Sharing eBird Checklists

I wanted to again ask that everyone please share any eBird checklists that include shorebirds, terns, herons or egrets with the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com whenever you can. We have requested this help in previous years, and please keep them coming in 2020!

There is a button on eBird to share in the upper left when viewing checklists, and if you click that and enter ctwaterbirds@gmail.com you can easily do so with applicable checklists. Even old checklists can be sent if you have any from earlier in the year. This helps us record the staging and nesting areas for these birds - those that we do not monitor every pair in Connecticut as we do for Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers - and also helps us track volunteer hours for folks who are recording waterbird activity. Please be sure these checklists contain your time spent in the field in the reports to help track level of effort.

This is a huge help in 2020 when we have had a very difficult year for AAfCW and CT DEEP due to COVID-19. The more information, data and time from the field, the better.

Please also email any sightings such as banded or flagged Piping Plovers or plovers seen at unexpected locations to Laura Saucier (Laura.Saucier@ct.gov) and Rebecca Foster (rsuzf@hotmail.com) of CT DEEP plus us at AAfCW (ctwaterbirds@gmail.com).

You should also please email ctwaterbirds@gmail.com any significant or important information pertaining to Piping Plovers, American Oystercatchers, Least Terns, and Common Terns beyond day to day expected sightings at typical beaches. We have a vastly reduced number of eyes out there, and we are doing the best we can this spring and summer for our birds. This is the contact point you want to use. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.

If you are not an "official" monitor, we still would love your time and data, thanks!

Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator
RTPI Manager of Connecticut Programs

6/27/2020 AAfCW update

Good afternoon, all! Some quick points about monitoring:

1) The safety of the birds is paramount, even at the expense of data and information. We'd rather you leave them a safe distance away than be certain how many fledglings you saw, for example, if it disturbs them or gets too close to fencing. Spotting scopes and binoculars from a far distance help. Our staff has to do the same at times, not being sure of a count one day so they can get a cleaner, safe, distant but certain view the next.

2) When monitoring, stay near the waterline as much as possible. This keeps you out of any potential nesting areas and lets the birds remain more calm in the higher dunes with space to forage and hide. 

3) Milford Point's marsh side is closed to walking, and as always, it is best to go at low tide and remain near the Sound. 

4) All string fencing everywhere in Connecticut is as minimal as possible. In a perfect world, we'd have more, larger fenced areas. As you can imagine, the public and private landowners object to it often, and we maintain as little as possible for the birds to get by. Please do not view it as a barrier to approach as a final line of being safe. It is far safer for the birds if we are as far back as possible from the fencing at all times.

5) We appreciate picking up the abundant litter you may see when monitoring, but please do so with safety in mind for yourself, especially in 2020. Also, please leave it be if it is near or in fenced areas or near a nest, or if you would agitate our birds in collecting it. You can let us know about anything significant and we will do our best.

6) The birds clue us in on how safe we are being. If you hear rapid, frantic calling from a Piping Plover or are being dive-bombed by terns, you're either near young, a nest, or otherwise upsetting them. Please slowly and carefully move back towards the waterline and out of the immediate area.

Also...

-CT DEEP is finishing up sending out all confirmed badges and paperwork for those who confirmed their needs

-Scheduling is about set, and most folks are getting out to their beaches

-Please keep submitting using our electronic data entry form whenever possible

-We are waiting on West Haven to send out parking passes

-We are also waiting on The Nature Conservancy to open Griswold Point as it remains closed

-Stratford's beaches are resident only, but if you have your current 2020 badge and are there strictly for monitoring, you should be granted access (please let me know if you are not)

-Fireworks displays by municipalities are nearly canceled in Connecticut in 2020, but we anticipate many small, private shows, and are preparing in all possible ways

That's only a slice of what's going on nonstop in this extremely busy year, and we thank you for your help! Please keep the questions coming if you need any guidance concerning monitoring or other general topics pertaining to AAfCW. We are taking it day by day and working seven days a week across Connecticut to do all we can for the success of our birds.

Littering Balloons

Our AAfCW and CT DEEP staffs are extremely busy collecting trash and litter literally everywhere this year when in the field. Here we have a photo of one walk at Milford Point and one survey at Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven. That is not even all that was collected either afternoon, and this is what it is like every day, all over.

While you're all very likely aware of the dangers balloons pose and the fact they end up as trash after falling from the sky, potentially killing wildlife, please pass the word on to your friends, families, colleagues and whomever else may be letting them fly. Holidays seem to be the worst - Father's Day, Mother's Day - followed by graduations and birthdays, and so on. The same advisement goes for paper lanterns which are an extremely dangerous fire hazard as well. We have to work as a community to stop balloons from being released anywhere for any reason. There is no excuse for this happening in 2020.

Finally, I want to reiterate that once again, please carry in what you carry out, and if you do pick up trash, we would appreciate it if you remove it from natural areas. Putting it into this clearly marked monofilament recycling bin that says, "NO GARBAGE" in multiple places for whatever reason - I hope I do not need to explain. Thanks in advance for advocating for a cleaner and safer environment!

Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator
RTPI Manager of Connecticut Programs

Carry In, Carry Out

One of the easiest and most helpful actions you can take to protect our habitats and wildlife is to always carry in, carry out. Taking an active role in ensuring you remove all waste that you bring to a park, beach or any natural area is tremendously beneficial to staff and property owners as well. Any non-profit, municipal, state, or federal staff time can be spent in far better ways than cleaning up garbage, especially in 2020 with COVID-19. You will also help maintain a better natural appearance and encourage others who may not be as environmentally-minded to clean up after themselves so as to not detract from the aesthetic appeal. It will decidedly reduce dangerous human and wildlife interactions.

When it comes to AAfCW, removal of all trash greatly reduces the presence and threat of predators on our beaches and islands. Gulls, crows, foxes, raccoons, coyotes, skunks, and more all congregate near trash, checking these food sources frequently, then venturing into nesting areas. They become a distraction and a direct threat to endangered species, forcing our birds into constant vigilance at best and losing young, eggs and adults at worst.

This photo from a couple years ago at Silver Sands State Park is an example of why many natural areas - and in some cases, entire states - do not provide waste receptacles. They become filled rapidly, with people contributing outside trash and creating a mess, attracting predators and requiring cleaning by staff. In this case, you'll notice the container is meant for hot coals, not garbage, yet visitors selfishly decided to throw their trash and contribute to littering.

I hope it is not too much to expect folks to clean up after themselves, leave waste at home, or carry out what you carry in when visiting a natural area.

Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator
RTPI Manager of Connecticut Programs

AAfCW Progress Update 6/22

Good morning, all! I wanted to thank you for your patience in the process and go over several points...

1) CT DEEP is currently sending out badges and paperwork, lanyards etc. as needed to those who confirmed their interest to monitor in 2020 with us here. Some have gone out, and the rest will this week. Please bear in mind that in a normal world, CT DEEP has literally a handful of people to care for wildlife and conservation of all sorts across the entire state - far beyond birds and beaches. Now with COVID-19 their jobs have become more difficult in innumerable ways, logistics included.

Things are progressing as fast as possible while we are all in the field and trying to keep up with our birds sunrise to sunset, seven days a week. If you spoke to us here, there is no one else to contact or speak to, and we will get you all set.

2) Once you receive paperwork, if you have not submitted it, plus scan and email the signed waiver back to Laura, or send it via snail mail to: 

Laura Saucier
P.O. Box 1550
Burlington, CT 06013

3) For new monitors, please once again review our training session here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEnr3KOVNpU

Please know that due to COVID-19, we cannot assign anyone to monitor with you, staff or volunteer, or hold any sort of group sessions. The training really does cover a tremendous amount of information and, while it can be overwhelming initially, repeated viewings should help a great deal. It offers nearly everything one needs to know on the beach. Also keep in mind we in 2020 want to observe basic mask protocols and social distancing at all times, perhaps leaving more education and interaction out of the equation for now.

4) Please schedule with us if you have not via email at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com, and we will get you set up with a site and a plan.

5) Please direct all day to day questions to ctwaterbirds@gmail.com about monitoring or logistics.

6) Please review your monitoring packets and see it online here as well if needed: https://rtpi.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2020-Piping-Plover-Monitoring-Program.pdf

7) Don't forget to use our online data submission form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/13i9JBfV0MYQdHhGq3n3C348S78M--5c3JpWKUIbbYlI/

All of these sources of information should cover everything you need to know. If you have questions, email ctwaterbirds@gmail.com and we will do our best to help.

Thanks again!

Official Monitor Data Submission

Good afternoon, all!

This message is for our official 2020 AAfCW monitors. We continue to work on confirming everything with you - your ability to participate in 2020, your beach(es) and schedules, what materials you need mailed to you or not, and collecting addresses. Please bear in mind that for now, Griswold Point is unavailable to monitor. We have heard back from West Haven and hopefully parking passes will be going out soon. CT DEEP will be sending out lanyards, badges and forms for those who require them.

When it comes to data submission, we would like all monitors to please submit using this simple Google form at this address: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/13i9JBfV0MYQdHhGq3n3C348S78M--5c3JpWKUIbbYlI/

It is also in the right-hand column of our blog under Important Documents as "Online Data Submission Form". This form has numerous advantages in that it prompts you for the required details of your survey. You will not have to worry about forgetting something or omitting data. All of your information for each species can be easily viewed by staff at a moment's notice. We can also go in and change it if an error is made, so no worries there.

Please use that form to submit data and information instead of emails. You can always feel free to email a question such as help for a shorebird identification. You should also always email us and CT DEEP as soon as possible when it comes to any significant disturbances, new nests or lost nests, hatched young, photos or signs of a predator, and anything CT DEEP and AAfCW need to know right away, besides including this information in your submitted form.

Don't forget one of our 2020 AAfCW volunteer monitor online training sessions is here on YouTube as a refresher at any time: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEnr3KOVNpU

Thank you so much, and we will all keep working hard to get the 2020 season underway while still working nonstop in the field to keep up with our birds.

