Piping Plover and Least Tern Identification and Aging Guide

Here is a link to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's Piping Plover and Least Tern Identification and Aging Guide. The Wildlife Division created this PDF in order for you to better assess the two species while in the field. Also added are facts about their biology and appearance, critical dates in Connecticut, and general information about beach monitoring that is important to keep in mind while conducting stewardship. Save it and study it as we get into the nesting season!

2024 Returning Monitor Training

Here is a YouTube video of the complete 2024 Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds returning monitor training.

Please watch your applicable training session if you were unable to attend live on Zoom. This training is critical and mandatory for new volunteer monitors, and the refresher is required for returning volunteers, too. Please watch them whenever you need throughout the season as repeated viewings and referencing materials discussed during training often help answer questions or guide you on your stewardship visits to the beach, especially when it starts to get busy with birds and people. 

Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator

2024 New Monitor Training

Here is a YouTube video of the complete 2024 Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds new monitor training.

Please watch your applicable training session if you were unable to attend live on Zoom. This training is critical and mandatory for new volunteer monitors, and the refresher is required for returning volunteers, too. Please watch them whenever you need throughout the season as repeated viewings and referencing materials discussed during training often help answer questions or guide you on your stewardship visits to the beach, especially when it starts to get busy with birds and people. 

Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator

2024 Program Documents & More

Our Zoom training sessions for new and returning monitors are now complete! We want to give an enormous thanks to all our 2024 AAfCW volunteer shorebird monitors. What's next?

What to do NOW:

1) Schedule your monitoring! If you already have, you're set. 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

Please select a location and send in your desired monitoring schedule of beach, dates, and AM or PM times to ctwaterbirds@gmail.com. If you are planning to monitor in West Haven and are not a resident, please also submit your vehicle make/model and license plate. It will be entered into the city's electronic parking system for that specific lot. It will read you as permitted. If you do not provide your vehicle info, you may be ticketed. We cannot reimburse tickets.

2) Review these documents! Here is a copy of the 2024 program packet as a PDF. It is also attached to this email. It includes the monitoring documents, liability waiver, phone numbers, laws, and time sheets for CT DEEP. It will help you greatly in monitoring while answering 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 witness signatures (to be returned soon). 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 2024.

3) Please check out the data submission form before the season starts so that you know all that you need to collect when in the field. If you have no data for a field, you may leave it blank. Please remember you will fill out a separate form for each species, meaning if you see Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers in April, you will fill out the form twice when returning from monitoring. This is only for our four focal species (also including Least Tern and Common Tern). Others of interest may be mentioned in comments. Save that link and this email! The form and other documents are also in the right-hand column of our blog when viewed on a computer.

What to do SOON: 

3) Watch your applicable training session if you have missed it, or if you want to watch it again. I will send the links out to the YouTube versions of the Zoom sessions in the next couple of days so you can see them soon. Rewatching usually helps a great deal, and you can reference them any time all season.

4) Badges and lanyards are not at pick up locations yet. Do not try to pick them up now! 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

You can also acquire and sign or drop off the liability form when you get your badge, lanyard, and/or brochures at these locations. Remember, they are not ready to be picked up yet but will be soon. You may also acquire these items and drop off your signed liability form at the April 13th new monitor field training...

What to do LATER: 

5) Join us for new monitor field training! It is not mandatory, but recommended. It will not be recorded. Volunteers can also hand in forms and collect materials (badges, lanyards, brochures) before or after new volunteer field training on April 13th. It will likely be at Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven, but we will let you know the finalized details ASAP. Returning monitors are more than welcome to attend, too, but please bear in mind the instruction is targeted to new monitors.

6) If you are a Griswold Point volunteer, you will also be providing your vehicle information and more to Martha Rice and The Nature Conservancy. Please sign-up for the site here first, and then Martha and TNC will be in contact with you concerning everything from parking to tides and physical access.

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 submitted schedule - even late April or May once you are all set with the above 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

2024 Training This Week!

Good afternoon, all!

This is a reminder that our training sessions will be held this week on March 26th and 28th. New volunteer monitoring training will be March 26th at 6:30pm. Returning monitor training will be March 28th at 7:00pm. Both sessions will be held on Zoom.

Our field season officially starts on April 1st. For now, returning monitors can schedule their season of monitoring at their selected beach(es), and anyone interested in visiting Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven can please submit their license plate and vehicle information to be put on the whitelist for the electronic system in the parking lot.

Please let me know the date, and/or days of the week you're looking to monitor with at least AM/PM if not specific times. Please also remember tides affect some sites and safe monitoring. We will provide the list of beaches for new monitors during the training session.

