Long Beach/Pleasure Beach fencing

Yet another huge thank you to all of the volunteers who came out to help us erect string fencing on Long Beach in Stratford and Pleasure Beach in Bridgeport Thursday morning and early afternoon. We really needed all the extra help on this mile-long barrier beach, and Larry Flynn taking his boat up the coast to help us haul the equipment was a tremendous addition as well - thanks Larry!

Scott Kruitbosch, Conservation Technician for Connecticut Audubon Society and the coordinator of the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds project, and Dr. Twan Leenders, CAS Conservation Biologist, snapped these shots during the widespread work party.

The party gathers

Rebecca Foster, CT DEEP Piping Plover Research Assistant hard at work as always

 Getting instructions before heading out

Another group would fill Larry's boat with equipment and head down to Pleasure Beach

 AAfCW waterbird technician Sean Graesser

AAfCW coordinator Scott Kruitbosch

The march down Long Beach

 We're off in the boat

 Ospreys nest all over the barrier beach on artificial towers and other structures

 Hammering in the hundreds of stakes...

 ...all over the place

Putting plenty of signs up as well

 Looking at the border of Long Beach/Pleasure Beach or Stratford/Bridgeport from the latter

Irene improved the real estate for Piping Plovers and Least Terns

Quite a view

Where the road to Long Beach West was during cottage removal

 We had so many volunteers this year!

Nearing the completion of a successful day

We even found new nests as CT DEEP spotted one with four eggs. A wire exclosure was set up not long after fencing was completed to help protect them from predation. Thanks again to everyone who has assisted us set up fencing this season!


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