Do you have an interest in shorebirds? Do you enjoy walking along the beaches of Long Island Sound or exploring inland wetlands? If so, consider participating in International Shorebird Surveys (ISS).
This summer, the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds is looking for volunteers to do International Shorebird Surveys, initiated by the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences in 1974, at various locations in CT.
The ISS is one of the most significant sources of monitoring information for shorebirds in North America. The data collected by volunteers is used to document major shorebird migration staging areas, monitor shorebird population changes, and evaluate the effects of drastic events (such as the Deep Water Horizon Oil Spill) on shorebirds. Conducting ISS is also great way to improve your shorebird identification skills.
Conducting surveys is easy and involves
1) Choosing a site (inland or on the coast, man-made or natural) and filling out a ISS habitat form (found here).
2) Conducting surveys 1-3 times a month in the spring and/or fall at your site. An ISS field dataform can be found here in PDF form and here in XLS form.
3) Entering your data into eBird.org through the ISS portal:
http://ebird.org/content/iss/
4) Via eBird.org, share your ISS data with AAFCW, ctwaterbirds@gmail.com
For more information check out the ISS guidelines and overview located here.
Happy birding, and please feel free to email us at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com for more information, to answer any questions, and tell us about where you want to conduct your ISS!
Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society partnering to improve conditions for coastal waterbirds in Connecticut.
Scott Kruitbosch
Connecticut Audubon Society
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