THANKS to Scott & Jill Houle,
our stewards of Sandy Point for
2009
our stewards of Sandy Point for
2009
The USFW is including Sandy Point in Cindy Maynard's
territory for the summer, so she will be on island 2 days a
week (weekdays) for a period of 3 to 4 hours each monitoring
the nesting plovers, oystercatchers, and least terns. She will
also be ready to do some educational outreach as it were
while monitoring if beachgoers are interested/curious in what
she is doing.
A very cooperative and generous local ALC volunteer has
offered to shuttle her out there in his small runabout style
boat. Our president was able to test this transport system with
USFW while at the same time meeting this very personable
young woman. It all went very smoothly and we thank USFW
for this support.
If you happen to meet Cindy out on island sometime this
summer, please welcome her and thank her for her work..
territory for the summer, so she will be on island 2 days a
week (weekdays) for a period of 3 to 4 hours each monitoring
the nesting plovers, oystercatchers, and least terns. She will
also be ready to do some educational outreach as it were
while monitoring if beachgoers are interested/curious in what
she is doing.
A very cooperative and generous local ALC volunteer has
offered to shuttle her out there in his small runabout style
boat. Our president was able to test this transport system with
USFW while at the same time meeting this very personable
young woman. It all went very smoothly and we thank USFW
for this support.
If you happen to meet Cindy out on island sometime this
summer, please welcome her and thank her for her work..
| Some Sandy Pt photos are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rick_newton/sets/72157605419884144/ |
Sandy Point's Vulnerable Visitors
Sandy Point's Vulnerable Visitors
By Judy Benson
Published on 6/28/2009 in Home »Main Photo
Amid the gauze of heavy fog that hung over Sandy Point Friday morning, a downy, grape-sized head pushed
through a speckled eggshell, nestled in a shallow bowl in the sand beside its not-yet-hatched siblings.
Within hours, Cindy Maynard and Hannah Grist of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service stood beside the humble nest to
welcome the tiny newborn piping plover with a few seconds of breathless wonder - just long enough to verify the
birth and count the remaining eggs without lingering long enough to scare off the plover parents.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The Avalonia Land Conservancy is seeking volunteers to be plover stewards this summer. Those interested should
send an e-mail by clicking on “contact us” on the organization's Web site, www.avalonialandconservancy.org, or by
calling Anne Roberts-Pierson at 464-8101.
”Wow,” said Maynard, peering down at the baby plover, its eyes not yet open. A few yards away, one of the
newborn's parents dragged its wings along the sand to act the part of an injured bird, a decoy behavior plovers use
to trick would-be predators away from their nestlings.
”The day I found this nest it was doing the broken wing, so I knew I was really close,” said Maynard, a University of
Rhode Island wildlife biology student working for the Fish & Wildlife Service's Charlestown, R.I., office for the
summer. “So I just walked around in circles until I found it.”
As part of her duties with the Fish & Wildlife Service, Maynard has been spending two mornings a week at Sandy
Point keeping track of the nesting plovers, a sandy-colored shorebird that is federally endangered, and
oystercatchers, black and white birds striking for their slender orange bill and large golden eyes.
Two pairs of plovers have nested there this year, and four pairs of oystercatchers. One of the plover pairs are now
the parents of three chicks that could be seen Friday morning scurrying along the wrack lines and peeking out
toward the water from behind tufts of dune grass, while the other pair had its first chick born Friday and awaits two
more.
Three of the oystercatcher pairs also have chicks. The fourth lost its progeny Friday to a hungry herring gull, a
display of nature's harsh ways witnessed by Maynard and Grist, a graduate student in wildlife biology at URI from
the United Kingdom working as a summer intern for the Fish & Wildlife Service.
”That's so sad,” said Maynard, as she grabbed the wing tip of the juvenile oystercatcher carcass, floating in a few
inches of water just offshore.
Both oystercatchers and plovers are minimalist nesters, scratching shallow depressions in the sand just above the
high tide line to set their eggs, making them highly vulnerable to being accidentally trampled by humans or raided
by predators without special protection.
”That's why they're endangered,” said Grist.
MAKING A COMEBACK
Piping plovers populations are seeing a modest rebound.
Once depleted to just “a handful” of breeding pairs along the southern Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut
coast, the petite birds, named for their high-pitched peep, are reaping the benefits of special protection and
restoration efforts begun after their listing as a federally endangered species in the mid-1980s.
