AAfCW 2016 Volunteer Update #14

This is the fourteenth weekly update by the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds (AAfCW) for the 2016 season. Today's update includes reports of Piping Plover, American Oystercatcher, Least Tern and Common Tern from June 20 through 12:00 p.m. on June 27 with sightings of birds by volunteers and staff.

Informational updates:

Apart from a chance of thunderstorms on a couple of days we should once again have average temperatures and frequent sunshine making for great monitoring conditions. We continue to face a number of challenges with disturbances this year. Please keep reporting any that you observe to CT DEEP immediately, or CT DEEP EnCon Police if the threat or the observation is of a "take" level.

Please also remember that DEEP Wildlife Division is requesting that volunteer Piping Plover monitors assigned to Milford Point NOT monitor the extreme tip of the sand bar as of June 24th. Please see the attached image. Rebecca Foster (DEEP Shorebird Technician) reported that walking out to the extreme end of the sandbar had to be done very careful to avoid stepping on newly hatched Least Tern chicks. There were a minimum of 7 newly hatched Least Tern chicks and 2 broods of Piping Plovers with hatchlings outside of the string fence on the narrow tip. This area is unfortunately not feasible to fence given the tides.

Because we are limited as to what we can do to protect vulnerable chicks out at the end of the sandbar, we will minimize some of the traffic by limiting our presence even though it means we get less data. At this crucial time in development, minimizing disturbance will benefit the birds more than our monitoring/education efforts. This is a temporary measure that we will lift after the chicks get a bit older. We will keep you posted and let you know when conditions there change. Thank you for your cooperation!

Survey and monitoring updates:

Piping Plover
4 pairs, 2 adults, 3 fledglings, 2 nests at Long Beach on 6/20
1 pair, 1 nest at Short Beach on 6/20
7 pairs, 6 fledglings, 5 nests at Bluff Point on 6/21

3 pairs, 5 adults, 3 hatchlings, 9 fledglings, 2 nests at Long Beach on 6/21

5 pairs, 1 adult, 4 hatchlings, 4 nests at Griswold Point on 6/21

2 pairs, 6 adults, 3 hatchlings, 4 fledglings, 1 nest at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/21

6 adults, 2 fledglings, 1 nest at Long Beach on 6/22

1 adult, 1 nest at Silver Sands State Park on 6/22
9 pairs, 11 hatchlings, 6 nests at Milford Point on 6/22
18 adults, 5 hatchlings, 9 nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/22
15 adults, 4 hatchlings at Griswold Point on 6/22

4 pairs, 6 adults, 4 hatchlings, 4 fledglings at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/22

3 pairs, 2 adults, 7 hatchlings at Hammonasset on 6/23
13 adults, 3 hatchlings, 3 nests at Milford Point on 6/23

12 adults, 6 hatchlings, 2 fledglings at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/23

6 pairs, 4 adults, 11 hatchlings, 3 nests at Milford Point on 6/24

5 pairs, 8 adults, 2 nests at Long Beach on 6/24

5 pairs, 6 adults, 3 hatchlings, 9 fledglings at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/25

1 pair, 3 hatchlings at Silver Sands State Park on 6/26

1 pair, 15 adults, 4 hatchlings, 7 fledglings at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/26

5 pairs, 3 adults, 10 hatchlings, 2 nests at Long Beach on 6/26

1 pair, 1 hatchling at Pleasure Beach on 6/27

American Oystercatcher
3 adults at Long Beach on 6/20
1 pair at Long Beach on 6/20
3 pairs, 1 nest at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/21
1 adult, 1 hatchling at Bluff Point on 6/21   
1 pair, 2 adults, 1 nest at Griswold Point on 6/21

3 adults at Long Beach on 6/21

1 adult, 1 nest at Compo Beach on 6/22
4 adults at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/22
2 adults at Griswold Point on 6/22
4 adults at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/22
4 adults at Hammonasset on 6/23
1 pair, 5 adults, 1 fledgling at Milford Point on 6/23
1 pair at Pleasure Beach on 6/23
9 adults at Long Beach on 6/23

6 adults at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/23

2 pairs, 1 nest at Hammonasset on 6/24

5 adults at Milford Point on 6/24

3 pairs, 1 nest at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/24

1 pair, 1 adult, 1 nest at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/25

3 pairs, 1 adult, 1 nest at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/26

Least Tern
6 pairs, 3 adults, 7 nests at Long Beach on 6/20
11 pairs, 8 nests at Long Beach on 6/20
3 pairs, 1 nest at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/21
28 pairs, 9 hatchlings, 23 nests at Bluff Point on 6/21
30 pairs, 16 adults at Griswold Point on 6/21

15 pairs at Long Beach on 6/21

1 adult at Compo Beach on 6/22
12 pairs, 11 adults, 6 hatchlings, 5 nests at Milford Point on 6/22
2 adults at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/22
48 adults at Griswold Point on 6/22
50 adults, 2 hatchlings, 6 nests at Milford Point on 6/23

1 pair at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/23

70 adults at Milford Point on 6/24

9 pairs, 8 adults, 6 nests at Hammonasset on 6/24
3 pairs, 1 nest at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/24

11 adults at Long Beach on 6/24

2 pairs, 2 nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/25

1 pair, 1 nest at Sandy/Morse Points on 6/26

16 pairs, 1 fledgling, 2 nests at Long Beach on 6/26

Common Tern
2 adults at Bluff Point on 6/21
24 adults at Compo Beach on 6/22
4 adults at Griswold Point on 6/22
7 adults at Hammonasset on 6/23
3 adults at Milford Point on 6/23
3 adults at Hammonasset on 6/24

1 pair at Milford Point on 6/24

This concludes update #14 through 06/27/16 as of 4:00 p.m.