Red Knots
Last evening we found these juvenile Red Knots on the beach at Stratford Point along with Black-bellied Plovers, Semipalmated Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers and our first of fall Dunlin. In 2014, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced that the rufa subspecies of Red Knot was officially added to the United States Endangered Species Act, designated as “threatened”. We are already identifying the most significant staging and feeding areas in Connecticut through our work in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, and we know this is a very important location for them. It is so...
Read MoreSnowy Egret Rock
I guess even the Snowy Egrets (Egretta thula) might want to enjoy some time on the shore on a lovely summer day. The waters are very warm now, and temperatures are higher than average in some locations. For places like Lake Erie this will mean it may stay open later into this winter season, giving it a good chance of producing more lake effect snow if the conditions are right. Scott Kruitbosch Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
Read MoreWildLife Guards Working
It is hard to believe, but yesterday was the final day of the eight week season for our Bridgeport WildLife Guards! In case you missed previous blog entries and posts, RTPI teamed up with Audubon Connecticut and the City of Bridgeport, Connecticut to run the 2015 WildLife Guards program, which trained, mentored, and employed ten local high schools students and two crew leaders who monitored nesting birds and engaged visitors, families, and friends about the City’s Pleasure Beach and its ecosystem. The WildLife Guards offered unique activities for children like making their own Piping...
Read MoreNo Vandalism
This…no one needs this! This was not an accident, and the “NO DOGS” sign on many of Connecticut’s beaches are often vandalized. This was the remains of one that had been split at Bluff Point State Park in Groton. For the most part dogs are not allowed on state and municipal beaches as a public health and safety hazard – in other words, it has nothing to do with birds. However, these signs are posted by the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection to remind people who are otherwise disobeying the law that unleashed and even leashed dogs are...
Read MoreLong Beach Down, Sandy/Morse Up
Here are a few more photos of the string fencing and signage removal effort last week by us at the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. Thank you to those of you who joined us! We really need more assistance this Thursday, August 20th at 10:00AM at Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven. Any and all volunteers are greatly appreciated! It is one of the best sites in the entire state for birds in August, and you can expect to see a lot of wonderful shorebirds, terns and other migrants while we are there. Assisting not only...
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