Temperatures are warming, and beach crowds are coming!
Just as nests are beginning to hatch across the Connecticut shoreline, beach season is upon us! Every year, Memorial Day Weekend is one of the most important time periods for reducing human disturbance to nesting shorebirds. If you are planning to recreate on a beach next weekend, please be mindful of the birds and encourage others around you to do the same.
If you are interested in picking up an extra monitoring shift during Memorial Day Weekend, Please sign up of Bloomerang. We would greatly appreciate your help! Audubon Alliance staff will be present on many of the larger beaches across the state next weekend, but we can't be everywhere at once.
Some additional reminders:
Piping Plovers may renest up to three times after losing their nests to predation, disturbance, or weather events. Remember that it is very important to continue monitoring the "quieter" beaches because some birds may now choose those beaches for a renest attempt.
Do not linger near any exclosures, nests, chicks, or adult birds. Remember that the birds will tell you when you are too close by doing broken wing displays, alarm calls, or by dive-bombing. Bird safety is always most important!
There are many other shorebirds foraging and resting on the shoreline this time of year before they continue their northbound migration to their arctic breeding grounds. For a review of additional species that you may encounter while monitoring, check out this online guide to shorebirds of New England created by Soheil Zendeh in Massachusetts: https://www.birdobserver.org/NESG
Audubon Alliance Field Staff Spotlight: Tayler Grimm
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| Tayler helping to band an American Oystercatcher (all birds handled with federal permits and training) |
How long have you worked for Audubon?
I started working with Audubon 3 years ago in 2024, this is my 3rd season coming back!
Where do you work?
This year I am monitoring Harkness and Bluff Point State Park, Griswold Point, Mile Creek, Hatchetts Point, Old Black Point, and the Westbrook Barrier Islands, Menunketesuck and Salt Island. In past years I have also monitored at Hammonasset Beach state park. I am very grateful to have monitored at so many of our sites, each one is so unique and getting to know the space and birds has been a fun journey.
What path did you take to get to this point?
It has been a winding road for sure! I grew up in Colorado and have always wanted to end up back out west working with wildlife in some way. I went to county college for a couple of years and then Rutgers University in New Jersey. I graduated in 2021 with a degree in Ecology, Evolution and Natural Resources. I moved to Connecticut shortly after graduation and had a couple seasonal jobs with CT DEEP. I worked as a park ranger, a land maintainer, a teacher's assistant in the hunter education program, a pheasant stocker. After 3 seasons I met a lot of people in different departments. I learned about the wildlife projects going on and applied to work on the DEEP New England Cottontail Project. It was a really fun season getting to do my first wildlife surveys. One of the lead technicians worked this job and told me about the work. It sounded really amazing! I applied to the job and thankfully got it!!! I am happy to have been a part of this awesome team since then! During the other half of the year, I have now worked with CT DEEPs waterfowl program the past 2 years. I do some duck banding and wood duck box checks during that field season. It's really amazing have two field jobs related to birds that back up to each other.
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What is your favorite part of this job?
My favorite part of the job is all the beauty I get to see throughout my workday. From watching the birds raise their babies, to the pretty seashells and tide pools I get to pass along the way, all the other birds and other wild critters, the sunsets and sunrises I get to catch at the beach before or after a long day. It truly feels like I’m living in an episode of Planet Earth somedays at work. And I am beyond grateful for that.
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| American Oystercatchers. Photo: Tayler Grimm |
Who or what is your biggest influence in your career?
My biggest influence will always be Colorado. Growing up out there and then moving to New Jersey as an angsty teenager was really hard. I grew up riding horses and camping a lot we were always outside doing something. I dreamed of going “home”, being a cowgirl in the mountains. But eventually that evolved into wanting to work outside with animals in anyway. The evolution helped me find a love for wildlife and conservation and wanting to make that a huge part of my life. I want to help do my part in trying to keep wildlife populations alive and healthy in this shrinking world.
What do you do outside of work?
I love spending time with my dogs; I have two of them and we go for a nice hike most days. I often joke if they knew I was outside all day without them they would run away. I also have a small business called Melted Rainbows. I make nature inspired tie dye clothing, lots of hoodies, dresses funky pants. I try to get out and vend at local markets and craft fairs occasionally. It can be hard to balance such an active field job with such a creative hands-on business. But both of them make me so beyond happy and fulfilled. I am lucky to have two jobs filled with such passion and beauty.
Volunteer Monitoring Data
Here is a summary of all volunteer-collected data submitted between May 1st and May 15th.
- Number of volunteer reports submitted: 95
- Total volunteer monitoring hours: 142
- Number of beachgoers engaged in conversations about birds/conservation: 110
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| Piping Plover 7J2 at Sandy Point. Photo: Val Mermall |
Piping Plover Data Summary:
Piping Plover Individual Adult Observations
There were Piping Plover adults observed at Sherwood Island, Long Beach, Milford Point, Silver Sands, Sandy Point, Hammonasset, Griswold Point, and Bluff Point between May 1st and May 15th, 2026.
Piping Plover nest counts:
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| American Oystercatcher. Photo: Robert Blanchard/Audubon Photography Awards |
American Oystercatcher Data Summary:
American Oystercatcher Individual Adult Observations
American Oystercatcher nest counts:
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| Least Tern. Photo: William Dix/Audubon Photography Awards |
Least Tern Adult Observations
There were Least Tern adults observed at Long Beach, Milford Point, Silver Sands, Sandy Point, Griswold Point, and Bluff Point between May 1st and May 15th, 2026.
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| Common Tern. Photo: Scott Dere/Audubon Photography Awards |
Common Tern Data Summary:
Common Tern Adult Observations
There were Common Tern adults observed at Long Beach, Milford Point, Sandy Point, Hammonasset, Griswold Point, and Bluff Point between May 1st and May 15th, 2026.
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Thank you to our volunteers for all that you do to help us protect our nesting shorebirds!
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