Volunteer for the Audubon Alliance to help Piping Plovers and other birds on Connecticut’s beaches
Volunteers pounding stakes for a rope fence that marks the approximate area used by a pair of Piping Plovers in Stratford. Photo by Patrick Comins.
“If you want to be involved in a program that clearly is successful, this is it.”
April 5, 2019 – Piping Plovers are returning to Connecticut’s beaches and conservationists are preparing to do everything possible to help them have a successful breeding season.
Work sessions are scheduled for several days over the next few weeks, and volunteers are needed.
* Milford Point/McKinney National Wildlife Refuge) – Wednesday, April 10, 9 a.m. Meet in the Milford Point Coastal Center parking lot, 1 Milford Point Road. Please email shaun_roche@fws.gov to RSVP. Rain date April 11.
* Griswold Point, Old Lyme – Thursday, April 11, 9 a.m. meet at the I-95 exit 70 commuter lot at 8:45 to carpool. Email dgumbart@tnc.org to RSVP. Rain date April 12.
* Long Beach, Stratford – Sunday, April 14th, 10 a.m., rain date April 15th.
* Sandy/Morse Points, West Haven – Wednesday, April 17th, 1 p.m., rain date April 19th.
* Bluff Point State Park, Groton – Tuesday, April 23rd, 10 a.m. rain date April 24th.
, starting with training sessions for experienced volunteers and newcomers.
The work is being coordinated by the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, of which Connecticut Audubon is a member.
Please email the Alliance at ctwaterbirds@gmail.com if you can make it to Long Beach, Sandy/Morse, or Bluff Point.
Any and all volunteers are welcome!
Volunteers should bring work gloves, water, a snack, appropriate footwear, sunscreen, sunglasses, hats and whatever else you may need avoid too much sun. These locations can either be quite cool or very warm depending on the day so dress for any weather.
A pocket knife or multi-tool can be handy and a sledge hammer or mallet can be helpful to bring.
Plan for heavy lifting and toting, but be mindful of your safety. Less intensive work needed includes stringing posts and putting up signs.
Piping Plovers, listed as threatened under the federal Endangered Species Act, have slowly increased their numbers in Connecticut over the years, with 60 or so nesting on the state’s beaches.
A good part of that success is because of the work of the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds. Its staff and 100-plus volunteers were protecting birds on the state’s beaches from April through August last year.
“The plovers wouldn’t have a chance if it weren’t for the Alliance,” Patrick Comins, Connecticut Audubon’s executive director, said. “So if you want to be involved in a program that clearly is successful, this is it.”
Volunteers gathering at Long Beach in Stratford on a beautiful day last year to work for the Audubon Alliance. Photo by Patrick Comins.
Connecticut Audubon is a proud member of the Audubon Alliance, along with Audubon Connecticut (the state chapter of the National Audubon Society), and the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, all working under the guidance of the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection’s Wildlife Division.
Connecticut Audubon members and donors generously support the Alliance through their contributions throughout the year, including several recent appeals that specifically targeted the protection of Piping Plovers.