”There's definitely been an increase,” Wendy Edwards, the piping plover coordinator at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service office in Charlestown, R.I., said Friday. “We're seeing a bump up on all the beaches we're monitoring.”
Along the Atlantic coast, there are about 1,800 breeding pairs, including about 66 nesting pairs counted this
summer from Newport to Sandy Point, up from 63 last year, she said. Napatree Point in Westerly, she noted, has 10
nesting pairs this year, compared to six a year ago. The number of chicks that will be born and survive this year
won't be known until later this summer.
One of the main challenges in protecting the plovers, Edwards said, is the competing demands for beach use.
Plovers nest in some of the most popular places for beachgoers. Most people seem to be catching on about the
part they can play in helping the plovers to continue their comeback, Edwards said.
”We still do a lot of outreach on the beaches. It's gone from people saying, 'What's going on here?' (when they see
roped off areas and keep-out signs) to, 'How are the plovers doing?'”
”We want people to be able to use the beaches and enjoy the plovers,” Edwards said. “That's the balance we're
looking for.”
- Judy Benson
The barrier beach, just offshore from Stonington Borough, is a popular summer destination for kayakers and motor
boat owners, many of whom will spend several hours there with beach blankets and picnic baskets. A new
partnership between the Fish & Wildlife Service and the Avalonia Land Conservancy, the owner Sandy Point, brings
Maynard to the island twice a week to document and protect the rare shorebirds.
Grist came to Sandy Point Friday for another Fish & Wildlife project focusing on terns, and was pleased to discover
a mixed flock of about 30 common terns and 20 roseate terns, a critically endangered bird, and will be checking
back to learn if they nest there.
”There's a juvenile in there,” said Grist, surveying the tern flock through binoculars. “It looks like it's being fed.”
Some areas roped off
Anne Roberts-Pierson, president of the land conservancy, said visitors to Sandy Point will notice changes this
summer. Areas where the plover nests are located have been roped off until the young fledge in a month, and the
nest with the eggs is surrounded by a wire cage.
The conservancy is also recruiting volunteers to position themselves at spots along the beach that need to remain
open so the adult birds and their young can get to the water to feed on horseshoe crab eggs and other marine
creatures.
Roberts-Pierson said there will still be plenty of spots for people to set blankets and walk. On the weekends, the
island will also be patrolled by conservancy staff, and both the volunteers and the staff will try to educate visitors
about the birds and the reasons for the protection efforts.
”We've not done anything like this there ever,” she said. “We're hoping the people who use Sandy Point will be
stakeholders with us in helping the birds. We have a rich habitat there, and we'd like to have a nice balance.”
Ferrying Maynard to Sandy Point for her twice-weekly visits is Paul Janssens, a volunteer and member of the land
conservancy who keeps his Boston Whaler at a dock in front of his waterfront house in the borough. In addition to
keeping track of the shorebird activity, Maynard is also keeping tabs on how humans use and misuse Sandy Point.
On Friday, for example, she noted paw prints of at least two large dogs in the sand behind the roped off areas,
evidence that people were disobeying the no-dogs rule for the island, and a dozen empty bottles of LandShark
lager left in a pile.
”I've been taking pictures of the fire remains, too,” she said.
Ultimately, the information she gathers on the shorebirds and the human use will be the basis of a Fish & Wildlife
Service report to the conservancy.
”We're going to give them recommendations on how they should manage their land if they want to have a good
shorebird population,” she said.
Sandy Point's Vulnerable Visitors
By Judy Benson
Published on 6/28/2009 in Home »Main Photo
Amid the gauze of heavy fog that hung over Sandy Point Friday morning, a downy, grape-sized head pushed
through a speckled eggshell, nestled in a shallow bowl in the sand beside its not-yet-hatched siblings.
Within hours, Cindy Maynard and Hannah Grist of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service stood beside the humble nest to
welcome the tiny newborn piping plover with a few seconds of breathless wonder - just long enough to verify the
birth and count the remaining eggs without lingering long enough to scare off the plover parents.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
The Avalonia Land Conservancy is seeking volunteers to be plover stewards this summer. Those interested should
send an e-mail by clicking on “contact us” on the organization's Web site, www.avalonialandconservancy.org, or by
calling Anne Roberts-Pierson at 464-8101.
”Wow,” said Maynard, peering down at the baby plover, its eyes not yet open. A few yards away, one of the
newborn's parents dragged its wings along the sand to act the part of an injured bird, a decoy behavior plovers use
to trick would-be predators away from their nestlings.
