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.


Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation Technician