RTPI is proud to be a partner with Audubon Connecticut and the Connecticut Audubon Society for the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds‘ (AAfCW) seventh season in 2018, an active conservation, education and outreach project that provides stewardship and survey efforts by volunteers and staff working to help the Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (CT DEEP), Wildlife Division, in an innovative joint initiative on Connecticut’s beaches, islands, and other coastal areas to monitor birds like the federally threatened Piping Plover, Red Knot and endangered Roseate Tern, Connecticut state-listed species like the American Oystercatcher, Common and Least Tern and many more. Our incredibly successful 2014 season included an all-time record high number of fledged Piping Plovers for Connecticut with 116 birds aided by our volunteers, partners and staff. Results from the phenomenal 2015 season indicate we had the second highest number of fledged chicks ever at 112, right behind our own 2014 record.
We also set the all-time record number of breeding pairs of Piping Plovers for the state in 2015 at 62, but we broke this record in 2016 with 63 pairs! These birds produced 87 fledged chicks for a productivity rate of 1.38 chicks per pair, well above the federal recovery goal of 1.2 chicks per pair. High tide events, storms, predators and unfortunate human incidents all led to a decline in fledged chicks from the previous two seasons, but it was nevertheless the fourth highest total ever for our state. A record 63 pairs of American Oystercatchers produced 53 fledglings, the second-highest all-time total. In 2017 we kept those 63 pairs and they fledged 63 Oystercatchers, second to the 2015 record. Last year also featured 66 pairs of Piping Plovers, the new Connecticut record!
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) hatchling
American Oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) pair
Red Knots (Calidris canutus) in front of Black-bellied Plovers
RTPI’s President & Executive Director Twan Leenders and Conservation & Outreach Coordinator Scott Kruitbosch were a part of AAfCW’s creation during their time in Connecticut and are thrilled to be back on board for RTPI’s fifth year as a partner.
Semipalmated Sandpiper (Calidris pusilla) migratory flock
Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) adult
Volunteer shorebird monitors are trained in March each year by CT DEEP and AAfCW staff. They, along with seasonal and full-time AAfCW and CT DEEP field staff, visit over a dozen sites across Connecticut on a daily basis from April 1 through August 31 or beyond. Well over 100 sites are surveyed in Connecticut each year. They are tasked with surveying for waterbird species, helping to erect string fencing and signage around nesting areas on CT DEEP established dates, educating beachgoers about the importance of this avian conservation, reporting disturbances or other critical information and submitting their bird data and information to us, among other duties.
String fencing and signage surrounding Piping Plover nesting area
We have children design signs like this one at Sandy/Morse Points in West Haven
Student sign for the American Oystercatcher
Least Tern (Sternula antillarum) pair
Great Egret (Ardea alba) one of the long-legged wader species we also monitor and assist
AAfCW started in the 2012 field season with Scott working as the AAfCW Volunteer Coordinator overseeing dozens and now hundreds of those volunteers on a daily basis. Now based in Connecticut at the wonderful for waterbirds and spectacular Stratford Point in Stratford, Scott continued this role through RTPI in 2014 through 2018. You can join AAfCW and volunteer by emailing us at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com or learn more information by emailing Scott at skruitbosch@rtpi.org.
AAfCW blog: http://ctwaterbirds.blogspot.com/
AAfCW Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/AudubonAlliance
Here are important documents for the project available for viewing or download and use as an AAfCW volunteer:
Online Data Submission Form
Piping Plover Brochure
American Oystercatcher Brochure
Connecticut Dog Laws & Who To Contact
Breeding Bird Survey Codes
Incident Report Form
CT DEEP Piping Plover Fact Sheet
CT DEEP Least Tern Fact Sheet
CT DEEP Piping Plover/Least Tern Aging Guide
CT DEEP Identifying Common Shorebirds Pamphlet
Ducks At A Distance Identification Guide
Common Tern (Sterna hirundo)
Thank you to all of our tremendous volunteers! None of this could happen without your constant assistance and tireless efforts throughout the season.