”The day I found this nest it was doing the broken wing, so I knew I was really close,” said Maynard, a University of
Rhode Island wildlife biology student working for the Fish & Wildlife Service's Charlestown, R.I., office for the
summer. “So I just walked around in circles until I found it.”
As part of her duties with the Fish & Wildlife Service, Maynard has been spending two mornings a week at Sandy
Point keeping track of the nesting plovers, a sandy-colored shorebird that is federally endangered, and
oystercatchers, black and white birds striking for their slender orange bill and large golden eyes.
Two pairs of plovers have nested there this year, and four pairs of oystercatchers. One of the plover pairs are now
the parents of three chicks that could be seen Friday morning scurrying along the wrack lines and peeking out
toward the water from behind tufts of dune grass, while the other pair had its first chick born Friday and awaits two
more.
Three of the oystercatcher pairs also have chicks. The fourth lost its progeny Friday to a hungry herring gull, a
display of nature's harsh ways witnessed by Maynard and Grist, a graduate student in wildlife biology at URI from
the United Kingdom working as a summer intern for the Fish & Wildlife Service.
”That's so sad,” said Maynard, as she grabbed the wing tip of the juvenile oystercatcher carcass, floating in a few
inches of water just offshore.
Both oystercatchers and plovers are minimalist nesters, scratching shallow depressions in the sand just above the
high tide line to set their eggs, making them highly vulnerable to being accidentally trampled by humans or raided
by predators without special protection.
”That's why they're endangered,” said Grist.
MAKING A COMEBACK
Piping plovers populations are seeing a modest rebound.
Once depleted to just “a handful” of breeding pairs along the southern Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut
coast, the petite birds, named for their high-pitched peep, are reaping the benefits of special protection and
restoration efforts begun after their listing as a federally endangered species in the mid-1980s.
”There's definitely been an increase,” Wendy Edwards, the piping plover coordinator at the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service office in Charlestown, R.I., said Friday. “We're seeing a bump up on all the beaches we're monitoring.”
Along the Atlantic coast, there are about 1,800 breeding pairs, including about 66 nesting pairs counted this
summer from Newport to Sandy Point, up from 63 last year, she said. Napatree Point in Westerly, she noted, has 10
nesting pairs this year, compared to six a year ago. The number of chicks that will be born and survive this year
won't be known until later this summer.
One of the main challenges in protecting the plovers, Edwards said, is the competing demands for beach use.
Plovers nest in some of the most popular places for beachgoers. Most people seem to be catching on about the
part they can play in helping the plovers to continue their comeback, Edwards said.
”We still do a lot of outreach on the beaches. It's gone from people saying, 'What's going on here?' (when they see
roped off areas and keep-out signs) to, 'How are the plovers doing?'”
”We want people to be able to use the beaches and enjoy the plovers,” Edwards said. “That's the balance we're
looking for.”
- Judy Benson
The barrier beach, just offshore from Stonington Borough, is a popular summer destination for kayakers and motor
boat owners, many of whom will spend several hours there with beach blankets and picnic baskets. A new
partnership between the Fish & Wildlife Service and the Avalonia Land Conservancy, the owner Sandy Point, brings
Maynard to the island twice a week to document and protect the rare shorebirds.
Grist came to Sandy Point Friday for another Fish & Wildlife project focusing on terns, and was pleased to discover
a mixed flock of about 30 common terns and 20 roseate terns, a critically endangered bird, and will be checking
back to learn if they nest there.
”There's a juvenile in there,” said Grist, surveying the tern flock through binoculars. “It looks like it's being fed.”
Some areas roped off
Anne Roberts-Pierson, president of the land conservancy, said visitors to Sandy Point will notice changes this
summer. Areas where the plover nests are located have been roped off until the young fledge in a month, and the
nest with the eggs is surrounded by a wire cage.
The conservancy is also recruiting volunteers to position themselves at spots along the beach that need to remain
open so the adult birds and their young can get to the water to feed on horseshoe crab eggs and other marine
creatures.
Roberts-Pierson said there will still be plenty of spots for people to set blankets and walk. On the weekends, the
island will also be patrolled by conservancy staff, and both the volunteers and the staff will try to educate visitors
about the birds and the reasons for the protection efforts.
