Migratory and Rare Bird Habitat at the Forest
The Atlantic Flyway is a major north-south flyway for more than 500 migratory birds in North America—and New Jersey is located along that route. A flyway is a “highway” regularly used by large numbers of birds who migrate from tropical climates to northern areas. Migratory birds typically arrive in New Jersey from March through the month of May.
Wood Thrushes, a species of special concern, fly from the tropics to the Drew Forest because they have access to mature trees, underbrush and water. Nesting couples need to stake out a foraging territory of 5 acres. A few trees in a suburban yard are not an adequate replacement.
Bird populations are facing alarming declines due to deforestation and development. The Drew Forest’s 53 acre habitat is important because, unlike suburban housing, it is a large, intact area of sheltered woodland. In addition, it connects to adjacent public parks, providing a wildlife corridor for native species like the Wood Thrush that return each spring for the nesting season.
Especially in the Forest’s deer-fenced areas, birds and wildlife enjoy a rich understory of shrubs and plants that help to protect their young from predators. Moist leaf litter along the forest floor provides plenty of caterpillars, worms and invertebrates for birds to feed their young, who rely almost entirely on a diet of soft, squishy, protein-packed insects.
93 Bird Species Identified by Daniel Magda, Class of 2024
For his excellent senior thesis, Daniel Magda spent the fall of 2023, observing birds on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday mornings, starting at 6:30-7 am, weather permitting. Bird ID has a long history at Drew. He compiled a list of 93 migrating and non-migrating birds, topping the list of 62 species gathered by Mrs. Olin Curtis, a professor’s wife and published in the 1938 book, The Building of Drew University by Charles Sitterly. Among the migrating birds that both saw:
CommonYellowthroat (Geothlypis trichas)
Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis Phoebe)
Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Corthylio calendula)
Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina).
Barred Owl, a NJ Threatened Species photographed by Daniel Magda.
Daniel’s
tools included binoculars, cameras and audio recording devices that captured the calls of birds obscured by foliage or out of view.
“At the conclusion of my sampling period, which had run from September 12 to December 15 of 2023, I was able to detect a total of 93 species of birds with a total of 6,747 individuals over the course of 37 censuses.”
His finds included: “two species, the Barred Owl (Strix viria) and the American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) that sit on the New Jersey Threatened species list and eight species that reside on the New Jersey Species of Special Environmental Concern list including two breeding species (Br).
He was also able to detect “three species that were listed on the IUCN Red List and hold a conservation level at Near Threatened. (Table 3).”
These findings attest to the importance of the Drew Forest as a rare and biodiverse habitat.
Sources:
Migrating birds return, but are their northern homes safe? by Christine Hepburn, PhD
New Jersey Conservation Foundation on bird migration
Encounters North has recordings of bird calls.
“Habitat Fragmentation and Birds” by Mike Campbell and Mark Johns (2008)
Susquehanna National Heritage Area—Atlantic flyway