Our thanks to all who attended training this past Saturday! We are now working on scheduling everyone to their desired beaches and dates. Please email us at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com with your requested location(s) and schedule. We hope to complete scheduling for most by April 1.
Here is a list of available monitoring locations:
Sherwood Island State Park in Westport
Pleasure Beach in Bridgeport
Long Beach in Stratford
Russian Beach in Stratford
Milford Point in Milford
Silver Sands State Park in Milford
Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven
Griswold Point in Old Lyme
Bluff Point State Park in Groton
Short Beach in Stratford may also need some monitoring, as may Sasco Hill Beach in Fairfield. Long Beach, Milford Point, Sandy/Morse Points and Bluff Point typically have the greatest need for monitors. Remember that we would like to have all the data we can on Piping Plovers, American Oystercatchers, and beginning when they arrive in May, Least and Common Terns. Information on additional shorebirds, terns, long-legged waders, disturbances, usage of the beach, and more is always great, including negative data (if you did not record any of our target species). When we begin walking our beaches we want to monitor only in "good" weather to protect both people and birds - strong winds, heavy rain or thunderstorms in the area or temperatures below 50 or above 90 mean you should skip that day.
If you would like to be paired up initially with master monitors who have past experience or if you are a master monitor willing to help please let us know if you have not already. Remember to check out the right-hand column of this blog for helpful documents and important state and federal forms. If you cannot download any of these forms or have problems attempting to please email us at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com and we can send them as email attachments.
We will start our regular and weekly email updates with general information and bird data in April. Thank you all! We could not accomplish any of this without our tremendous volunteers. If you have yet to sign up as a monitor please email USFWS Visitor Services Manager Shaun Roche at shaun_roche@fws.gov.
PIPL
Friday, March 18, 2016
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
2016 AAfCW Training Completed
On Saturday, March 12, the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds (Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History), the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection completed successful training sessions for many of our fantastic past and new volunteer shorebird and tern monitors. Our collective staffs welcomed nearly 80 volunteers to Stratford Point, and thankfully we may end up near 100 regular monitors for the 2016 season.
These citizen scientists and educators will hit the beaches come April, monitoring Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers with other species like the Least and Common Terns returning in May. If you would like to join us on the Connecticut shore this spring and summer please email us at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com to sign-up. Even if you cannot regularly monitor a beach you may be able to assist in outreach or education, lend a hand at string fencing and signage parties, or survey for other waterbird species. We usually have at least 200, and sometimes 300 or 400, dedicated, caring volunteers each year, and we would love to have you become one of them. Thank you all!
 |
| USFWS’ Shaun Roche, Visitor Services Manager, Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge |
 |
| Laura Saucier, Wildlife Biologist from CT DEEP |
 |
| Discussing law enforcement with the group |
 |
| Corrie Folsom-O’Keefe, Audubon Connecticut Important Bird Area Coordinator, speaking about the “Be A Good Egg” program |
These citizen scientists and educators will hit the beaches come April, monitoring Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers with other species like the Least and Common Terns returning in May. If you would like to join us on the Connecticut shore this spring and summer please email us at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com to sign-up. Even if you cannot regularly monitor a beach you may be able to assist in outreach or education, lend a hand at string fencing and signage parties, or survey for other waterbird species. We usually have at least 200, and sometimes 300 or 400, dedicated, caring volunteers each year, and we would love to have you become one of them. Thank you all!
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
This Saturday! Volunteers Needed for Shorebird Monitoring 2016
This is a reminder that the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds 2016 monitoring and stewardship season is about to begin! The training sessions for new and past volunteers is this Saturday, March 12. Please see the USFWS news release below for details, and please pass this along to any new volunteers you feel would be interested in joining us. We hope all our past monitors will be returning this year after yet another record-setting season in 2015. We can only keep this success going with your help!
Spend your summer days at the beach and help protect a federally threatened species! The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners are seeking volunteers to monitor piping plovers and other shorebirds from early April until late August at beaches across our state. A training and orientation session for new volunteers will be held on Saturday, March 12th 2016 from 10:30am to 12:00noon at the Audubon Connecticut Office at Stratford Point, 1207 Prospect Drive, Stratford, CT 06615; past volunteers will be offered a refresher from 9:00am to 10:15am. The sessions will review the following: biology of the piping plover, how to monitor breeding pairs and chicks, volunteer organization and logistics, and law enforcement information.
Atlantic Coast populations of piping plovers return to the Connecticut coast in March from their wintering grounds on the Gulf Coast and Caribbean. The cryptic nests of the piping plover are extremely susceptible to human disturbance, predation, and tidal wash outs. To enhance the survival and productivity of birds breeding in Connecticut, volunteers work at locations across the shoreline to observe the shorebirds, record and report nesting data, and educate the beach-going public about the monitoring program. Volunteers work 4 hour shifts from April until the end of the breeding season (usually in August) and must donate a minimum of 4 hours per month. The work can be very rewarding, as volunteers will have the opportunity to positively impact nesting success for threatened shorebirds across the state.
For more information on the training session or for directions, please email USFWS Visitor Services Manager Shaun Roche at shaun_roche@fws.gov. Reservations are not required; but an e-mail letting us know you will be attending is appreciated.
This training session is co-sponsored by the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds (Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History) and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Spend your summer days at the beach and help protect a federally threatened species! The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners are seeking volunteers to monitor piping plovers and other shorebirds from early April until late August at beaches across our state. A training and orientation session for new volunteers will be held on Saturday, March 12th 2016 from 10:30am to 12:00noon at the Audubon Connecticut Office at Stratford Point, 1207 Prospect Drive, Stratford, CT 06615; past volunteers will be offered a refresher from 9:00am to 10:15am. The sessions will review the following: biology of the piping plover, how to monitor breeding pairs and chicks, volunteer organization and logistics, and law enforcement information.
