Early Winter Field Trip

Eagles and Ducks on the Connecticut River

Sunday, January 5, 2014

9:00 a.m.  –  11:30 a.m. 

Dennis Riordan will lead a trip along Connecticut River from Old Saybrook north in search of wintering ducks and eagles.

Meet at Dock and Dine in Old Saybrook at 9 a.m.  For questions or to register for this trip, e-mail dennis@menunkatuck.org.

DEEP Uses Menunkatuck’s Osprey Platform Design

Two osprey platforms at Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford, CT had significant damage in Super Storm Sandy and needed to be replaced. Park management contacted Menunkatuck for the plans for the platform that John Picard designed and that we have been using for the last six years. 

Volunteers from Dominion Energy built two platforms following the Menunkatuck plans. On October 10, 2013, Dennis Riordan and Terry Shaw joined the Dominion volunteers and Patrick Comins of Audubon Connecticut to install the new platforms. The Harkness staff was very happy with the result and cannot wait until the ospreys return next spring.

(From the January, 2014 newsletter.)

The Atlantic Flyway

Urban Oasis Program

Even tiny patches of woods in urban areas seem to provide adequate food and protection for some species of migrating birds as they fly between wintering and breeding grounds, new research from Ohio State University has found.

The results are important because, with the expansion of cities worldwide, migrating landbirds increasingly must pass through vast urban areas which offer very little of the forest habitats on which many species rely.

Birds in the study seemed to be finding enough food in even the smaller urban habitats to refuel and continue their journey,

The results point to the value of Audubon’s Urban Oasis program and its implementation in New Haven as part of the New Haven Harbor Watershed Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership. The habitat enhancements in Beaver Pond, West River Memorial, Dover Beach, and East Shore Parks and the promise of future native species planting, as well as the plans to assist homeowners in converting yards to wildlife habitat will improve the opportunities of migrating birds to find areas to rest and refuel.

And as one of only four Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnerships, New Haven can serve as a model for other cities along the Atlantic Flyway to create their own urban oases.

(More details in the Ohio State Research can be found at http://goo.gl/kr0Ewy.)

(From the January 2014 newsletter.)

Bio Bits: This Fly Has Gall

Have you ever noticed a swelling on the stem of a goldenrod and wondered what it was? This swelling is called a gall and is a deformation of the plant’s growth caused by an insect. A specific gall insect creates each type of gall on each plant species. “Gall insect” refers only to the fact that the insect has the ability to create these deformities. It does not belong to an all-encompassing family of gall insects; in fact, gall insects can be species of flies (including midges), wasps, aphids, or moths. 

Image from Wikimedia

Galls take many forms and can be found on myriad plant species, such as grape, raspberry, cherry, oak, willow, witch-hazel, and goldenrod. Some galls form on plant stems, while others appear on leaves. Buds and twigs can bear yet other types of galls. If the gall is round and grows on a goldenrod stem, it is caused by a goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis).

The goldenrod gall fly is tiny, only about a quarter inch long. During the adult stage of its life, which is only about 2 weeks long, the fly does not eat. This time is spent mating and laying eggs. The female fly will lay her eggs in the stems of emerging goldenrods in the spring. A hatching larva (white and grub-like) will burrow further into the plant stem to create itself a safe home. Chemicals in the larva’s saliva that mimic plant hormones cause the stem to form a ball-shaped growth, or gall. While the outside surface of the gall is hard and protective, the inside is softer and very nutritious. There the larva lives, feeding on the plant’s inner tissues while the gall continues to grow to about the size of a golf ball. It is humbling to think that the chemical secretions of a tiny insect can cause a plant to deform in such a way as to create the perfect house and pantry for the insect’s needs.

Image: Warren Uxley

The goldenrod gall fly larva will live within the gall from one spring to the next. Fall temperatures will cause the fly larva to accumulate glycerol and sorbitol in its body fluids, allowing it to survive freezing and thawing many times over the course of the winter. In the spring it will chew a tunnel through the gall to the outside. But it still needs to pupate, to transform from this larval stage into an adult fly. So it crawls back into the center of the gall, not emerging from its escape tunnel until the transformation is complete.

 Downy woodpeckers and chickadees have discovered the nutritious meal that lies hidden within the goldenrod gall. You may find one of these industrious birds perched upon a withered goldenrod stem this winter as it pecks a hole in a gall to reach the tasty larva within.

Submitted by Cindi Kobak
(From the January 2014 newsletter.)

