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Pine Barrens Birding Club

@subirdingclub

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Welcome feather and fowl to the Birding Club of Stockton University! Follow us and watch your knowledge of birds take flight. 🦆🦅🦉

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🌲🦅 Introducing: the Pine Barrens Birding Club 🦅🌲
As many of you know, we recently renamed the club to be more representative of the values of the club. You can read more about this decision above! The man the school is named after was a slave owner and not someone we wish to honor. While the school is still deciding whether to retain their name, we will be moving forward without honoring any humans in our name.
||#PineBarrensBirdingClub #StudentOrganization #StudentClub #BirdingClub #Birding #BirdWatching || by @subirdingclub

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3 years ago

The Pine Barrens Bird Nerds competed in @njaudubon’s World Series of Birding this May. In 24 hours, they heard and/or saw 133 species of birds in Atlantic County surpassing their count of 127 last year and earning them 7th place in the limited geographic region category.

“Birds are life changing. They help us find ways to brighten our days,” said Bree Hawkins, founder and president of the @subirdingclub.

She was joined by WSB Team Captain Aidan Griffiths, Rylee Hanna and Jesse Morrison. Matt English also joined non-competitively.

“In light of a recent study using eBird data, our birds aren’t doing great. Seventy-five percent of North American species are suffering declines in areas where they were once abundant,” Bree said.

The event gets people outside and helping to collect data for @team_ebird.

The Stockton team picked up a handful of species in Atlantic City at a heron rookery at O’Donnell Memorial Park across from Stockton’s Parkview Hall.

“Everything is unexpected there. The theory is that it might be a migrant trap like Central Park where you wouldn’t expect to find birds in the middle of a huge city, but they have a limited area of good habitat,” she explained.

If you’re interested in learning more about birds, get in touch with the @subirdingclub 🦅🦆🦜🦉🪶🐦‍⬛🪺 taken in New Jersey by @subirdingclub

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a year ago

On Saturday April 12th, four of our eboard members competed in an Intercollegiate Big Day Competition hosted by OSU @osubirds with other birding clubs from across the country. Our members spent 14 hours birding and identified 91 species! Additionally the Pine Barrens Birding club has put together a team of four members to participate in New Jersey Audubon’s World Series of Birding competition on May 10th. This year, we are using the competition as a fundraiser for the club. Donations of any amount are greatly appreciated! You can find the link for the gofundme in our bio. by @subirdingclub

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a year ago

Did you think the fight was over? NOT YET!

The comment period on the Bay Cap (BC) ended October 9th, but we have until October 19th to email the ASMFC about their coastwide Total Allowable Catch (TAC) limits! It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just a few sentences telling them why and how they should reduce the TAC
Email: comments@asmfc.org
Subject line: Atlantic Menhaden 2027-2028 TAC
Comment:
- reduce TAC by 50%
- you can also urge for a moratorium/greater reduction in TAC, though this is not being considered. Because of that, you can say you’re in favor of a 50% TAC reduction only because it’s the strictest/most conservative management option being considered at the moment
- set a strict TAC, not one that fluctuates according to a formula
- WHY you want a TAC reduction: ospreys are starving, not enough bait fish for local fisherman, dolphin/whale watching, striped bass, eagles, other sea life. Make this personal, have you been struggling to catch fish or find baitfish for fishing? Have you seen less ospreys or watched them starve to death? Have you seen less dolphins/whales/marine life?

Once you’ve emailed them, let me know in the comments why YOU want to see TAC reduced 🐟🦅🐋🐬

More background: (see pinned reels for more info on Osprey conservation issues)
~ 85% of Osprey young did not survive in NJ
~ 81% of pairs in high-salinity areas of the Chesapeake Bay did not fledge any young (CB is the historic stronghold for the species)
- the menhaden stock was overestimated by 37% and current TAC and BC are based off of this
- the ASMFC delayed reducing the TAC/BC by a year despite knowing this, reducing TAC by only 20%
- Osprey populations along the Atlantic Coast have plummeted in the last 2 years. Last year was bad, this year was devastating (56% reduction in reproductive success in 2025 compared to the previous 5 year average)
- the minimum threshold for reproductive rate is 0.8 to sustain the population, but some this rate lies between 0.8 and 1.3 chicks/nest depending on who you ask
- in the Mullica River/Great Bay Estuary, only 0.44 chicks/active nest and 0.33 chicks/ occupied nest survived

