May has been a big month for Connecticut’s shorebirds—and the people who monitor and protect them! On beaches across the state, American Oystercatchers and Piping Plovers are already nesting, while Common Terns and Least Terns have only just arrived and begun forming colonies.
Our volunteers and staff have been hard at work, collecting important conservation data, speaking with beachgoers, and setting up predator exclosures around nests. This year, volunteers are performing monitoring at 13 different coastal sites across the state of Connecticut, from Compo Beach in Westport to the Bluff Point Natural Area Preserve in Groton.
Already, they’ve reported Piping Plover nests at five of these sites, and American Oystercatcher nests at four of them. Individuals and pairs of each species have been reported at even more sites, and more nests are sure to be reported soon.
“We expect the first few nests will be hatching soon,” says Corrie Folsom-O’Keefe, director of bird conservation for Audubon Connecticut. “Over the next few months, it is important to take steps when visiting beaches to help these birds stay safe. If you see symbolic fencing, there are nests and likely chicks on the beach.”
“Remember that plover, tern, and oystercatcher chicks are semi-precocial, which means they are mobile within hours of nesting and will venture out of the fencing, down to the waterline, to forage,” she adds.
Prior to hatching, Piping Plover nests especially are also at high risk of predation. To combat that, our trained staff set up predator exclosures, as pictured above. These structures keep out predators while allowing adults and chicks to come and go as needed.
“One of the primary reasons that we typically have a good productivity rate in Connecticut is that the field staff are closely monitoring nests and working together, under the supervision of our state biologists, to get exclosures around nests as soon as a full clutch is laid,” says Folsom-O’Keefe.
Adult Least Terns and Common Terns have also been observed at and around our beaches. While Common Terns usually nest on offshore islands, we’re expecting to see Least Tern nesting colonies forming on our beaches in the coming weeks.
“Steps you can take to ensure these birds are able to raise their young include not bringing dogs to the beach, since the birds see them as predators, carrying out your garbage, and giving adults and chicks plenty of space to rest and forage,” advises Folsom-O’Keefe.
Thank you to our incredible team of staff and volunteers for a great start to a busy shorebird season! For more information on our coastal stewardship work in Connecticut, visit our website.
