2023 Program Documents & More

A continued enormous thanks to all our 2023 AAfCW volunteer shorebird monitors. Here is where we are now and our next steps...

1) Here is a copy of the 2023 monitoring program documents as a PDF. It includes the monitoring packet, liability waiver, and time sheets for CT DEEP. Please review all of the documents. It will help you greatly in monitoring and answer a lot of questions. It also includes an Incident Report form if the need arises, contact information for staff and municipalities, and much more. 

Please sign the liability form with two witness signatures. If you choose to return the form in person at new volunteer field training on April 15th from 10am-12pm at Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven then staff can take it directly from you and even provide witness signatures. You can do the same at Milford Point in Milford or the Roger Tory Peterson Estuary Center in Old Lyme when you pick up your badge, lanyard, brochures, and/or t-shirts. You're more than welcome to come by even as a returning volunteer. Otherwise, the forms can be scanned as an image and emailed directly to Laura (Laura.Saucier@ct.gov). 

The time sheet can be returned to Laura and CT DEEP at the end of the season once you are finished with your monitoring for 2023.

2) Badges and lanyards are not at all pick up locations yet. When they are ready, we will let you know. When ready, you can plan to pick up badges, lanyards, and brochures at:

• 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

Or as mentioned...

3) Volunteers can also hand in waiver forms and collect materials (badges, lanyards, t-shirts) at the recommended new volunteer field training on April 15th from 10am-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. 

You do not have to RSVP and do not have to stay the whole time if you are only dropping off waivers and/or picking up materials. Please attend only if you are intending to be an official 2023 AAfCW monitor. Returning monitors are more than welcome to attend, too, but please bear in mind the instruction is targeted to new monitors.

4) 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 (priorities with many birds/visitors in bold):

• 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 (public beach only)
• Griswold Point in Old Lyme
• Bluff Park State Park in Groton
• Waterford Town Beach in Waterford

5) 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, and your mailing address. 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. The City of West Haven enforces these parking requirements and will mail you a parking pass they create. This is done on their schedule, and we have already submitted the information. We can and will submit more pass information when we receive it for additional monitors. The Nature Conservancy staff will contact you directly about Griswold Point policies and procedures.

6) Don't forget to check out the data submission form before the season starts so that you know all that you need to collect when in the field.

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 once you are all set and the weather keeps improving. 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