Birds in unexpected places

We have mentioned that Hurricane Sandy changed Connecticut in numerous ways, simultaneously creating and destroying habitat for birds depending on each species and their specific requirements. We can expect to find Least and Common Terns at all typical nesting areas plus other locations as migrants move through the state. Expanded habitat was created for them at places like Long Beach in Stratford, while some of the offshore islands monitored by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection have lost some. Least Terns in particular have already been very active in Stratford and Milford as well as the traditionally successful Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven suggesting a productive year may be in store for them if we can assist in their protection this spring and summer.

Beyond that we should remember that Piping Plovers are still finding places to nest. One such example is a pair in Fairfield that nested last week and had not been seen prior to that. Others are even still being observed copulating at major sites like Milford Point where we have six nests and potentially a seventh on the way. These American Oystercatchers were photographed at Stratford Point recently.

While the site is across the Housatonic River from Milford Point there is no acceptable habitat for the American Oystercatcher or Piping Plover here. Nevertheless, you can sometimes find a pair either leaving their nest site or moving around and trying to find another and showing up in unexpected locations like this to forage. This is a regular sort of thing for me to record at Stratford Point as I survey the property well over a dozen times each month. Please keep looking for birds where you do not anticipate seeing any and may not have recorded a given species yet this year. Those types of surprises can be a lot of fun while monitoring.


Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society partnering to improve conditions for coastal waterbirds in Connecticut.

Waterbird Technician positions/Milford Point

We have two quick announcements today:

1) We are seeking 3 seasonal waterbird technicians for shorebird conservation work in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds. Spend the summer outdoors with shorebirds and help to conserve them and get paid for it! Please see the details here: https://careers-audubon.icims.com/jobs/1743/coastal-waterbird-technician/job?mode=view

2) The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service asked us to pass along that they are closing off the tip of Smith's Point (at Milford Point) to public access due to the nesting birds out that way. You can monitor as usual in the Francis St. area and on the spit, but please try to remain out of the area of the Refuge beyond the private homes to the west of the Coastal Center on Smith's Point Road that goes towards the mouth of the Housatonic River and the salt marsh. The areas on the Long Island Sound side of the Coastal Center accessible from the platform, including the spit, are still open as always. Please bear in mind that this area is one of the only places for shorebirds to rest and very important for Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers - visiting near low tide and keeping your distance whenever possible is best. Thanks!


Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society partnering to improve conditions for coastal waterbirds in Connecticut.

AAfCW 2013 Volunteer Update #7

This is the seventh weekly update by the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds (AAfCW) for the 2013 season. Today's update includes reports of Piping Plover and American Oystercatcher from May 6 through 4:00 p.m. on May 13 with sightings of birds by volunteers and staff spanning that period.

Informational updates:

Least and Common Terns rapidly spread into Connecticut during the last week. You can expect to find them at all typical nesting areas plus other locations as migrants move through the area. New habitat may have been created for them by Hurricane Sandy so please look for them at all of our monitored beaches and please provide as accurate data as you can on them as you do for Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers. The closest counts you can get, even if you have to estimate something like a group of Common Terns feeding offshore, are the best for us.

Survey and monitoring updates:

Piping Plover
6 adults, 2 nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/6
1 pair at East Broadway Milford on 5/7
4 pairs, 1 adult, 5 nests at Griswold Point on 5/7
3 pairs at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/7
2 pairs, 5 adults, 3 nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/7
1 pair, 3 adults, 1 nest at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/8
1 pair, 1 nest at East Haven (private) on 5/9
9 adults, 6 nests at Milford Point on 5/9
1 pair at East Broadway Milford on 5/9
5 pairs, 5 nests at Bluff Point on 5/9
7 adults, 2 nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/10
7 pairs, 6 nests at Milford Point on 5/10
7 pairs, 5 nests at Griswold Point on 5/10
5 pairs, 2 nest at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/10
1 adult at Sasco Hill Beach on 5/10
9 adults, 6 nests at Milford Point on 5/11
12 adults, 2 nests at Long Beach on 5/12
3 pairs, 4 adults, 2 nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/12
6 adults at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/13