Citizen Science: iNaturalist.org

iNaturalist.org is a place where you can record what you see in nature, meet other nature lovers, and learn about the natural world.

From hikers to hunters, birders to beach-combers, the world is filled with naturalists, and many of us record what we find. What if all those observations could be shared online? You might discover someone who finds beautiful wildflowers at your favorite birding spot, or learn about the birds you see on the way to work. If enough people recorded their observations, it would be like a living record of life on Earth that scientists and land managers could use to monitor changes in biodiversity, and that anyone could use to learn more about nature.

That’s the vision behind iNaturalist.org. So if you like recording your findings from the outdoors, or if you just like learning about life, join in! Go to inaturalist.org for more information.
(From the January 2014 newsletter.)

Menunkatuck Audubon Society Annual Report 2013

Suzanne Botta Sullivan reports on the past year’s activities

I am pleased to report that 2013 was another outstanding year for Menunkatuck Audubon Society. With your financial support and the hard work of the Chapter Board members and many volunteers we have conducted a vast array of programs, field walks, and conservation studies, worked on habitat restoration, increased our partnerships, and much more. With great pride, we list here for your review the significant accomplishments achieved in 2013.

Conservation

The Hammonasset Beach State Park Purple Martin and Tree Swallow Project continued with careful monitoring of five purple martin houses with 60 compartments and 31 tree swallow boxes. Nesting attempts by European starlings and house sparrows are discouraged and as a result success rates for both the purple martin colonies and the tree swallows have flourished (143 purple martin fledged and 114 tree swallows fledged).

Grants from the Audubon Collaborative Grant ($1500) and the Connecticut Ornithological Association ($300) provided funds to help  purchase two solar powered sound systems to play recordings to attract purple martins and chimney swifts.

Four kestrel nest boxes were installed at the East River Preserve and the Dudley Preserve in Guilford. 

Our partnership with the Northeast Connecticut Kestrel Project continued with securing a $3500 grant from the Nuttall Ornithological Club’s Blake-Nuttall Fund. The grant will be used for geolocator deployment with American kestrels in an attempt to better understand the population movements of central Connecticut’s threatened falcon.

Menunkatuck expanded its role in New Haven by working with Audubon Connecticut, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Common Ground High School, and other organizations in the USFWS establishment of the New Haven Harbor Watershed Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership, the second such refuge announced by USFWS. 

We partnered with the West Haven Watershed Restoration Committee in getting an Audubon IBA Small Matching Grant for $2500 for the Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary Enhancement Project. Non-native invasive plants were removed in the fall. Native species will be planted in spring.

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Your support of Menunkatuck Audubon Society helped us secure the following grants and matching grants for us and our partners in 2013.

Audubon Collaborative Grant -  $1500

Connecticut Ornithological Association Small Grant - $300

Nuttall Ornithological Club’s Blake-Nuttall Fund - $3500

Audubon IBA Small Matching Grant - $2500

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Citizen Science

Our partnership with the Project Limulus horseshoe crab tagging surveys had more than 27 volunteers conduct 16 surveys.

Menunkatuck members participated in Audubon Connecticut’s spring and fall bird migration surveys to identify critical stopover habitat.

Advocacy

Menunkatuck took the lead on an move to institute a ban on balloons in all state parks. Balloons are a serious problem for birds and other wildlife. Menunkatuck’s proposal to DEEP for banning balloons was sent to other Audubon Chapters in Connecticut as well as other environmental groups. Seven other organizations sent letters of support.

Education and Outreach

The Birdathon was held in May. Menunkatuck and The Audubon Shop participated together and more than 100 species were recorded. 

As part of the New Haven Harbor Watershed Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership, Menunkatuck worked with local high school students in migratory bird surveys and in two invertebrate surveys.

We participated in the Yale Peabody Museum’s Earth Day program, the New Haven Migration Festival, and in the Hammonasset Festival.

General Public Meeting

Public programs are held monthly on the second Wednesday of each month (except July and August). Last year the meetings featured a variety of topics and speakers, including programs on birding in South Africa, snakes of Connecticut, a live porcupine, and landscaping with native plants. Our meetings are free and open to the public.

Field Programs

This year Menunkatuck provided four exciting field programs, including a woodcock search at the Guilford Salt Meadows Sanctuary, a spring trip to Central Park and the New York Historical Society’s Audubon watercolors exhibition in New York, and a fall walk at Lake Saltonstall.

