1) New monitor field training has been postponed from this Saturday, April 7, to next Saturday, April 14, from 10-12pm. Location is tentatively Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven but may change to Long Beach in Stratford. More information soon.
2) We have an extraordinarily high number of monitors this year which is wonderful! It will help to ensure widespread beach coverage. It makes the scheduling process a bit slower, and please continue to send in your desired beaches, dates, AM or PM times, here to this email address at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com.
The list of available beaches include:
Sherwood Island State Park in Westport - Sherwood Island Connector, Westport - http://www.lisrc.uconn.edu/coastalaccess/site.asp?siteid=560
Pleasure Beach in Bridgeport - accessible via seasonal free Bridgeport water taxi at 1 Seaview Avenue, Bridgeport, or by walking approximately one mile from Long Beach in Stratford
Long Beach in Stratford - end of Oak Bluff Avenue - http://www.lisrc.uconn.edu/coastalaccess/site.asp?siteid=335
Russian Beach in Stratford - http://www.lisrc.uconn.edu/coastalaccess/site.asp?siteid=339
Short Beach in Stratford - Dorne Drive - http://www.lisrc.uconn.edu/coastalaccess/site.asp?siteid=340
Milford Point in Milford - http://www.lisrc.uconn.edu/coastalaccess/site.asp?siteid=514
Silver Sands State Park in Milford - http://www.lisrc.uconn.edu/coastalaccess/site.asp?siteid=516
Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven - http://www.lisrc.uconn.edu/coastalaccess/site.asp?siteid=383
Bluff Park State Park in Groton - http://www.lisrc.uconn.edu/coastalaccess/site.asp?siteid=458
If you are interested in monitoring Griswold Point in Old Lyme please email us and you can discuss it with CT DEEP. There will also be smaller beaches that we will request some monitors to check on as the season progresses.
3) We have our spring string fencing dates as follows:
Griswold Point - April 12, 12:00pm, meet at the I95 exit 70 commuter lot at 11:45 to carpool (PLEASE email erobinson@tnc.org to RSVP for this)
Long Beach - April 13, 10:00am, rain date April 16
Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven - April 17, 10:00am, rain date April 18
Bluff Point State Park - April 20, 10:00am, rain date April 23
Remember that any and all volunteers are welcome including those who are not monitors. Volunteers should bring: work gloves, water, a snack, appropriate footwear, sunscreen, sunglasses, hats and whatever else you may need avoid too much sun. These locations can either be quite cool or very warm depending on the day so dress for any weather. A pocket knife or multi-tool can be handy and a sledge hammer or mallet can be helpful to bring. Plan for heavy lifting and toting, but be mindful of your safety. Less intensive work needed includes stringing posts and putting up signs. Please email us at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com if you can make it to any or all of these dates, and thank you!
4) If you were unable to attending training on March 31 as a new monitor please try to attend the field training session. If you cannot do that please email us at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com and we will set you up with a staff member to meet you in the field and go over the basics. If you are a returning monitor who did not attend the refresher training please email us your mailing address to send you a badge for 2018, and please let us know your schedule as usual. We will take care of the required paperwork with CT DEEP for new and past monitors who did not do so yet in 2018 in as well.
5) If you are a monitor at Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven you will need to display a parking pass or a West Haven beach pass (as a resident) or police may issue a $100 parking fine. These will not be waived. Parking in nearby private lots risks towing or fines. CT DEEP or AAfCW is not responsible for parking violations/fines. However, the City of West Haven will provide you with a parking pass for monitoring this year if you can provide your full name, license plate information, and mailing address. Please email it to ctwaterbirds@gmail.com and we will pass it on to CT DEEP and West Haven. They can be mailed to you or picked up at City Hall; hours are Monday to Friday, 8am-5pm.
The continuing poor weather conditions will provide time to complete scheduling, training, and paperwork before we get out to the beaches. Thank you all! Please email ctwaterbirds@gmail.com with any questions. We will be in touch again soon, and hopefully be in the field regularly in the next couple of weeks.
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