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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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This white-throated sparrow likely had just made their way south for winter, completing a journey between 500-1,500 miles, only to encounter 20+ ft of ground-to-ceiling untreated glass on @stocktonuniversity’s campus. Every year, we see upticks in the number of dead birds found near windows like clockwork as migration picks up.

I can’t help but imagine what this bird’s life could’ve been like if it weren’t cut so short. The joy this bird could have brought people. I wish I had gotten the chance to observe this bird under different circumstances. They’re one of my favorite winter backyard birds. I wish I’d gotten the chance to know this bird 💔 what I can do? Continue to educate people on the harms of glass to birds & inform people about what they can do

So, what *can* you do to help migrating birds make their journey safely?
- apply decals like the ones from @featherfriendly (applied on the USC sky bridge in 2023) both residentially and commercially (~1 billion birds die due to building/window collisions annually in the U.S.)
- turn out the lights/close curtains at night for migrating wildlife
- document windowstrikes on platforms like @inaturalistorg and if you’re on Stockton’s campus, @subirdingclub has an iNaturalist project that we use to collect data on where to target next for FeatherFriendly decals
- advocate for ordinances requiring new buildings be built with bird-friendly glass
- keep your cat inside (they kill 1.3 billion birds in the U.S. annually)
- VOTE
- contact your representatives about issues facing birds

#birding #birdwatching #birds #migration #sparrow

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The only thing I’m having fun doing at 6 AM btw

From our lovely competition at @wildbirdresearch’s Wings Over Mercer earlier this month 🥰

#birding #birdwatching #birder #birdwatcher #birds

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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

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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

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The only thing better than birding is birding with friends💕

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happy sustainable Sunday 🥳

#granola #nature #sustainability #birding #conservation

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There are more than 250 ways to get involved on campus with student organizations, Greek Life and Student Senate. If you see something missing, that’s your sign to gather a community and start a new group through the @stocktonstudev office. #GoOspreys #SoarHigher #StocktonU #CampusLife Indian Student Association

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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

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Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments

Photos:
I wasn’t competing with/against @emmybebirdin, but she’s the coolest ever and helped organize Wings Over Mercer for @wildbirdresearch

@subirdingclub has competed in multiple @njaudubon World Series of Birding competitions and Wings Over Mercer

team members: myself, @ryysfloraandfauna @agriffphoto @thebirding_farmer @chicken_little_125

If there are other local competitions we aren’t yet aware of, let us know 👀

** nothing in this video is sponsored, just some of the the gear and resources I’ve got kicking around & events I’ve attended **

#birding #birder #nature #outdoors #birdwatching

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4 out of 4 birding experts this nest was made by a house wren #science #birding #birdnest #birdsonearth #birdsonfarms

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Here’s a recap of the Get Involved Fair! We loved getting to talk to our NAMS clubs these past two days☺️#StocktonUniversity #GetInvolvedFair #CampusLife

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Melanie Schroer, a #StocktonU Biology instructor, and students spent a morning on the Mullica River with Ben Wurst of @wildlifenj to survey Osprey nests and to watch Ben band chicks. Earlier this year, Schroer installed cameras on nesting platforms to capture footage of predator interactions and behaviors to learn more about the species. Full story coming soon.

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