Newsletter 

The newsletter is printed six times per year. In addition to informing our members and friends about Menunkatuck’s activities and events we include Cindi Kobak’s “Bio-bits” natural history essays. The Newsletter also includes tips on going green and information about upcoming events in our chapter area. Citizen Science highlighted six opportunities for helping scientists with their research. The newsletter is also available online as a PDF. Getting your newsletter electronically saves Menunkatuck about $5.00 per member.

Web Site

Menunkatuck maintains a web site that features a blog, a photo gallery, and a variety of educational information and links. We are also on Facebook with frequent posts with photos, event notices, and links to bird and environmental articles on the Internet. 

Volunteers

Menunkatuck volunteers contributed more than 1200 man-hours to conservation, advocacy education, and outreach activities.

Conclusion

As you can see, Menunkatuck is a leader in environmental education, conservation, and advocacy. Please join the Menunkatuck Board in making 2014 an even better year. If you can become more involved please e-mail me at president@menunkatuck.org or speak to any Board member at any event.

~Suzanne Botta Sullivan
(From the January 2014 newsletter.)

Bio Bits: A Foxy Winter Visitor

The fox sparrow (Passerella iliaca) is a northern bird that spends the summer on its breeding grounds across Canada, Alaska, and the mountainous regions of the western United States. In the fall it migrates south, but not as far as some birds. Instead of heading for the tropics, the fox sparrow spends the winter along parts of the Pacific coast or eastern half of the United States. It can often be seen in wooded or shrubby backyards in our area. 

The fox sparrow in the East is one of our largest sparrows, measuring about seven inches in length. Because of its size, its overall rusty coloration, heavy streaking on the breast, and its bright rufous tail, it can initially be confused with a hermit thrush. But notice its thick bill (the bill of a sparrow, not a thrush) and the gray markings above its eye, on its neck and along its back. And notice the way in which it feeds. The fox sparrow will use both its feet simultaneously to kick up leaf litter in search of food. This comical dance may be what first alerts you to the bird’s presence. Well camouflaged among the leaf litter on the ground, the fox sparrow will expose itself nonetheless when it scratches about for winter sustenance. When snow covers the ground, the beauty of this bird is revealed against the stark white background. Look for it on the ground beneath your bird feeders as it takes advantage of the fallen seeds.

If you are lucky enough to have a fox sparrow visit your yard this season, enjoy this migrant’s short visit. Before long it will be heading back to the far north.

Submitted by Cindi Kobak

Images: Wikipedia

(From the November, 2013 Newsletter)

The Atlantic Flyway

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed listing the rufa red knot (Calidris canutus rufa) as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. 

The rufa red knot is an extraordinary bird that each year migrates thousands of miles from the Arctic to the tip of South America and back, but – like many shorebirds – it is vulnerable to climate and other environmental changes,. In some areas, knot populations have declined by about 75 percent since the 1980s, with the steepest declines happening after 2000.

Service biologists determined that the knot meets the definition of threatened, meaning it is likely to become in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future throughout all or a significant portion of its range. The knot uses spring and fall stopover areas along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Changing climate conditions are already affecting the bird’s food supply, the timing of its migration, and its breeding habitat in the Arctic.

A primary factor in the recent decline of the species was reduced food supplies in Delaware Bay due to commercial harvest of horseshoe crabs. In 2012, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission adopted a management plan that explicitly ties horseshoe crab harvest levels along the Atlantic Coast to knot recovery targets.

Audubon has listed the red knot as one of 83 priority species that are the targets of it conservation strategies.

The PBS Nature episode Crash: A Tale of Two Species explores the fragile connection between horseshoe crabs and red knots. Watch it online at goo.gl/LvkKS9.

(From the November, 2013 Newsletter)

Late Fall Field Trips

Bird Walk at RWA Lake Saltonstall, Branford, CT

Saturday, November 2

8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.

Join birder Nina Levenduski on a walk through the Regional Water Authority’s Lake Saltonstall trail system to look for fall migrants and water birds and fall foliage. Beginning birders welcome! Please bring binoculars, sturdy footwear, and field guides. Bad weather or heavy rain the day of the trip cancels.

Meet at the parking area on Hosley Avenue (map) in Branford, CT.

Bird Watching at Hammonasset Beach State Park, Madison, CT

Sunday, December 15

9:00 a.m.  –  11:00 a.m.

Hammonasset Beach State Park is one of Connecticut’s premier birding spots. After the breeding and migrating birds (and sunbathers) have moved on to warmer places, Hammonasset takes on a somewhat different character during the colder months.

