USCGC Juniper (WLB 201)
This is the United States Coast Guard Cutter Juniper off Stratford Point in Stratford, Connecticut on Thursday, August 20 near 14:30. There are often many great sightings from this point sticking out into Long Island Sound, birds to boats, but this 225-foot vessel was a terrific find and good example of the unappreciated work that helps preserve and protect our waters in a multitude of ways. The U.S. Coast Guard says, “USCGC JUNIPER (WLB 201) is the lead ship of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Seagoing Buoy Tenders. She is outfitted with some of the most advanced technological and navigational...
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...
Read MoreWalking Long Beach
Here are four quick iPhone photos that I took yesterday while walking the length of Stratford’s Long Beach all the way to Bridgeport’s Pleasure Beach during string fencing and signage removal operations with the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and Audubon Connecticut, our partners in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds. I did not haul my camera gear a half mile plus down the beach because we were doing physical labor, pulling up wooden stakes and then carrying them back to the parking lot. While walking all the way out I saw a Gatorade bottle...
Read MoreTagged Horseshoe Crab
I found this deceased Horseshoe Crab at Bridgeport, Connecticut’s Pleasure Beach in June. As you can see it has a large tag on it from the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Here along the Connecticut coast Sacred Heart University is studying the Horseshoe Crab through Project Limulus. This effort monitors populations, helps to track individuals by tagging, seeks to better understand their biology, and works to aid the spawning process by protecting the species and educating the public. Learn more by visiting their website! I reported this individual, a male, which I was told was first...
Read MoreLightning Strike
There has been a lot of inclement weather lately! One good thing about all of the heavy rain and thunderstorms is that our waterways will be filled for reptiles, amphibians, odonates, and many other creatures. It may not make our work easier – for example, the Spiny Softshell Turtles are going to be a tough study for now – but it is certainly a far better fate than the droughts of places like California. Thankfully for them we have signs of a strengthening El Niño, the periodic warming of the Pacific Ocean’s surface temperatures, that may already be giving them slight...
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