Here is a YouTube video of the complete 2022 Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds returning monitor training.
Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator
Here is a YouTube video of the complete 2022 Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds new monitor training.
Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator
A huge thank you to all our 2022 volunteer shorebird monitors. Here are our next steps...
1) YouTube links for returning monitor training: https://youtu.be/8fdRMPc8Uxo
New monitor training: https://youtu.be/E0putp6rFn4
If you could not attend training live this past Saturday, please watch your respective session in full. Rewatching sessions can help as well. We know this is a lot of information, and you may find your questions answered during the programs.
2) Here is a copy of the 2022 monitoring program documents as a PDF. Please review all and be ready to have signed liability waivers returned to CT DEEP.
3) In the next week or two, or before your first monitoring session, plan to pick up badges, lanyards, and brochures at one of these locations:
They will be available midweek onward. Or...
4) Volunteers can also hand in waiver forms and collect materials at the recommended new volunteer field training on April 9 from 10-12pm at Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven. We will take care of free parking in the lot. Please plan to attend if you are a new volunteer and able to do so. Please RSVP if you will be attending to ctwaterbirds@gmail.com. Please attend only if you are intending to be an official 2022 AAfCW monitor. Returning monitors may attend, too, but please bear in mind the instruction is targeted to new monitors. If you cannot pick up a badge/lanyard in person, CT DEEP can arrange to have it mailed to you.
5) Please continue to send in your desired monitoring schedule of beach, dates, and AM or PM times to this email address at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com.
The list of available beaches include:
6) If you are looking to visit Sandy/Morse Points or Griswold Point, please plan to 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. We cannot reimburse tickets.
For everyone who has already completed the above, you're set for now. Formal monitoring will commence on April 1, but you can start whenever you'd like based on your schedule - even late April or May. You are certainly more than welcome to visit your beach on your own time before then to get a feel for bird observations and stewardship.
Thanks again and best,
Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator
This Saturday is volunteer monitor training for the 2022 Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds season!
Returning Volunteer Monitor Training Session – March 26th 2022, 9:00–10:00am
New Volunteer Monitor Training Session – March 26th 2022, 10:30–12:00pm
Sessions will be held on Zoom. Please contact us at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com if you need the session information. After training, the AAfCW and CT DEEP will be dropping off badges, lanyards, and brochures at various locations across the state with the following availability:
Stratford Point – 1207 Prospect Drive, Stratford – Mon-Fri, 9a-5p
Milford Point – 1 Milford Point Road, Milford - Tues-Fri, 9a-4p, Sat 10a-3:30p, Sun 12p-4p
Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center - 100 Lyme St., Old Lyme - Tues-Sat, 8-4pm, but flexible
Volunteers can also hand in their waiver forms and collect materials at the recommended new volunteer field training on April 9 from 10-12pm at Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven.
CT DEEP will mail badges and lanyards if someone cannot get to any of the locations.
Thanks again and best to all,
Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator
This is a reminder to please let us know if you will be joining us as a volunteer monitor for the 2022 Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds season by emailing ctwaterbirds@gmail.com. Thank you to all who have signed up already.
Returning Volunteer Monitor Training Session – March 26th 2022, 9:00–10:00am
New Volunteer Monitor Training Session – March 26th 2022, 10:30–12:00pm
For those who cannot make the date, the Zoom session will be recorded and uploaded to YouTube so that it can be viewed throughout the season for helpful information.
The AAfCW will be dropping off lanyards and brochures at various locations across the state. We will share a list of locations during training where volunteer forms can be dropped off and lanyard and brochure picked up.
You can also let us know what beach/schedule you would like if you already have it set from previous years, or you know what change you'd like to make. Specific dates, days of the week, and AM/PM slots or times all work well. If you will be monitoring Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven, please provide your vehicle (make, model) and license plate information so we can submit the information to the City for a free parking pass.
Thanks again and best to all,
Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator
Volunteers Needed for Shorebird Monitoring 2022
The eleventh season of the incredibly successful Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds invites new and returning volunteers to make a big impact in 2022
The Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds (AAfCW) and the CT Department of Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division, invite you to make a difference for threatened birds at the beach as an official volunteer monitor. This stewardship effort is focused on Piping Plovers, American Oystercatchers, Least Terns, and Common Terns at beaches statewide from April through August.
Atlantic Coast populations of beach-nesting birds return to the Connecticut coast beginning in March from their wintering grounds, as far as the Caribbean. The cryptic nests of these birds are extremely susceptible to human disturbance, predation, and tidal washouts. To enhance the survival and productivity of Connecticut’s beach-nesting birds, volunteers monitor at locations across the state to observe shorebirds, record and report nesting data, and spread a “share the shore” philosophy encouraging positive actions everyone can take to help these birds successfully raise their young.
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 2022 season is important to discuss the birds as well as COVID-19 modifications. Please keep in mind that all volunteers should have masks on hand, follow social distancing protocols, and practice safe hygiene at all times when they are volunteering.
Returning Volunteer Monitor Training Session – March 26th 2022, 9:00–10:00am
New Volunteer Monitor Training Session – March 26th 2022, 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. Reservations are not required; but an e-mail letting us know you will be attending is appreciated.
If you are a returning volunteer, please let us know if you will be joining us once again in 2022 by reaching out to ctwaterbirds@gmail.com as soon as you can with the following information:
The AAfCW will be dropping off lanyards and brochures at various locations across the state. We will share a list of locations where volunteer forms can be dropped off and lanyard and brochure picked up during the training.
We hope to have you with us for this very unique and important eleventh season!
This training session is co-sponsored by the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds (Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society), The Nature Conservancy, and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division.