American Oystercatcher
5 pairs, 1 adult at Cockenoe Island on 5/6
1 pair at Goose Island on 5/6
2 pairs at Chimon Island on 5/6
1 pair, 4 adults at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/6
1 pair at Griswold Point on 5/7
1 pair at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/7
2 pairs, 1 nest at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/7
1 adult at Milford Point on 5/8
1 pair at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/8
1 pair at Salt Island on 5/9
3 pairs, 1 nest at Menunketesuck Island on 5/9
1 pair, 2 adults at Duck Island on 5/9
2 pairs at Milford Point on 5/9
1 pair at Bluff Point on 5/9
1 pair at Stratford Point on 5/10
4 adults at Menunketesuck Island on 5/10
4 adults at Duck Island on 5/10
1 adult at Tuxis Island on 5/10
1 pair, 3 adults at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/10
2 pairs, 1 nest at Milford Point on 5/10
2 pairs at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/10
1 pair, 1 nest at Crow Island on 5/10
2 pairs, 1 nest at Milford Point on 5/11
1 pair at Sherwood Island State Park on 5/12
1 pair, 4 adults, 2 nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/12
4 adults at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/13

Least Tern
2 adults at Stratford Point on 5/8
1 adult at Stratford Point on 5/10
17 adults at Milford Point on 5/10
1 pair, 1 adult at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/10
2 adults at Crow Island on 5/10
7 adults at Stratford Great Meadows on 5/11
2 adults at Stratford Point on 5/11
4 adults at Milford Point on 5/11
24 adults at Long Beach on 5/12
9 adults at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/12
6 adults at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/13

Common Tern
21 adults at Stratford Point on 5/8
1 pair, 2 adults at Menunketesuck Island on 5/9
13 adults at Stratford Point on 5/10
3 adults at Milford Point on 5/10
~50 adults at Sandy/Morse Points on 5/10
~50 adults at Crow Island on 5/10
8 adults at Stratford Point on 5/11
1 adult at Long Beach on 5/12

This concludes update #7 through 5/13/13 as of 5:00 p.m.


Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society partnering to improve conditions for coastal waterbirds in Connecticut.

A different kind of Plover

We are now well into May and shorebird migration is heating up. The species that nest to our north have yet to pass through in sizable numbers but they are growing in quantity and diversity every day. Because of the later start to nesting in those regions they move through at this time and quickly exit in July and August with rapid breeding seasons squeezed in before the earlier autumn. With our longer period of warmth our birds have it made, don't they?

These are Semipalmated Plovers, not Piping Plovers, photographed at Stratford Point on May 7.

The two species can appear a bit similar when you see one or two at a time from a distance, but a closer examination shows their differences. They have dark faces and are brown on their backs, wings, and head, not gray. Their chest band and forehead are more black than the Piping Plover. These features are also larger in size. Their call has a "chewy" sound to it instead of the classic peeps of the Piping Plover.

Another difference can be in how many you observe. They will be seen in numbers from a few to dozens to the low hundreds in the spring and perhaps up to several hundred during the fall migration at critical locations in Connecticut. This will never be the case with the Piping Plover! Depending on the species shorebirds can take similar or slightly different migratory corridors when heading north or south, but for the most part you will see more of them on the southbound journey because of young birds born during the summer.



Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society partnering to improve conditions for coastal waterbirds in Connecticut.

Watch out for rain

While we want monitors at our sites across Connecticut as much as possible, there are a few times when we would rather have you take the day off to better protect our Piping Plover and American Oystercatcher nests and soon Least Tern and Common Tern as well. This is when the weather conditions are potentially hazardous to the birds, and as you can imagine the threat increases at times when the birds are incubating eggs or tending to young. Please keep the conditions in mind and only survey when the temperature is not overly hot or cold, there is no rain, and the wind is not strong.

If gusts are strong enough that you notice them pushing you around, especially on a cool or cloudy day, it may be better to stay home. When the temperature is below 50 or over 90, you may want to exercise caution and skip a monitoring session. When there is rain falling as there will be today and tomorrow and possibly a few more times in the next week it is also best not to go on to the beach. The key is that we do not want incubating adults coming off eggs for too long of a time so that they are exposed to extreme conditions. This can be fatal to them. Also, for your own safety, watch out for any forecast for thunderstorms so that you are not on the beach at such a time as we enter the severe season.

Thank you all for your constant efforts and for being mindful about when to hit the beaches this spring and summer.


Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society partnering to improve conditions for coastal waterbirds in Connecticut.