Piping Plover Territories

Here is a male Piping Plover chasing after another that was in its territory on one of our beaches today. 

We are seeing more territories being formed each day while new birds are still arriving. Some are passing through on their way north, and others are here to find their own mate and place on our shores. It will not be long before we have our first nests of 2021 as our staff continues to find more nesting scrapes every day. We cannot wait to have our volunteer monitors join us in the field soon.

Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator

Pairs and Territories

Our American Oystercatchers and Piping Plovers are beginning to form pairs and create territories as we move towards the end of March. These birds have been returning to the state over the past few weeks, and in some cases, our more significant sites now have the beginnings of the nesting season.

Keep in mind that more individuals of these species will be returning to Connecticut over the next several weeks. We should anticipate finding more Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers at our beaches even into May. We will begin to see nests in April, with first attempts occurring even throughout May. Any re-nesting due to losses from predators, abandonment from human disturbances, tidal washouts, or severe weather can stretch into early summer. It will be a busy few months to come for all of us.

Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator

Data Entry & Monitoring 2021

Thank you to everyone who has submitted their mailing address information, desired monitoring location(s) and schedule, signed monitoring form, and vehicle information, if applicable. We are now finishing these tasks as we begin the official monitoring season in April. Please submit all information by this weekend at the latest.

We are hopeful new monitor field training will occur next month, details TBD. Please continue to review the Zoom training sessions on YouTube or let us know if you have any more specific questions about being in the field.

New monitors: https://youtu.be/IXSS4EN7U-k

Returning monitors: https://youtu.be/q2O6I-sJ3qk

Keep in mind we want to be monitors conducting surveys while transiting our beaches. Some locations, like Bluff Point, may take hours to fully cover, while others, like Short Beach, may take only 20 minutes. We do not want to be positioned on the beach in a way to add to the disturbances. 

We monitor by walking along the waterline, scanning the beach and nesting areas from afar, and continuing to move. Sitting down in the middle of nesting areas or lingering in and around our birds can be problematic. They do not realize we are trying to help, and instead see us as disturbances or potential predators. This can discourage nesting attempts, keep pairs off eggs, stress young, and so forth. If you want to remain at a location for a prolonged period, you should do so while at the beginning of a beach, at the end of the parking area, etc. far removed from nesting habitat, using binoculars and spotting scopes.

Please enter your data and information as soon as possible after monitoring. This blog has a link in the right-hand column under "Important Documents" to the "Online Data Submission Form" which you should review and use for data entry. It will prompt you to input all of the information we require, and you can add comments for more details as well. If you do not see any of our target species (Piping Plover, American Oystercatcher, and starting in May, Least Tern and Common Tern) please submit data regardless. Your trip information, hours, lack of birds, disturbances, observations of weather or people - all of that is vital to know.

Thank you!

Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator

Piping Plover Lunch

Beautiful spring weather has arrived in Connecticut! Piping Plovers continue to show up on our shoreline, too. This bird, probably a male, was photographed yesterday while having a long lunch in the marsh.

March is a good month to get a look at our shorebirds without disturbing them too much. We want to see activity like continued foraging when we are on the beach. It lets us know the birds are not bothered by our presence, and they feel comfortable with us at a safe distance. The more birds ignore you, the better job you are doing at protecting them.

Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator

The Importance of Negative Data

We ask all of our AAfCW volunteer monitors to submit data and information via our electronic form as soon as possible after all beach surveys. Even trips without seeing any Piping Plovers, American Oystercatchers, Least Terns or Common Terns mean we still need that “negative data”. Information about a lack of birds is just as important as an abundance of birds.

Negative data lets us know monitors were there on the beach at the scheduled time and that birds were simply not there, instead of us thinking they may have had to skip monitoring that day, leaving staff wondering what was or was not present. We can still learn about any disturbances, predators, and human activities on the beach even if there are no birds to report. We can then actively target our field staff to sites more appropriately with a more complete picture of what is or is not going on.

Please remember this throughout the season and send us a report each time after you monitor. While we would much rather read a wonderful account of so many of our species being recorded by all of you, we still need to receive monitoring data even when no birds are found whatsoever. That negative data goes a long way in helping us understand, protect and steward Connecticut's coastal waterbirds.

2021 AAfCW Volunteer Monitor Documents

 The following 2021 AAfCW documents are now available to download here in our blog:

1) 2021 Monitoring Program Information via CT DEEP (please read!)

2) Piping Plover & Least Tern Aging Guide

3) 2021 CT DEEP Release of Liability Form (to be signed and returned to CT DEEP by all 2021 shorebird monitors)

4) 2021 CT DEEP Time Sheet (to be completed and submitted at end of season by all 2021 shorebird monitors)

The Release of Liability Form can be signed and scanned then emailed to Laura Saucier (Laura.Saucier@ct.gov) or signed and mailed to Laura Saucier, PO Box 1550, Burlington, CT 06013. Phones are excellent scanners. For example, the basic Notes app in every iPhone has a scanner option.

