2023 Volunteer Field Training Completed

Thanks to all who joined the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, Wildlife Division, and the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds for our new volunteer monitor field training last Saturday morning in West Haven. We avoided any rain during the session, and stayed warm enough without too much strong wind. 

After a lengthy parking lot meeting and Q&A, we walked out to the beach to find a lot of Piping Plovers hunkering down in the dunes. Can you spot the Piping Plover?

The American Oystercatchers were on the marsh side, and we decided to let them be. There were some other interesting sightings including a hunting Peregrine Falcon and a very early Monarch butterfly.

We were able to distribute badges, lanyards, informational brochures, and t-shirts as well. Thanks so much to CT DEEP Wildlife staff Laura Saucier and Rebecca Foster for leading the training. We are always happy to meet so many of our volunteer monitors in person, and to have a lot of important discussions with the group and one-on-one.

We are now finishing up volunteer selection of beaches and scheduling and transitioning to everyone getting into the field for their monitoring sessions through August. Nesting season has started!

We will not be adding more monitors for 2023, but you can always let friends and family know they can help at future string fencing dates or by sharing eBird checklists of waders, terns, and shorebirds with ctwaterbirds@gmail.com via the share function. If you have yet to pick up your badge and lanyard, or submit a waiver for CT DEEP, please do so ASAP - thank you!

Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator