng, which just goes to show how important it is to remember that it’s not just about the birds when we think conservation. Habitat restoration and stewardship of those lands are important for a variety of species. What makes the NJA Stewardship Department so unique in how we are able to get meaningful work done that has significant ecological uplift is that, although our work is grounded in science, the professional staff at the NJA Stewardship Department consider other factors then just a single target species or resource concern. Meaning, impacts for other species and numerous ecological resources, as well as social, cultural and economic factors are looked at and planned for in order to make a project and the resource we are focusing on a sustainable project with lasting positive results.
A patch of Red Trillium (Trillium erectum) a.k.a. Wakerobin, was a bonus sighting for the Femelschlagers in High Point State Park during the WSB! Photo by John Parke
Although the WSB is over, unfortunately we came up a little short for reaching our Department WSB Conservation Funding Goal, so please considered becoming a part of the NJ Audubon Stewardship Department support family and know that there is still time to donate to our team at Fight’n Femelschlagers. The World Series of Birding (WSB) is an important fundraiser for the NJ Audubon Stewardship Department each year, raising funds vital to support our Department’s conservation work on behalf of declining wildlife species and habitat in NJ.
Not even a severely sprained ankle will stop NJA Project Coordinator/ Femelschlager Brittany Dobrzynski from participating in the WSB! That is the NJA Stewardship Department – adapt, overcome, improvise, conservation! Photo by John Parke
Please note that your tax deductible donation to The Fight’n Femelschalers team goes directly to funding our Department’s work here at NJ Audubon, specifically for habitat restoration in NJ such as: the Bobwhite Quail reintroduction project in the Pinelands, conservation innovation projects with agricultural producers, sustainable ecological forestry projects throughout the State, native grassland restoration projects, bog turtle habitat restoration projects, Ruffed Grouse restoration and population recovery projects, vegetation management projects for early successional species, prescribed burning projects, invasive species control projects, water quality and habitat improvement projects in the Highlands and Kirkwood-Cohansey aquifer regions, invasive species control projects, working with NJ farmers and rural landowners to create and restore habitat that also benefits the agricultural community and many others.
On behalf of the New Jersey Audubon Stewardship Department, we thank you for the chance to present this opportunity to support our work and please know that every little bit helps!!
We also would like to thank our NJA Stewardship Team Sponsors: Ernst Conservation Seeds, Hudson Farm, Ocean Spray and Edelman Financial Engines, as well as, Vortex Optics, for the use of your excellent binoculars and scopes!
So what is a Femelschlager? “Femelschlag”, is a German term for a forest management practice that is designed to emulate natural disturbance patterns and encourage tree species diversity in multiple-age classes, thereby enhancing ecosystem services and complexity. (A lot of our sustainable forestry work for various rare species involves this management practice here in NJ) #Femelschlagers