Information such as dog laws to phone numbers are all included in the CT DEEP Monitoring Program Information packet. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Thank you,

Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator

2021 Training Sessions

Here are our 2021 Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds volunteer monitor training sessions from March 13:

New monitors... 

Returning monitors...

Please watch the appropriate training if you were unable to join us last Saturday, and use them for review whenever needed throughout the season.

Training Completed - Next Steps

A huge thank you to everyone joining us as a volunteer shorebird monitor in 2021. Here are our next steps for the season...

1) First, if you missed our training sessions, please watch the new monitor training from March 13 here (1 hour 49 minutes): https://youtu.be/IXSS4EN7U-k

Returning monitors here (1 hour 9 minutes): https://youtu.be/q2O6I-sJ3qk

2) If you have not already, please provide your mailing address for your 2021 monitor ID. Please also let us know if you have a lanyard already from previous seasons.

3) 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
• Compo Beach in Westport
• Pleasure Beach in Bridgeport (accessible by walking approximately one mile from Long Beach in Stratford)
• Long Beach in Stratford
• Russian Beach in Stratford
• Short Beach in Stratford
• Milford Point in Milford
• Silver Sands State Park in Milford
• Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven
• Hammonasset in Madison (limited portions only)
• Griswold Point in Old Lyme
• Bluff Park State Park in Groton
• Waterford Town Beach in Waterford

4) If you are looking to visit Sandy/Morse Points or Griswold Point, please provide your vehicle information (make/model) and license plate information, including state if other than CT. Unless you are a resident with a sticker, do not visit West Haven until you receive a parking pass as you will be ticketed if you do not pay for parking.

When a decision is made pertaining to field training of new volunteers with CT DEEP and AAfCW staff, we will let you know. We will work within the confines of what is safe and permissible as the season progresses. Thankfully, things are looking up, and we are very optimistic on all counts.

For everyone who has already submitted 1) mailing address information 2) schedule and location 3) vehicle information (if applicable) and 4) attended or watched training, you're all set for now. We will keep you updated on progress for paperwork of all forms and our birds. If you can casually visit your beach on your own time between now and April, it's always a good idea.

Thanks again and best,

Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator

Shorebirds Returning

American Oystercatchers and Piping Plovers are returning to Connecticut. This warm week has yielded a few individuals of both species on our coastline, and while the numbers are low now, they will increase throughout the month of March as they begin to find territories, mates, and start the nesting cycle. I photographed this American Oystercatcher today in Milford. Early March is a good time for photography as we do not have to worry about causing a disturbance and negatively impacting pairs, their nests, or young.

Always try to keep in mind that ideally we do not want the birds to even acknowledge our presence. If we go unnoticed then we are probably doing a great job of keeping them safe, too. This oystercatcher is very likely a female based on the rather large eye fleck. Also keep in mind that individuals we see now may be on their way to nest to our north, only using Connecticut as a temporary stop to rest and feed. There will be many more Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers here to stay across the state by the time AAfCW official monitoring commences on April 1.

Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator

AAfCW Training 2021 Reminder

Don't forget AAfCW 2021's training this upcoming Saturday, March 13! Training and orientation sessions will be held via online Zoom webinars for new and returning volunteers and will review the following: biology of the Piping Plover, Least Tern, and American Oystercatcher, how to monitor breeding pairs and chicks, volunteer organization and logistics, and law enforcement information. Virtual attendance by everyone planning to join us for the 2021 season is important to discuss the birds as well as COVID-19 modifications. Please keep in mind that all volunteers will be required to wear a mask, follow social distancing protocols, and practice safe hygiene at all times when they are volunteering.

Returning Volunteer Monitor Training Session – Saturday, March 13^th, 2021, 9:00–10:00am

New Volunteer Monitor Training Session – Saturday, March 13^th, 2021, 10:30–12:00pm

The Zoom session will be recorded and uploaded to YouTube so that it can be viewed multiple times or referred to throughout the season. For more information on the training session please email the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com. Zoom meeting information will be provided for those not on our current email list when RVSPing.

If you are a returning volunteer, please let us know you if you will be joining us once again in 2021 by reaching out to ctwaterbirds@gmail.com as soon as you can with the following information:

• Your mailing address
• If you require a lanyard or only a new 2021 monitor identification card
• If you will be monitoring at Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven, your vehicle (make, model) and license plate information
  

AAfCW will organize the information for CT DEEP staff who will immediately begin getting these materials together to be mailed to you and contacting West Haven for a parking pass. This may take longer in 2021 with COVID-19 procedures, and we want to start the processes as soon as possible.

We hope to have you with us for this very unique and important tenth season after a difficult previous year due to COVID-19 restricting volunteer and staff activities. Please see this NBC Connecticut article and TV report on the 2020 season and COVID-19 here: https://www.nbcconnecticut.com/news/local/impacts-from-covid-19-lead-to-lowest-productivity-in-decades-for-local-bird-species/2387445

This training session is co-sponsored by the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds (Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society) and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division.