Nesting Season is Here!

by Brian Williamson As the weather warms up and vacationers begin to arrive, local turtles, especially nesting diamondback terrapins, will be on the move as well. Here are some guidelines for what to do, and not do, if you see a turtle this summer. Be aware of turtles...

Marsh Musings – Spring 2018

Yay! Spring! I have always felt connected to nature and that connection extends to the changing of the seasons. The rhythm that accompanies the earth’s cycles as the days get longer and the sun gets brighter permeates the Institute. It feels as if the marsh is...

A Model Citizen Science and Volunteer Project Turns 5

Every spring, Delaware Bay host the largest concentration of spawning horseshoe crabs on the Atlantic Coast. Surveys estimate 300,000-1,300,000 horseshoe crabs annually come ashore onto NJ Bayshore beaches and are in greatest numbers during spring tides in May and...

American Oystercatchers – Hurricane Irma Survivors

by Allison Anholt This summer, The Wetlands Institute researchers were busy at work studying American Oystercatchers. To learn about these local-breeders, we captured and banded adults and young with orange bands on their legs. Each half-inch tall plastic band is...

Terrapins in the Classroom

by Dr. Lisa Ferguson Our kids are not the only ones headed off to school in the fall. Each year, we send diamondback terrapin hatchlings to spend the school year with teachers who are trained and permitted to raise the turtles with their students through our Terrapins...

Our Eyes Are on the Marshes

If you have lived near the coast or have visited for many years, you have probably noticed the changes in water levels in our marshes. Lots of people have told me that it used to be a really big deal when the meadows were flooded because it didn’t happen very often....