Join Nina Levenduski and other Menunkatuck birders as we walk the park to look for wintering shorebirds, ducks, sparrows, raptors and others. Beginning birders welcome! Please bring binoculars and dress in layers for cold & windy conditions. Camera, hand lens, field guides, etc. are also suggested. Bad weather the day of the trip cancels.

Meet outside the Nature Center at Hammonasset at 9:00 a.m. (map). There is no park admission fee. 

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For directions, carpools or to register for either of these walks, visit the calendar page of the Menunkatuck website, or contact the leader at nina@menunkatuck.org.

(From the November, 2013 Newsletter)

Citizen Science: Birds and Windows

It has been estimated up to 1 billion birds are killed in North America each year as a result of bird window collisions! This is one of the largest threats facing urban bird populations. Residential homes are estimated to represent 90% of building-related mortality, directly related to their large number compared to other building classes. However, more work is needed; only four studies in the past have focused on bird window collision mortality at houses.

The University of Alberta Birds and Windows Project was designed to use citizen science and active participation to continue to identify the factors that affect collision risk at residential homes.

Window glass is an invisible barrier to birds, and collisions occur as birds attempt to fly through what appear to be reflections of open space and vegetation. Generally, this occurs as a result of panic flights where birds panic due to pursuit by raptors, the presence of cats or larger birds arriving at feeders, loud noises, and being chased by other birds.

Environment factors, such as nearby trees and shrubs, and the presence of bird attractants, such as bird feeders, bird houses and bird baths, have been shown to increase the abundance of bird window collisions.

To better understand what can be done to reduce bird window collisions, the University of Alberta has developed this project to actively involve you in data collection. They are looking for people to search for evidence of bird window collisions on a regular basis. Ideally you will search your residence daily for a period of at least one month. 

The researchers prefer daily searches as previous studies have shown this reduces the chance of evidence being lost due to searcher error or evidence being removed by scavengers. If window collision evidence is observed at a time other than during a perimeter search try to complete a full search at this time to maintain consistency and account for the possibility of multiple collisions.
Evidence of bird window strikes include dead or injured birds found beneath a window or blood smears, body smudges or feathers found on the window glass. To help in understanding what happened to the bird when it collided, please take a photo of the collision evidence to be uploaded to the survey. Photos will help provide accurate species identification. If a dead bird and a body smudge on the glass are found for the same collision, take a picture of the bird as it will be used to identify the species.

After creating an online account, enter data about bird-window collisions by answering a series of questions and uploading photographic evidence.

For complete details visit birdswindows.biology.ualberta.ca/  and contact birdsandwindows@ualberta.ca if you have any questions.

(From the November, 2013 Newsletter)

Tree Swallow, Purple Martin Egg Laying Is Up at Hammonasset, Fledging Is Down

Top line - Number of eggs laid; bottom - Number fledged

Bad weather just as Hammonasset’s tree swallow and purple martin chicks were about to fledge resulted in the deaths of many of the young birds. As a result the number of nest box success rate was down for the summer.

Of 183 tree swallow eggs that were laid, 143 hatched and 114 young fledged.

The Bridgeport Wildlife Guards, a team of students learning and teaching about conservation in Bridgeport, CT, came to Hammonasset to learn about nest box monitoring. They were able to see the difference between the purple martins’ bayberry leaf-lined nest and the tree swallows’ feather-lined nest.

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The Bridgeport Wildlife Guards, a team of students learning and teaching about conservation in Bridgeport, CT, came to Hammonasset to learn about nest box monitoring. They were able to see the difference between the purple martins’ bayberry leaf-lined nest and the tree swallows’ feather-lined nest.

(From the November, 2013 Newsletter)

Time For Bullfrogs To Hibernate

As temperatures begin to cool, that big ol’ bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) in your neighborhood pond is thinking about retreating to the bottom of the pond to spend the winter. Bullfrogs in our area will disappear from the edges of ponds and lakes around mid-October, burrowing under the mud at the pond bottom, or under leaf litter.

The bullfrog is a common species and was originally found only in the central and eastern United States and up into Nova Scotia. Unfortunately, efforts to commercially harvest frogs’ legs from bullfrogs has led to the introduction of the species to many western states, as well as Mexico and Cuba. There is concern that introduced bullfrogs compete with and displace native frog species in these areas. And they’ll eat almost anything that happens their way: worms, large insects like dragonflies, other frogs, and even unsuspecting hummingbirds.