Best,
Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator
RTPI Manager of Connecticut Programs

AAfCW - Focal Species Data Update

Good afternoon, all!

We've received many, many emails in the last few days about you joining us now for the 2020 season. If you didn't receive a reply yet, we're getting there! If you missed the email, see the full text here in our blog: https://ctwaterbirds.blogspot.com/2020/06/starting-2020-aafcw-volunteer-monitoring.html

Remember to please let us know you'll be monitoring in 2020, your preferred beach/schedule, if to confirm if you need an ID badge, lanyard, and/or paperwork. CT DEEP will be mailing materials once you do. Thank you!

Below is an update from CT DEEP's Rebecca Foster about our Piping Plovers, American Oystercatchers, Least Terns, and Common Terns. Washouts and predation have been big issues in 2020. Piping Plovers had to go without nest exclosures in many locations early in the season as it is a job that requires multiple staff, but they are now being put up by CT DEEP. We will be in touch more next week.

Bluff Point State Park
PIPL-7 pairs (3 nests hatched, 4 incubating/renesting)
AMOY-3 pairs (2 renesting)
LETE-1 active colony

Harkness Memorial State Park
PIPL-4 pairs (2 nests hatched, 2 incubating)
LETE-1 active colony

Hammonasset Beach State Park
PIPL-1 PR PIPL incubating a nest, all other nests lost
AMOY-1 PR (nest lost)
LETE-a few observed

Sandy Point
PIPL-7 pairs (2 nests hatched, 3 incubating)
AMOY-3 pairs (1 nest hatched, 2 incubating renests)
LETE-1 active colony
COTE-3 pairs incubating

Milford Point
PIPL-13 pairs (2 nests hatched, most are renesting, losses from wash-outs and predation)
AMOY-3-4 PRS (2 nests hatched, 1 incubating a renest)
LETE-1 active colony

Long Beach
PIPL-13 pairs (2 nests hatched, 5 incubating renests, most renesting, losses due to predation)
AMOY-1 pair (incubating a renest)
LETE-1 active colony

Short Beach
PIPL-1 pair (1 nest hatched)
LETE-1 pair incubating

Thanks again for your dedication to our birds!

Starting 2020 AAfCW Volunteer Monitoring!

Good afternoon all,

Our friends in the CT DEEP Wildlife Division got the go-ahead to engage all of you wonderful shorebird volunteer monitors in the 2020 season. There are some necessary steps to complete first, and some important information to remember! 

1. Above all else, you should protect yourself at all times against COVID-19 through the established precautions of social distancing, wearing a mask when appropriate, etc. We will ask you to only monitor the birds and not necessarily engage the public unless people ask questions or require redirection. All of these interactions should be completed following social distancing and mask protocols that are now standard in Connecticut.

2. We ask that everyone please confirm to this email (ctwaterbirds AT gmail.com) that you are still interested and able to monitor for us this summer. We realize circumstances of many types may have changed in the last few months, and want to ensure you're still going to head out to our beaches.

3. If you will be a 2020 AAfCW monitor, please confirm also so that CT DEEP knows whom it must still mail badges, lanyards and paperwork to - if you already requested it and submitted your mailing information, all we need to know is that you're still a "go" with us for 2020. CT DEEP will then mail this out, so it will not be an instantaneous start up to monitoring.

4. If you already have your badge and lanyard, and have completed paperwork, as one of the smaller number of monitors who did attend the first in-person training, you'll be able to start sooner. However, we must all schedule now knowing that things have changed in all regards. Please let us know your desired schedule as you did in March. If nothing changed, great, simply please confirm this. If it has, submit your new schedule. Once again, this comes with a caveat...

5. We need to confirm that as we start in June we have all beaches available and open. Some locations, such as The Nature Conservancy owned Griswold Point, may not be open to us now. Others, such as Stratford's Long and Short Beaches, are accessible to residents only. Last week we spoke with the Town of Stratford and they should now admit you with a current 2020 badge if you are there to monitor the birds. Otherwise, you will be turned away. This must be done for all beaches. West Haven's list has been submitted, but we have yet to hear back from the City.

Later this week we will email you all again with an update on our nesting waterbirds in Connecticut from CT DEEP and AAfCW field staff along with any updates to this email. 

We will get there, slowly but surely! We're thrilled to have you getting out to the beaches soon, and hope you are, too.

Once again, please email to confirm your interest in 2020 monitoring, your desired schedule, and anything else we need to know.

Thanks for all and we'll speak soon.

Best,

Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator
RTPI Manager of Connecticut Programs

American Oystercatchers and the Moon

This is a slightly atypical sighting of American Oystercatchers in May in Connecticut, and different from my usual wildlife close ups. While we are accustomed to thinking of Oystercatchers as nesting in pairs on our beaches and offshore islands in the spring with the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, there are always a relatively high number of non breeding pairs and other stray birds.

With that said, I don’t usually expect to hear them, look up, and find seven zipping by the afternoon moon. What a moment!

Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator

RTPI Manager of Connecticut Programs