Atlantic Coast populations of piping plovers return to the Connecticut coast in March from their wintering grounds on the Gulf Coast and Caribbean. The cryptic nests of the piping plover are extremely susceptible to human disturbance, predation, and tidal wash outs. To enhance the survival and productivity of birds breeding in Connecticut, volunteers work at locations across the shoreline to observe the shorebirds, record and report nesting data, and educate the beach-going public about the monitoring program. Volunteers work 4 hour shifts from April until the end of the breeding season (usually in August) and must donate a minimum of 4 hours per month. The work can be very rewarding, as volunteers will have the opportunity to positively impact nesting success for threatened shorebirds across the state.
For more information on the training session or for directions, please email USFWS Visitor Services Manager Shaun Roche at shaun_roche@fws.gov. Reservations are not required; but an e-mail letting us know you will be attending is appreciated.
This training session is co-sponsored by the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds (Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History) and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Thursday, February 11, 2016
Volunteers Needed for Shorebird Monitoring 2016
The Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds 2016 monitoring and stewardship season is about to begin! Please see the USFWS news release below for details, and please pass this along to any new volunteers you feel would be interested in joining us. We hope all our past monitors will be returning this year after yet another record-setting season in 2015. We can only keep this success going with your help!
Spend your summer days at the beach and help protect a federally threatened species! The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners are seeking volunteers to monitor piping plovers and other shorebirds from early April until late August at beaches across our state. A training and orientation session for new volunteers will be held on Saturday, March 12th 2016 from 10:30am to 12:00noon at the Audubon Connecticut Office at Stratford Point, 1207 Prospect Drive, Stratford, CT 06615; past volunteers will be offered a refresher from 9:00am to 10:15am. The sessions will review the following: biology of the piping plover, how to monitor breeding pairs and chicks, volunteer organization and logistics, and law enforcement information.
Atlantic Coast populations of piping plovers return to the Connecticut coast in March from their wintering grounds on the Gulf Coast and Caribbean. The cryptic nests of the piping plover are extremely susceptible to human disturbance, predation, and tidal wash outs. To enhance the survival and productivity of birds breeding in Connecticut, volunteers work at locations across the shoreline to observe the shorebirds, record and report nesting data, and educate the beach-going public about the monitoring program. Volunteers work 4 hour shifts from April until the end of the breeding season (usually in August) and must donate a minimum of 4 hours per month. The work can be very rewarding, as volunteers will have the opportunity to positively impact nesting success for threatened shorebirds across the state.
For more information on the training session or for directions, please email USFWS Visitor Services Manager Shaun Roche at shaun_roche@fws.gov. Reservations are not required; but an e-mail letting us know you will be attending is appreciated.
This training session is co-sponsored by the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds (Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History) and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Spend your summer days at the beach and help protect a federally threatened species! The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its partners are seeking volunteers to monitor piping plovers and other shorebirds from early April until late August at beaches across our state. A training and orientation session for new volunteers will be held on Saturday, March 12th 2016 from 10:30am to 12:00noon at the Audubon Connecticut Office at Stratford Point, 1207 Prospect Drive, Stratford, CT 06615; past volunteers will be offered a refresher from 9:00am to 10:15am. The sessions will review the following: biology of the piping plover, how to monitor breeding pairs and chicks, volunteer organization and logistics, and law enforcement information.
Atlantic Coast populations of piping plovers return to the Connecticut coast in March from their wintering grounds on the Gulf Coast and Caribbean. The cryptic nests of the piping plover are extremely susceptible to human disturbance, predation, and tidal wash outs. To enhance the survival and productivity of birds breeding in Connecticut, volunteers work at locations across the shoreline to observe the shorebirds, record and report nesting data, and educate the beach-going public about the monitoring program. Volunteers work 4 hour shifts from April until the end of the breeding season (usually in August) and must donate a minimum of 4 hours per month. The work can be very rewarding, as volunteers will have the opportunity to positively impact nesting success for threatened shorebirds across the state.
For more information on the training session or for directions, please email USFWS Visitor Services Manager Shaun Roche at shaun_roche@fws.gov. Reservations are not required; but an e-mail letting us know you will be attending is appreciated.
This training session is co-sponsored by the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds (Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History) and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Sunday, February 7, 2016
Stratford Great Meadows Unit Training
Here’s a huge “thank you!” to all of the great volunteers that joined us at a training and informational sign-up session yesterday for the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is seeking volunteers to help out at the Refuge’s Stratford Great Meadows Unit, and now we have over 25 more people on board to help with public outreach, clean-up efforts, maintenance and bird surveys.
The event was cosponsored by Audubon Connecticut, New Haven Bird Club and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History and held at Stratford Point. One of the goals of this new volunteer corps is to improve public access to the Stratford Great Meadows Unit, an amazing place for birding in Connecticut, and one of the best birding locations in the country according to Roger Tory Peterson. If you could not make the session you can still join the ranks by sending an email to shaun_roche@fws.gov.
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service is seeking volunteers to help out at the Refuge’s Stratford Great Meadows Unit, and now we have over 25 more people on board to help with public outreach, clean-up efforts, maintenance and bird surveys.
The event was cosponsored by Audubon Connecticut, New Haven Bird Club and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History and held at Stratford Point. One of the goals of this new volunteer corps is to improve public access to the Stratford Great Meadows Unit, an amazing place for birding in Connecticut, and one of the best birding locations in the country according to Roger Tory Peterson. If you could not make the session you can still join the ranks by sending an email to shaun_roche@fws.gov.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)