#osprey #ospreys #conservation #wildlife #birds by @subirdingclub

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This upcoming Sunday, October 18th, the Pine Barrens Birding Club will be hosting a trip to Cape May Hawkwatch Platform. Click the link in our bio to sign up. Transportation is limited. We hope to see you there! by @subirdingclub

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4 days ago

Not enough Ospreys are surviving to sustain their populations in many regions across the Atlantic Coast. We’re seeing the pattern worsen year after year. Last year was bad, but this year was absolutely grim. Tell the ASMFC to reduce the Bay Cap and Total Allowable Catch (TAC) by 50% for our wildlife! Menhaden are a keystone species, with so many other species depending on them. I have linked the comment survey from the AMFSC directly (self-drafting a comment), the @chesapeakebayfoundation comment letter (sign-on), and the petition from @menhadendefenders in my linktree in b!0

Please share this with someone that cares about Ospreys ❤️🦅 (or dolphins/whales/striped bass/eagles/lobster/etc)

We only have till Friday, so please like/comment/share/repost/rewatch and help get this out to someone that maybe hasn’t heard the news about the Ospreys yet. Two of my pinned videos are also on this issue and shed more light on the details & background!

#birding #birdwatching #osprey #ospreys #conservation by @subirdingclub

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9 days ago

The only thing better than birding is birding with friends💕 by @subirdingclub

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10 days ago

Join us Thursday, October 1st at 10:30am for our bi-weekly Nature Walk! We will meet near the white Gazebo next to the Arts & Sciences building. See you there! by @subirdingclub

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16 days ago

The Ospreys still desperately need your help if we don’t want a silent summer, so lock in!

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) is accepting comments through October 9th on a proposed reduction of the Bay Cap (number of fish that can be caught in the Chesapeake Bay) and Total Allowable Catch (TAC, the maximum number of fish that can be caught along the Atlantic Coast) for Atlantic Menhaden.

The science has been clear: Menhaden stock was overestimated by 37% and a 50% reduction in TAC and the Bay Cap is warranted given this gross miscalculation and what we are seeing happen in the Bay and across the Atlantic Coast. We need as many people as possible to sign onto the comment letter by the @chesapeakebayfoundation (linked in my bio). Please add any personal stories you have about ospreys or why they’re so important to you (or fish/whales/dolphins/lobster). We also need people to share this information wide and far, we need anyone who’s ever cared about ospreys or thought they were cool to watch to hear about this and join us in this fight. I also have the @menhadendefenders petition linked in my bio under ‘Ospreys’ with the comment letter

Please engage with this post so we can get as many people as possible to see it!

We’ll be continuing to share more about the issues surrounding Ospreys and Menhaden, so let us know what questions you have in the comments!

#osprey #ospreys #conservation #EnvironmentalScience #naturalist by @subirdingclub

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16 days ago

Do you want to help the ospreys? Because they really need your help right now, and there’s something you can do! I’ve linked the letter to the ASMFC that’s been drafted by the @chesapeakebayfoundation in my linktree. We’re asking that they listen to the science and reduce the TAC by 50% and the Bay cap to protect marine life. Ospreys aren’t the only species that depend on menhaden; whales, dolphins, other fish, and eagles all depend on this vital fish. We also need state legislators pushing harder for answers, no more delays in starting the research! And we need the wellbeing of our wildlife to be prioritized over industry interests and profits

Menhaden footage by the amazing @what.sue.seas, thank you so so much for always being the most supportive human ever!! Your photography and videography really tells the stories we need people to care about in conservation 🫶🏼🦅

All other Osprey footage is my own (@learningbybirding)

If you didn’t already know, I’m researching ospreys with other students and our professor Melanie Schroer at @stocktonuniversity @stocktonsciences! We will be sharing more of our research and field experiences on the newly created Instagram @njospreyecology

Please share this wide and far, repost, talk about it with your friends and family, the person in front of you in line at the coffee shop, your neighbor. Anyone and everyone. Welcoming any and all collaboration or ideas for advocacy! The ospreys are depending on us 🩵

#birding #birdwatching #osprey #birds #conservation by @subirdingclub

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a month ago

On May 9th, the PBBC competed in New Jersey Audubon’s World Series of Birding. We spent 22 of the 24 hours birding and heard/spotted 140 species. #WSB2026 by @subirdingclub

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5 months ago

Twas the night before New Jersey Audubon’s World Series of Birding and all through the house not a bird was stirring not even a grouse. #WSB2026 by @subirdingclub

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