Calling all volunteers!

Volunteers are needed for plover and tern monitoring at Long Beach in Stratford and at Sandy Point in West Haven. This project is in addition to the regular, annual DEP/USFWS plover monitoring program. This project at two of Connecticut's IBAs is being coordinated through the Connecticut Ornithological Association which would like to find volunteers to visit the beaches at least weekly and monitor bird activity as well as human use and disturbance issues and the presence of dogs, cats or other disturbance/predation threats to these state and federally listed birds. Please contact Milan Bull at the Connecticut Audubon Society if you would like additional details or are interested in participating: mbull@ctaudubon.org (203) 259-6305, ext. 111


The above photo is of a Least Tern nest on Long Beach from June 9, 2009. Unfortunately, there were no successful nests in Stratford last summer primarily because of extreme rainfall causing exceptional tides that washed them away. Human traffic, loose dogs, and all-terrain vehicles driving in and around nesting areas also negatively impacted some of the nests and birds. Please consider volunteering to help monitor conditions at these beaches this summer.

Photo by Scott Kruitbosch.