Marked Piping Plovers from NJ and MA

Here is a request for information on marked Piping Plovers sent to us via the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection:

A few dozen Piping Plovers were banded in NJ and MA this breeding season in conjunction with a flight behavior project being carried out by the State University of NY – ESF. Although resighting these birds on their migratory and wintering grounds is not a primary objective of the project, the presence of marked birds in these locations provides an opportunity to learn more about the way Atlantic coast breeders use the rest of their range. 

These birds were only marked with upper leg bands, so be sure to closely inspect any piping plovers you see before dismissing them as bandless. New Jersey birds were marked with two color bands on the upper legs and Massachusetts birds were marked with one color band on each upper leg. Colors used this year include: yellow, orange, green, black, gray, light blue, and blue. If you see a marked Piping Plover, please write down the location, date, behavior of bird, a detailed description of the bands (see below) and send to:

Michelle Avis, State University of NY – Syracuse, michelle.stantial@gmail.com

and/or 

Chris Davis, NJ Division of Fish and Wildlife, Christina.Davis@dep.state.nj.us 

To describe a band combination:

Type: color band (there are only color bands on these birds, no flags or metal bands)

Colors: as exact as possible – yellow, orange, green, black, gray, light blue, and blue. There may be two bands of the same color placed over each other on a leg (this may look like one tall band).

Location on bird’s leg: all bands from this project will be on upper legs (above the ‘knee’).

Please note if you are unsure of any of the bands or if you did not see all parts of the leg clearly.

The Piping Plover above would be described as: Green/Yellow upper left, nothing lower left, Green/Black upper right, nothing lower right

Thank you all for keeping an eye out!

Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society partnering to improve conditions for coastal waterbirds in Connecticut.

Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds update #20

This is the twentieth update by the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds (AAfCW) for the 2012 season. It includes reports of Piping Plover, American Oystercatcher, Least Tern, and Common Tern received from 12:00 p.m. on July 23 through 12:00 p.m. on July 30 with sightings of birds spanning July 23 through July 29 by our staff and volunteers.

Survey and monitoring updates:

Piping Plover
Volunteer and staff surveys:
2 adults, 5 chicks at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/23
2 adults, 3 juveniles at Milford Point on 7/23
1 pair, 1 adult, 1 chick, 3 juveniles at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/23
3 adults, 4 juveniles at Long Beach on 7/23
3 adults, 1 juvenile at Milford Point on 7/23
2 pairs, 4 adults, 1 chick, 2 juveniles at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/23
6 adults, 4 juveniles at Milford Point on 7/24
3 adults, 6 juveniles at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/24
1 pair, 1 adult, 3 chicks at Griswold Point on 7/24
1 adult, 5 chicks, 2 juveniles at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/24
1 adult, 2 juveniles at Sandy/Morse Point on 7/24
2 adults, 5 chicks at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/25
2 adults, 2 chicks at Bluff Point on 7/25
1 adult, 4 juveniles at Long Beach on 7/25
2 adults, 1 chick, 1 juvenile at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/25
1 chick, 3 juveniles at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/25
2 adults, 1 juvenile at Long Beach on 7/26
1 adult, 2 juveniles at Milford Point on 7/26
1 adult, 2 chicks at Bluff Point on 7/27
1 adult, 2 chicks at Bluff Point on 7/27
2 adults, 3 chicks at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/27
6 adults, 2 chicks at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/29
9 adults/juveniles at Long Beach on 7/29

American Oystercatcher
Volunteer and staff surveys:
1 pair, 1 adult at Milford Point on 7/23
2 pairs, 2 chicks at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/23
1 adult at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/23
2 pairs, 1 chick at Milford Point on 7/23
2 pairs, 1 chick at Milford Point on 7/23
2 pairs, 8 adults, 3 chicks at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/23
1 pair, 2 juveniles at Kelsey Island on 7/24
1 pair, 1 chick at Milford Point on 7/24
2 adults at Stratford Point on 7/24
3 adults at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/24
3 pairs, 2 chicks at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/24
2 pairs, 1 adult, 3 juveniles at Vincent Island on 7/25
2 pairs, 2 chicks at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/25
1 pair, 2 adults, 2 chicks at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/25
2 pairs, 1 chick at Milford Point on 7/26
1 pair, 1 chick at Bluff Point on 7/27
1 pair, 1 chick at Bluff Point on 7/27
1 pair, 1 chick at Bluff Point on 7/27
1 pair at Griswold Point on 7/27
1 adult at Pleasure Beach on 7/28
4 adults at Milford Point on 7/28
6 adults, 1 juvenile at Milford Point on 7/29
1 pair, 15 adults, 1 chick at Cockenoe Island on 7/29
6 adults at Norwalk Islands on 7/29
2 pairs at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/29
1 adult at Long Beach on 7/29

Least Tern 
Volunteer and staff surveys:
24 adults at Salt Island on 7/23
12 adults, 5 nests at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/23
12 adults at Milford Point on 7/23
25 adults, 1 nest at Long Beach on 7/23
1 adult at Pleasure Beach on 7/23
8 adults at Milford Point on 7/23
80+ adults, 76 chicks, 25 nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/23
8 adults at Milford Point on 7/24
21 adults 1 nest at Long Beach on 7/24
14 adults at Stratford Point on 7/24
18 adults, 4 juveniles, 7 nests at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/24
76+ adults, 46+ chicks, 58+ nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/24
14 adults, 2 juveniles at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/25
4 adults at Bluff Point on 7/25
30 adults at Long Beach on 7/25
100 adults, 20 chicks at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/25
40 individuals at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/25
19 adults, 1 nest at Long Beach on 7/26
3 adults at Silver Sands State Park on 7/26
12 adults, 1 nest at Milford Point on 7/26
2 adults, 1 nest at Bluff Point on 7/27
2 adults at Bluff Point on 7/27
15 adults, 2 juveniles, 4 nests at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/27
6 adults at Long Beach on 7/28
10 adults at Long Beach on 7/28
1 pair, 10 adults at Milford Point on 7/28
1 adult at Silver Sands State Park on 7/28
11 adults at Stratford Point on 7/29
25 adults at Milford Point on 7/29
50-100 adults, 33 chicks, 28 juveniles, 5 nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/29
20 adults at Long Beach on 7/29

