Results of the 2009 Survey for Inland Heron Colonies in New Jersey & Survey Plans for 2011

1. Results of the 2009 Survey for Inland Heron Colonies in New Jersey & Survey Plans for 2011 Christina Kisiel NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife Endangered and Nongame Species Program

2. 2009 Pilot Survey for Inland Heron Colonies in Northeast New Jersey The ENSP database has spotty coverage for inland colonial waterbird colonies. Sites are not surveyed regularly so some data is no longer current, or is missing entirely. This survey aimed to address this data gap.

3. 2009 Pilot Survey for Inland Heron Colonies in Northeast New Jersey Study Area – This is a general outline of where the survey focused. Areas outside this area were also identified and surveyed to a less formal degree.

4. Survey Work Plan I posted requests for information on colonies that ENSP may not have been aware of on the JerseyBirds listserv. This resulted in the identification of 9 colonies previously unknown to ENSP. I pooled all the information we had in our database with the new sites and came up with 30 total colonies to survey. I also posted requests for volunteers on the DEP listserv, the JerseyBirds listserv and on the NJAS website. Each person was responsible for at least one site, but was allowed to sign up for additional sites. 9 total volunteers signed up, along with 2 staff members, allowing coverage for all the sites.

5. Survey Work Plan • The survey was conducted from April – November. Observers visit the colonies three times over the course of the survey period: • Visit the site in April or May to confirm that the birds returned and colony is active. Conduct adult count. • Visit the site in June to determine if the colony was successful. Conduct an adult and chick/fledge count. • Visit the site in November (after leaf fall) to conduct a post season nest count.

6. Results 16 of the 30 inland night-heron colonies (53%) identified for observation and 8 of the 14 surveyors (43%) returned data after surveying. Of the 16 surveyed colonies, 9 were active (56%). Add google map showing all sites There were a total of 27 adults counted during the course of the inland night-heron survey and 12 adults were observed on nests. There were a total of 17 nests counted and 25 juveniles were observed. This was the first time this survey was undertaken, so there are no past years to compare with.

7. Aerial Survey of Atlantic Coastal marshes Inland Night-heron Survey of NJ 2011 Survey Plans

8. Aerial Survey The target species for the 2011 aerial survey will be: Great Egret Glossy Ibis Snowy Egret Tricolored Heron Cattle Egret Little Blue Heron Yellow Crowned Night Heron Black Crowned Night Heron The survey will take place in late May or early June. We will use a Jet Ranger helicopter with three observers on board. Two observers will count and one will be responsible for navigation and recording the data.

9. Study Area – Aerial Survey We will survey all coastal marshes from Mantaloking to Cape May. There are not many active colonies north of this area. We may try to ground survey some of those colonies, or fly over them as time allows.

10. Study Area – Ground Survey Ground – We will survey all known inland night-heron colonies throughout the state, building off the pilot survey of 2009. We will use a combination of volunteer and staff effort to complete the survey. From 2011 forward, we plan on conducting the ground survey on the same year and rotation as the aerial survey (once every 3 years). This will allow us to collect the most comprehensive night-heron data statewide.

11. If you know of any colonies in the study area that should be included in this survey or are interested in volunteering for the survey (or both!) please contact me at: Christina Kisiel ckisiel@hughes.net OR christina.kisiel@dep.state.nj.us OR 609.628.1919