Not sure that what you’re seeing is a bullfrog? Bullfrogs prefer the water’s edge along a vegetated bank. When alarmed they may jump into the water or hide among the dense vegetation. Like green frogs, they are varying shades of green and brown and yellow, but green frogs have a pair of ridges that run down the back. The bullfrog does not have these ridges, though it does have a ridge of skin that runs from just behind the eye and wraps around the eardrum. Adult bullfrogs are large, with body lengths ranging from three inches to a whopping eight inches. The distinctive ‘jug-o-rum’ call of the male is quite different from the banjo-twang call given by the green frog.

Bullfrogs spend their lives around water. Unlike terrestrial wood frogs that have a frenzied breeding season in early spring in temporary water bodies, the bullfrog breeding season doesn’t need to be completed in a two to three week span. Instead, bullfrogs breed anywhere from May to July in our area and from February to October in the south. And since eggs are laid in permanent bodies of water, the tadpoles don’t need to race against the clock to develop into frogs before their pond dries up. In fact, bullfrog tadpoles can take up to two years to transform into frogs, with some spending a winter or two in the tadpole stage. Look for these huge five-inch long tadpoles along the silty bottom of their aquatic home.

Submitted by Cindi Kobak

Image: Wikipedia

(From the September 2013 newsletter)

The Atlantic Flyway

As birds continue their migration along the Atlantic Flyway from their northern breeding grounds to their wintering areas in the Caribbean, and Central and South America, Audubon Connecticut’s Director of Bird Conservation Patrick Comins reminds us about the value documenting where shorebirds gather to feed and rest.

It would be helpful to document migrant shorebird usage in the state. Many of our shorebirds continue to decline at disturbing levels and the better we understand stopover foraging areas, high tide roosts, and other habitats that may be essential for them in migration, the better we can protect the places that are important to them. There is a easy way you can help, simply eBird your sightings and share them with ctwaterbirds@gmail.com.

It is important to track big concentrations areas for any migrants, but of particular concern are Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, and of course the few Red Knots that find themselves on the habitat limited coast of Connecticut and any concentrations of migrant Piping Plovers.

Dunlin - Terry Shaw

This only covers the globally threatened and candidate species, but American Oystercatcher, Solitary Sandpiper, Upland Sandpiper, Whimbrel, both godwits, Purple Sandpiper, Dunlin and Short-billed Dowitcher are all considered “Birds of Conservation Concern” by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.

Please keep in mind that these birds are on a tight energy budget and are of serious conservation concern, so please take care to avoid flushing them in the course of counts, and thank you for your help!

(From the September 2013 newsletter)

Citizen Science: MonitorChange

On the ground impacts of Global Climate change, sea level rise, changes to our forests and landscapes, development, all can be measured with precise scientific instruments. But the money and time to do so is often just not there and thus major changes around us are happening but remain undocumented. However, a partial solution is at hand by simply taking pictures over time from the same location. Combine those pictures into a sequence and you directly and permanently document and demonstrate change,and these changes can then be quantified.

MonitorChange (monitorchange.org) a concept to crowdsource changes in the environments where we live, work, play, or care about, be they parks, our backyards, our rivers, or our city scape, using nothing more than camera phones. The new thing here is that multiple people with multiple cameras can take pictures which are then processed using existing software so that no matter what camera type or format the pictures were originally taken with they are transformed into uniform snapshots of the same scene with the same dimensions with all the objects in the pictures the same size and shape. This allows all the different pictures to be put into time lapse sequences that can be made into a video, a slide show, or used to measure change direct over days, years, or decades.

The concept uses little more than a camera phone and a stout piece of bent steel to start.

A piece of angled steel is firmly mounted to provide a consistent height, angle and direction from which to shoot images using nearly any camera. When collected together, photo-stitching software aligns and pieces together images to show changes over time.

This concept has lots of applications to the type of work that ecologists, foresters, land managers, and environmental citizen groups do and provides an easy (and actually information dense) way of tracking long-term changes using volunteers using the smart phone that many carry in their pocket.

People can do this right now using existing materials at single sites or they can organize networks of camera stations at scales of parks, cities, watersheds, counties, states, countries, or the world.

Right now, MonitorChange is a presentation of an idea. Anyone can modify this in any way they like and implement it at any scale. No copyrights. No permissions needed. 

A short video explaining the MonitorChange can be found at http://youtube/A1ULAsEQAWs.

