OC & UPPER NEWS NOTES – 4-18

E-A-G-L-E-S – The New Jersey Bald Eagle Recovery Program – Past, Present, and Future – was the subject of the last “Lunch and Learn” of the season at the Wetlands Institute in Stone Harbor.
About 35 people gathered to hear Larissa Smith, wildlife biologist and volunteer manager of Conserve Wildlife Foundation of NJ, speak on the subject.
Among those attending the lecture was Joan Purchase of Court House, who is “pleased to be a member of the Wetlands for years.” Her friend, Kathy Meers of Court House, “heard about the lectures” from Purchase and was also there, along with Pat Rauch of North Wildwood, who attended before and found the program to be very “informative.” The presentation on bald eagles included the following topics.
• E ndangered – Bald eagle’s official NJ status.
• A mount – Highest concentration in Cumberland and Salem Counties.
• G reen – A green band on an eagle means it’s from NJ.
• L ist – Fed. Govt. removed them from its endangered species list in 2007.
• E agle Project 2011 – A record high of 113 eagle pairs was monitored.
• S ilver – The color of the federal band.
For complete information on the NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection, Div. of Fish and Wildlife, New Jersey Bald Eagle Project 2011, visit www.conservewildlifenj.org, click on Protecting Wildlife, Conservation Projects, and then on Bald Eagle Project.
Smith also reported that “several Delaware Bay beaches will be closed from Mon., May 7, to Thurs., June. Various beaches have been closed seasonally since 2003 to protect a rapidly declining population of migrating shorebirds. The Delaware Bay is a major migratory stopover along the Atlantic flyway where shorebirds stop each spring to feed on the fat-rich eggs of the horseshoe crab before heading to the Canadian Arctic to breed.
Closed areas will be marked with printed signs and rope fencing. The best Delaware Bay beaches for shorebird viewing are Reeds Beach, Norburys Landing, Kimbles Beach, and Cooks Beach. There are viewing platforms at the northern end of N. Beach Ave. in Reeds Beach, and at the end of Milman Blvd. at Norburys Landing.
Shorebird Stewards will be present to educate the public about the interaction between the shorebirds and horseshoe crabs and the need to let the birds feed undisturbed.” Detailed maps of the closed areas can be found at www. state.nj.us/dep/ fgw/ensp/beachclozmap.htm.
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Seventh Annual Family Aid Benefit Concert will take place at 7 p.m. on Sat., May 5, at the Parkway South Seventh-Day Adventist Church, on Roosevelt Boulevard and Route 9 North, in Marmora. The Church established the Family Aid Fund in 2006 to give a hand up to families in need. Performing at the Concert are Karla Rivera Bucklew, soprano; and Ingrid Forss, pianist.
Bucklew completed her Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance at the Univ. of Maryland. She made her opera debut in 2010 and her ensemble debut in 2009, both at Carnegie Hall; and in 2007, she debuted at Kennedy Center. For nine years, Bucklew directed the Georgetown Presbyterian Chorale in Wash., D.C. She sings with the choir of the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Wash., D.C., and also has a vocal studio.
Forss is currently pursuing Professional Certification in Piano Pedagogy at Westminster Conservatory of Music in Princeton, NJ. She performed at various venues in the South Jersey area, has opened a private piano studio, and volunteers at Shore Memorial Hospital in Somers Point, where she can be seen playing the piano on Sunday afternoons.
Bucklew and Forss “enjoy performing together,” and are “glad we can use our musical talents to help others in need.”
Admission to the Concert is free, but donations toward the Family Aid Fund are greatly appreciated. For more information, Ingrid Forss may be reached at 609-675-4124, or visit www. Facebook. com/FamilyAidConcert.
For a complete list of upcoming events in the county go to the Herald calendar, in print and online, at www. capemaycountyherald.com/ calendar.
If you would like to make the public aware of happenings in your town, classroom, group, or club, please email me at RWhelan@cmcherald.com.