Common Tern
Volunteer and staff surveys:
4 adults at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/23
75 adults/juveniles at Milford Point on 7/23
6 adults, 2 chicks at Long Beach on 7/23
100-130 adults, 2 chicks at Milford Point on 7/23
51+ adults, 1 chick, 6 nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/23
5 adults at Silver Sands State Park on 7/24
6 adults at Milford Point on 7/24
220 adults/juveniles at Stratford Point on 7/24
13 adults at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/24
57 adults, 2 juveniles, 11 nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/24
50 individuals at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/25
1 pair at Long Beach on 7/26
6 adults at Silver Sands State Park on 7/26
75 adults/juveniles at Milford Point on 7/26
8 adults at Bluff Point on 7/27
41 adults, 1 juvenile at Bluff Point on 7/27
10 adults at Harkness Memorial State Park on 7/27
8 adults at Long Beach on 7/28
1 adult at Pleasure Beach on 7/28
1 adult at Long Beach on 7/28
7 adults at Milford Point on 7/28
450 adults/juveniles at Stratford Point on 7/29
350 adults/juveniles at Milford Point on 7/29
206 adults, 6 nests at Cockenoe Island on 7/29
57 adults, 2 juveniles, 4 nests at Sandy/Morse Points on 7/29
3 adults at Long Beach on 7/29

This concludes update #20 through 7/30/12 as of 3:30 p.m.

Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society partnering to improve conditions for coastal waterbirds in Connecticut.

eBird for coastal waterbirds!

Would you like to help us better document usage of key habitats by shorebirds and other coastal waterbirds, but don't have time to do International Shorebird Surveys? Now there is an easy way! If you come across any concentrations of shorebirds, terns or wading birds (herons and egrets), or any American Oystercatchers or Piping Plovers, simply log your sightings into eBird and when you're done, share your sighting with ctwaterbirds@gmail.com. Please also include the amount of time spent birding and define your location on your observation so we can track volunteer effort and organize the sightings by location.

This will allow us to better track the areas in Connecticut that are being utilized by migrant and nesting birds. We have a good understanding of where all of the herons and egrets nest in Connecticut (with the exception of bitterns, Green Heron, Great Blue Heron and Yellow-crowned Night-Heron), but we do need to better document the areas that these colonial nesters are utilizing to find the food to sustain their growing chicks and in the post-nesting-season dispersal. Additionally, we would like to better understand the areas that are used by terns for post-nesting staging and/or foraging and areas used by migrant shorebirds for foraging or roosting. This will allow us to concentrate our formal efforts, including International Shorebird Surveys, in the areas that will have the greatest impact.

Our target birds for this project include:
Piping Plover, American Oystercatcher, Least Tern, Common Tern, Roseate Tern, Black Skimmer, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Horned Lark and any migrant shorebirds, especially Red Knot, Sanderling, and Semipalmated Sandpiper.

If you have time to commit to International Shorebird Surveys, that is wonderful, but if not, this can be an easy way to help out with the conservation of these birds we all enjoy so much!

Thank you!


Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society partnering to improve conditions for coastal waterbirds in Connecticut.

ID this eggshell

Can you tell us what this eggshell is from? AAfCW technician Gabrielle Corradino took these photos not long ago. Take a look and see if you have seen enough of them this year in the field or on our blog or Facebook page to identify it.

Here it is in hand which may help you when it comes to scale. How about now?

That would be what remains of an American Oystercatcher egg. Gabrielle spotted it in the intertidal zone at Milford Point, away from the nest site, and a few days after two chicks hatched. Multiple pairs had attempted to nest here only to lose their nests again and again for a variety of reasons. We were thrilled to see the collective persistence of staff and volunteers led to at least one pair hatching young this season. Keep an eye out for the little ones or their very agitated parents, if you venture a bit too close, at the Coastal Center.


Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society partnering to improve conditions for coastal waterbirds in Connecticut.

Upland Sandpiper on ISS

Patrick Comins, Director of Bird Conservation for Audubon Connecticut, and Kim Anglace, AAfCW technician, were out early this morning conducting an International Shorebird Survey at the Rocky Hill Meadows. They discovered an Upland Sandpiper in fields near the junction of the road to the ATV park. Patrick snapped off a couple record shots of it.

They had some very nice close-up views of the increasingly rare Connecticut species. AAfCW technician Ewa Holland joined them later at the Menunketesuck Island flats where they found a "Western" Willet, the geographically distinct subspecies that shows up in Connecticut in small numbers every year, as well as a Caspian Tern and a Roseate Tern.

These are only a few of the awesome finds we have had so far during the beginning of the fall International Shorebird Survey season. We know there will be much more to come! If you are unfamiliar with these surveys or want to conduct an ISS of your own, please read more about it here in this entry.


Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society partnering to improve conditions for coastal waterbirds in Connecticut.