”We've not done anything like this there ever,” she said. “We're hoping the people who use Sandy Point will be
stakeholders with us in helping the birds. We have a rich habitat there, and we'd like to have a nice balance.”
Ferrying Maynard to Sandy Point for her twice-weekly visits is Paul Janssens, a volunteer and member of the land
conservancy who keeps his Boston Whaler at a dock in front of his waterfront house in the borough. In addition to
keeping track of the shorebird activity, Maynard is also keeping tabs on how humans use and misuse Sandy Point.
On Friday, for example, she noted paw prints of at least two large dogs in the sand behind the roped off areas,
evidence that people were disobeying the no-dogs rule for the island, and a dozen empty bottles of LandShark
lager left in a pile.
”I've been taking pictures of the fire remains, too,” she said.
Ultimately, the information she gathers on the shorebirds and the human use will be the basis of a Fish & Wildlife
Service report to the conservancy.
”We're going to give them recommendations on how they should manage their land if they want to have a good
shorebird population,” she said.
The following article appeared in "The Day". A better copy with photos can be seen on their web site
Joellen Anderson's pictures and commentary. Link here for aerial photo and here for pictures of Fish and Wildlife project
PLEASE SEE "AVALONIA IN THE NEWS"
PAGE ON THIS WEB SITE and check the
events page too.
PAGE ON THIS WEB SITE and check the
events page too.
THE 2010 SEASON WILL FOLLOW
NEW RULES AND NEW
MANAGEMENT. PLEASE SEE
ARTICLES LINKED ON OUR
"AVALONIA IN THE NEWS " PAGE .
SEE THE DAY PAPER
NEW RULES AND NEW
MANAGEMENT. PLEASE SEE
ARTICLES LINKED ON OUR
"AVALONIA IN THE NEWS " PAGE .
SEE THE DAY PAPER
Thank to KYLE AND SCOTT THE
STEWARDS FOR 2010 .
STEWARDS FOR 2010 .
RICK, SHARON, DIANE AND LINDSEY of USFWS
CONSTRUCTION OF PLOVER ENCLOSURE
| Click on this link for the 2010 U.S. Fish & Wildlife Notice |
Cindy Maynard, the 2009
USFW summer intern,she
will be back in 2010 and
2011!
USFW summer intern,she
will be back in 2010 and
2011!
| A Wonderful video that covers the recent conservation efforts is linked here: http://www.terramarprods.com/transfer/Videos%20Misc./Sandy%20Point %20Video%20-%20FWS%20Edits&%20Final.mov "These baby birds now know Sandy Point as their home, we need to keep them safe." |
Here is the general breakdown of what is
going on with the birds on Sandy Point as
of today, July 1st 2011. Please pass on
to all interested volunteers, particularly
those who may be able to get on the
island over this holiday weekend:
Area A: No AMOYs (American
oystercatchers). 2 pairs of incubating
PIPL (piping plovers). 1 PIPL pair that
hatched four eggs early this week, but
has not been seen the past few days.
Area B: 1 AMOY pair, not seen recently
Area C: 1 AMOY pair, not seen recently
Area D: 1 AMOY pair incubating.
Area E: 1 AMOY pair with fledged chick.
1 AMOY pair, nest hatched but no chicks
recently. 1 AMOY pair incubating.
Area F: 1 AMOY pair - nest hatched, no
chicks confirmed
Area G: 1 PIPL pair, nest hatched, no
activity recently
As a reminder, we are observing the
birds from as far a distance as possible
to prevent the adults being distracted
from protecting their nests and young
from the gulls. Please avoid walking up to
nests, as we don't need any egg counts
at this time, just the presence and the
behavior of the adults should be enough
to indicate what the pair is up to. We will
have staff out all weekend, so if any
Avalonia folks can get out it would be
great if they could focus on talking to the
public and watching out for dogs and that
sort of thing while we keep an eye on the
birds. We recently had a couple of posts
removed and a rope cut, as well as some
campfires and fireworks, so this weekend
will be a great opportunity to do some
needed outreach and try to educate folks
using the island.
going on with the birds on Sandy Point as
of today, July 1st 2011. Please pass on
to all interested volunteers, particularly
those who may be able to get on the
island over this holiday weekend:
Area A: No AMOYs (American
oystercatchers). 2 pairs of incubating
PIPL (piping plovers). 1 PIPL pair that
hatched four eggs early this week, but
has not been seen the past few days.