The AAfCW will be dropping off lanyards, brochures, and tee shirts at various locations across the state. Tee shirts are available while supplies last. They are free for those who do not already have one. If you received a tee shirt last year, a $10 donation is suggested. We will share a list of locations during the training sessions. We'll see you soon!

Thanks and best,
Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator

2024 String Fencing Dates

The 2024 Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds training sessions will be held next week on Zoom for both new (Tuesday, March 26th) and returning (Thursday, March 28th) volunteer monitors. In the meantime, we wanted to provide spring string fencing dates as this fencing, along with signage, is erected to help allow beachgoers to share the shore with our nesting waterbirds. Fencing will be explained in full during new monitor training for those new to the program. 

We would greatly appreciate anyone who can come out to help us put up posts, add string, and install signs. These dates can double as a good time to drop off a CT DEEP liability form, pick up a badge/lanyard, and speak with staff about monitoring.

• Long Beach, Stratford, beaches #0-3 (East) - Tuesday, April 2nd, 10:00am (rain date Thursday, April 4th, 10:00am)
• Sandy/Morse Points, West Haven - Tuesday, April 9th, 10:00am (rain date Wednesday, April 10th, 10:00am)
• Bluff Point State Park, Groton - Thursday, April 11th, 10:00am (rain date Friday, April 12th, 10:00am)

CT DEEP will make the final decision if there is forecasted rain, and we will let you know ASAP if a date is moved to the rain date. Griswold Point's fencing date will be provided soon, too. Fencing has been/will be placed at Milford Point, Silver Sands, Long Beach West/Pleasure Beach, and all other locations by staff only. 

Remember that any and all volunteers are welcome including those who are not regular trained AAfCW monitors. Volunteers should bring: work gloves, water, a snack, appropriate footwear, sunscreen, sunglasses, hats and whatever else you may need to avoid too much sun. These locations can either be quite cool or very warm depending on the day so dress for any weather.

A pocket knife or multi-tool can be handy and a sledge hammer or mallet can be helpful to bring. Plan for heavy lifting and toting, but be mindful of your safety. Less intensive work needed includes stringing posts and putting up signs. Please RSVP to ctwaterbirds@gmail.com if you can make it to for any of these dates, and thank you!

Continuing Preparation & Birds Arriving

Good afternoon, all! 

Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers are returning to Connecticut right now with sightings in the past week at several locations. These birds may be passing through and continuing north, or finding their home - and their partner - here on our beaches. They will be slowly setting up territory over the next few weeks, and more should arrive with warm weather and southerly winds in the next several days. 

Our other two focal species - Least Terns and Common Terns - come back to the state around May 1st. Our field season officially starts on April 1st, running through August 31st, after our training sessions on March 26th and 28th. Please RSVP to ctwaterbirds@gmail.com if you have not already! 

For now, returning monitors can schedule their season of monitoring at their selected beach(es), and anyone interested in visiting Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven can please submit their license plate and vehicle information to be put on the whitelist for the electronic system in the parking lot. Please let me know the date, and/or days of the week you're looking to monitor with at least AM/PM if not specific times. Please also remember tides affect some sites and safe monitoring. 

The AAfCW will be dropping off lanyards, brochures, and tee shirts at various locations across the state. Tee shirts are available while supplies last. They are free for those who do not already have one. If you received a tee shirt last year, a $10 donation is suggested. We will share a list of locations during the training.

Thanks and best,
Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator

AAfCW Monitoring 2024

Good evening!

I wanted to check in with everyone once again to remind you to RSVP for the 2024 Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds season. We are happy to say that a few dozen volunteers have already decided to join us again, and others are planning to attend our new volunteer training session. We need as many as possible to help cover our state's nesting beaches from dawn to dusk!

West Haven is planning to have the street and parking area paved and open by early April (depending on weather and freeze dates). If for some reason it is not complete by then, we will be able to park at Morse Park and walk over to the beach again. West Haven will be taking license plates for us to submit to them and then be whitelisted by their electronic plate-scanning system. There will be no passes mailed this year. So, if you will be monitoring Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven, please submit your vehicle and license plate information to me at this email address.

We can also begin scheduling if you are a past volunteer monitor as sites will be the same as previous years with potentially one addition. Please let me know the date, and/or days of the week you're looking to monitor with at least AM/PM if not specific times. Please also remember tides affect some sites and safe monitoring. 

The AAfCW will be dropping off lanyards, brochures, and tee shirts at various locations across the state. Tee shirts are available while supplies last. They are free for those who do not already have one. If you received a tee shirt last year, a $10 donation is suggested. We will share a list of locations during the training. 

Thanks again and best,
Scott Kruitbosch
AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator