Protecting the Beach Birds: An Interview with Katerina Gillis, Coastal Ranger at Milford Point

December 18, 2020 — High tides threatened them. Foxes preyed on them. People and their dogs disturbed them. And because of COVID-19, few conservation workers could put in the time protecting them.

2020 was a tough year for the Piping Plovers, American Oystercatchers, and Common and Least Terns nesting at Milford Point. Some did better than others, thanks to the work of the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds.

Katerina Gillis, the IBA Coastal Ranger at Milford Point, was on the beach and the sand bar almost every day, monitoring and protecting those birds. Connecticut Audubon Communications Director Tom Andersen talked with her recently via Zoom. She described the threats, the successes, and the emotional upheaval of seeing birds succumb.