Area B: 1 AMOY pair, not seen recently
Area C: 1 AMOY pair, not seen recently
Area D: 1 AMOY pair incubating.
Area E: 1 AMOY pair with fledged chick.
1 AMOY pair, nest hatched but no chicks
recently. 1 AMOY pair incubating.
Area F: 1 AMOY pair - nest hatched, no
chicks confirmed
Area G: 1 PIPL pair, nest hatched, no
activity recently
As a reminder, we are observing the
birds from as far a distance as possible
to prevent the adults being distracted
from protecting their nests and young
from the gulls. Please avoid walking up to
nests, as we don't need any egg counts
at this time, just the presence and the
behavior of the adults should be enough
to indicate what the pair is up to. We will
have staff out all weekend, so if any
Avalonia folks can get out it would be
great if they could focus on talking to the
public and watching out for dogs and that
sort of thing while we keep an eye on the
birds. We recently had a couple of posts
removed and a rope cut, as well as some
campfires and fireworks, so this weekend
will be a great opportunity to do some
needed outreach and try to educate folks
using the island.
NOTICE:
Sandy Point is a fragile, sandy island in Little Narragansett Bay. It is a
NATURE PRESERVE, and only recreational use along the shore is allowed.
Regulations
• All visitors, seasonal and daily, over the age of 18, must obtain and
possess an island permit from the COMO. Permits may not be available for
purchase on the island. Permits may be revoked without refund for failure to
comply with these regulations.
• Visitors must stay out of all vegetated, fenced and posted areas.
Please, do not disturb nesting birds, especially those along the shore.
• No pets are allowed.
• No kite flying or similar activities that may frighten nesting birds are
allowed.
• No fireworks or open fires are allowed.
• No camping is allowed.
• Please do not approach or linger near shorebird nests.
• Educational and other groups need specific permission for any group
use.
Recreation
• Recreation is permitted in designated areas from ½ hour before
sunrise to ½ hour after sunset.
• Permitted activities include; wildlife observation, fishing, photography,
environmental education and interpretation.
• Other forms of permissible recreation are: swimming sunbathing,
walking and small self-contained cooking fires.
• There is no lifeguard, so visitors swim at their own risk.
For additional regulations, please refer to applicable local, state and federal
laws and the information kiosks on the island.
Sandy Point is a fragile, sandy island in Little Narragansett Bay. It is a
NATURE PRESERVE, and only recreational use along the shore is allowed.
Regulations
• All visitors, seasonal and daily, over the age of 18, must obtain and
possess an island permit from the COMO. Permits may not be available for
purchase on the island. Permits may be revoked without refund for failure to
comply with these regulations.
• Visitors must stay out of all vegetated, fenced and posted areas.
Please, do not disturb nesting birds, especially those along the shore.
• No pets are allowed.
• No kite flying or similar activities that may frighten nesting birds are
allowed.
• No fireworks or open fires are allowed.
• No camping is allowed.
• Please do not approach or linger near shorebird nests.
• Educational and other groups need specific permission for any group
use.
Recreation
• Recreation is permitted in designated areas from ½ hour before
sunrise to ½ hour after sunset.
• Permitted activities include; wildlife observation, fishing, photography,
environmental education and interpretation.
• Other forms of permissible recreation are: swimming sunbathing,
walking and small self-contained cooking fires.
• There is no lifeguard, so visitors swim at their own risk.
For additional regulations, please refer to applicable local, state and federal
laws and the information kiosks on the island.
Kyle Michaelson and Ellen Cavanaugh
Stewards for Sandy Point 2011
Stewards for Sandy Point 2011
| International Coastal Cleanup at Sandy Point Report on Sandy Point clean up by Pine Point School Date: Mon, Sep 26, 2011 at 7:48 PM We had 19 students and 9 adults working at Sandy Point on Monday, Sept. 19th. We collected 180.5 pounds of trash. We were pleasantly surprised at the very low number of cigarette butts we collected, which in the past, have been quite numerous. We found a pillow, (complete with pillow case), a bottle with a note inside, (a true "message in a bottle"), the butt of a rifle, a nerf football, plywood, a small lobster pot, and many pieces of glass, to name a few of the unusual items of interest. The kids did a great job and we are quite proud to be a part of such a fulfilling service learning event. Thank you for all your help and it has been an honor to be a part of such a helpful environmental organization. Best Wishes, Judy Christoffersen 4th Grade Teacher Pine Point School Stonington, CT 06378 |