The Bergen County Audubon Society this week provided the NJSEA with decoys and nesting shelters that were created by volunteers and will be placed on a floating island in the Kearny Freshwater Marsh as part of an innovative conservation project. The initiative, created by the NJSEA’s Meadowlands Research and Restoration Institute (MRRI), seeks to encourage local endangered species such as Least Terns and Black Skimmers to nest on an artificial island.

The decoys provided by the volunteers will help to lure in Least Turns and other endangered colonial nesting waterbirds. The nesting shelters will provide protection from predators and fledgling Least Terns. MRRI will also be installing a sound box to assist in attracting Black Skimmers, and remote cameras that will stream live video to MRRI’s scientists and to the public through MRRI’s website, meadowlandsrri.com.  

The NJSEA extends a hearty thank you to the Maywood Boy Scouts and Fair Lawn High School wood shop students who constructed the nesting shelters and decoys.