Summer Heat is Here!
Thank you to everybody who assisted us with shorebird monitoring over the 4th of July weekend! We are very happy to report that our work during the holiday was a huge success and there were no major human disturbances at shorebird nesting sites across the Connecticut shoreline.
We are now approaching the hottest portion of summer, and we want to remind all volunteers to use extra caution while monitoring. Always bring extra water, dress appropriately, and wear sunscreen when you visit the beach. Please also remember that we do not want anybody to monitor if the temperature or the "feels like" temperature is above 90°F.
Preparing for Shorebird Migration
At this point in the season, we expect nesting activity to begin slowing down. Some birds, especially Least Terns, are still incubating eggs and many will hatch over the next few weeks. If you are currently monitoring at a beach that does not have any activity from our four focal species, you are welcome to continue monitoring there through the end of August, or you may switch to a beach that still has nesting activity. Please send an email to ctwaterbirds@gmail.com if you would like to switch to a different site for the remainder of the season.
As shorebird nesting activity slows down, many birds will begin preparing for their southbound migration. Some beaches in Connecticut are well-known staging sites for both our local shorebirds and many other species that pass through Connecticut on their own journeys south. If you begin to see new bird species at your site, keep a close eye out for banded and flagged birds. These tag numbers can be reported directly to CT DEEP, and questions about identifying shorebird species can be directed to ctwaterbirds@gmail.com.
One additional note on Piping Plovers: In preparation for migration, adult Piping Plovers molt from their breeding plumage to their non-breeding plumage. This means that adults will begin to lose their signature black neck band and crown stripe. They will also lose the orange coloration at the base of their bill. These changes will make it so that adult Piping Plovers look very similar to fledglings, but there are some key differences between the two age classes. Most adult Piping Plovers retain some orange coloration on their bills while fledglings will always have black bills. On adults, you can often still see the remnants of a black neck band (sometimes a lighter grey neck band instead). The biggest difference between non-breeding adult and fledgling Piping Plovers is behavior; adults that are still on their breeding beaches will typically still be defensive (peeping, crouching, and acting agitated especially if their fledglings are nearby) while fledgling birds will act skittish and often run back into the dunes without alarm calling when you are close to them. See the CT DEEP Piping Plover aging guide HERE for a photo comparison between a non-breeding adult and a fledgling Piping Plover. As always, feel free to reach out to ctwaterbirds@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Special event on July 19th: "Geology of the Marsh" Day at Hammonasset Beach State Park
Visit Meigs Point Nature Center at Hammonasset Beach State Park Saturday, July 19th between 10am-4pm to learn about the geology of a salt marsh! Visit the marsh, join Meigs Point Nature Center staff on a guided trail walk, and watch a presentation on Long Island Sound Geology by UCONN researcher Ralph Lewis. Don't forget to stop by the AAfCW table to say hello!☺
A full itinerary for "Geology of the Marsh" Day can be found HERE
Volunteer Spotlight!
I would like to introduce you all to the subject of this week's volunteer spotlight, Frank Mantlik!
Mainly Long Beach, Stratford. In past years before my knee surgery I also covered Pleasure Beach, Bridgeport, as well as occasionally Short Beach, Stratford, Milford Point, and Sandy Point in West Haven.
When did you begin volunteering with the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds?
I began volunteering on day one with the Audubon Alliance. In fact, I was volunteering as a monitor even before the Alliance came to be, aiding CT Audubon, DEEP, and whoever conducted such protection and monitoring before. I'm guessing I've been volunteering as a Ping Plover/Tern monitor well over 20 years.
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| Piping Plover. Photo: Frank Mantlik |
What is your favorite part of volunteering as a shorebird monitor?
As an avid birdwatcher and conservationist, I just enjoy being afield, and particularly along the shore. And it is clear that the efforts of this volunteer project are beneficial to the nesting success of the Piping Plovers and hopefully Least and Common Terns, and American Oystercatchers. Plus it helps in educating the general public about these species. I typically also enter data (on eBird) about numbers of Diamondback Terrapins and Horseshoe Crabs I survey in the process. Plus, over the years, I have usually collected human litter from the beaches during my surveys.
Some of my favorite memories are discovering rare species while conducting surveys, such as Barn Owl, Caspian Tern, Whimbrel, Hudsonian Godwit, etc. One of the more memorable days was seeing a Piping Plover and a lingering Snowy Owl in the same binocular view at Long Beach several years ago.
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| Snowy Owl. Photo: Frank Mantlik |
What do you do outside of your volunteer work?
Being retired (postal letter carrier), I'm always birding. My other volunteer activities include leading bird walks for CT Audubon (CAS), New Haven Bird Club (NHBC), CT Ornithological Assoc.(COA), etc. I also give photo-illustrated talks to some. I serve as Chairman of the COA's Avian Records Committee of CT. I also head up the monitoring of the Purple Martin nest colony at Milford Point. I'm an avid fan of college (UConn) and pro basketball, love a variety of music, and love to cook.
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| Wilson's Phalarope. Photo: Frank Mantlik |
If you would like to nominate a fellow volunteer for an upcoming volunteer spotlight, email us at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com!
Latest Monitoring Data
Here is a summary of all volunteer-collected data submitted between June 28th and July 11th, 2025.
- Number of volunteer reports submitted: 72
- Total volunteer monitoring hours: 119
- Number of beachgoers engaged in conversations about birds/conservation: 193
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| Piping Plover. Photo: Merri-Lee Metzger/Audubon Photography Awards |
Piping Plover Data Summary
Piping Plover Pair Observations
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| American Oystercatcher. Photo: Nicholas Wetzel/Audubon Photography Awards |
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| Common Tern. Photo: Claudio Bacinello/Audubon Photography Awards |
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| Least Tern. Photo: Rick Lewis/Audubon Photography Awards |
