2015 Waterbird Results
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Wildlife Division (CT DEEP) has now released the official nesting results for the state-threatened Least Tern and the federally-threatened Piping Plover from the 2015 monitoring season, and the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds (AAfCW) – Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History – has completed our American Oystercatcher report. The first bit of fantastic news is that we hosted a new all-time high number of Piping Plover pairs in the state with 62 attempting to breed...
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 MoreLeast Terns
Here is one of those birds that would have been extirpated if not for the Migratory Bird Treaty Act – the Least Tern (Sternula antillarum). One of the focal species of the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, Least Terns were a target of the millinery (hat-making) trade and market hunting nearly wiped them out. Besides such a direct threat these birds must also be legally protected from harm via unaware beachgoers and unfortunately the select few who still wish to ignorantly hurt them in some way if we want them to make it through the 21st century. These photos show courtship in...
Read MoreShorebird Monitor Training Completed
On Saturday, March 14, the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds (Audubon Connecticut and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History), U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection completed successful training sessions for many of our fantastic past and new volunteer monitors. These citizen scientists and educators will hit the beaches come April, monitoring Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers with other species like the Least and Common Terns soon to come. If you would like to join us on the Connecticut shore this...
Read MoreWildLife Guard Crew Leader Summer Job Openings
In 2014, Bridgeport, Connecticut’s Pleasure Beach reopened to the public after nearly 20 years. The barrier beach is home to the federally threatened Piping Plover and state threatened Least Tern, among other imperiled waterbirds, as well as four state endangered plant species. To ensure that these birds have the opportunity to nest successfully and to maintain the barrier beach, a rare habitat in Connecticut, Audubon Connecticut created the WildLife Guards Program. The program trains, mentors, and employs 10 local high schools students and 2 crew leaders to monitor nesting birds and...
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