For more technical details on doing the picture rectification see the video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2pEKjw3Idk

Possible places/groups to implement are watershed societies, riverkeepers, stream crossings, trail clubs, stream monitoring groups; coastal beaches, dunes, marshes; lichen plots, restorations sites, forestry sites, parks, refuges, new developments, your backyard, construction of a building, the green-up in spring and the leaf drop in the fall of forests and so forth

For more information and to sign up go to monitorchange.org.

MonitorChange was developed by Sam Droege, a biologist at the USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Maryland.

Source: monitorchange.org/group

(From the September 2013 newsletter)

Project Limulus 2013 Season

2013 was Menunkatuck Audubon's fifth year of volunteering for Sacred Heart University's Project Limulus.  It was another disappointing season for finding horseshoe crabs in Guilford.  There seemed to be even less on our beaches than last year.  The number of crabs counted during the surveys had been fairly consistent over the past 3 years but this year that number dropped by more than half.  According to the DEEP, the horseshoe crab population in Long Island Sound is stable, but we saw a significant change on the 2 beaches we survey in Guilford.

The 2013 survey period began on May 8th.and ended on June 25th.  Our Project Limulus team surveyed the 2 beaches at Indian Cove a total of 16 times and counted a total of 49 crabs.  We had to cancel more surveys than usual this year due to inclement weather and holidays.

150 crabs were tagged at the following Guilford beaches:  Indian Cove Public Beach, Indian Cove Private Beach, Shell Beach,Joshua Cove, Chaffinch Island, and Grass Island.

We found 34 recaptures.  Recaptures are crabs which have been previously tagged.

I would like to thank the volunteers who helped with the project at all hours of the day and night, in all kinds of weather.  This study could not be done without you.

                                             2010                     2011                  2012                   2013            

Total crabs tagged-            370                       975                     240                     150

Total recaptures-                  26                        262                       61                       34

                                             2010                    2011                   2012                   2013

Total crabs counted 

during surveys -                   151                      171                     165                       49




Total number of 
surveys conducted           2010                   2011                   2012                   2013

                                                  23                       24                        21                       16


Average number               2010                   2011                   2012                   2013 
of crabs per 
survey                                     6.5                       7.1                      7.8                       3.0


       

Purple Martin Banding at Hammonasset Beach State Park

Geoff Krukar, avian researcher with DEEP, was at Hammonasset Beach State Park banding this year's purple martin chicks. Each bird is banded with a Federal numbered band on one leg and with a colored State band on the other leg. Geoff explains the banding protocol in this video by Jim Murtagh.

Of Garters and Ribbons

A snake basks in a sunny spot on a fallen log or in the foliage of a low shrub beside a shallow wetland. Your first impression: garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis). But a second look (quick, before it slips away into the water) reveals three very well defined yellow stripes down its dark back and sides. There are no dark splotches or other markings to interfere with its clean yellow and black lines. Its slim head is black, but its face below the eyes is pure white. Unlike the stout garter snake, its body is sleek and its tail is extraordinarily long. This is not the ubiquitous garter snake, but the uncommon eastern ribbon snake (Thamnophis s. sauritus). 

The eastern ribbon snake ranges from southeastern Maine and eastern Pennsylvania south to northern Georgia. Disjunct populations occur west to Ohio snakes, year of the snake,eastern ribbon snakeand south to the Gulf Coast. It is locally uncommon in southern New England, with Connecticut’s largest populations occurring in shallow wetlands near basalt (trap rock) ridges. Open shrubby or grassy areas along wooded swamps, fens, bogs, vernal pools, streams and ponds are the perfect habitat for this snake, though not a guarantee that any reside there.

The eastern ribbon snake is active from April to October after having hibernated among trap rock ridges, the gravel of railroad beds, or in other sheltered upland areas near its preferred wetland habitat. It grows up to 36 inches in length, averaging about 26 inches. (Females tend to be larger than males.) The female ribbon snake does not lay eggs, but gives birth to live young during July and August. The three to 20 young are born in a single litter and average about eight inches in length. They will reach maturity in two to three years. 

This snake preys on frogs, salamanders, small fish, and invertebrates, such as insects and spiders. It swims along the surface of the water rather than diving and tends to avoid areas of deep water. A disturbance, such as your presence, will cause the ribbon snake to slide quickly into the water or to disappear through the shoreline vegetation. Very often all you will see is the last few inches of its very long tail as it makes a hasty retreat.

The ribbon snake is listed as a species of special concern in Connecticut. This designation is given to any native plant or animal species that has a naturally restricted range or habitat in the state, has a low population level or its population would be detrimentally affected by unregulated collection, or a species that has been extirpated from the state. Help to protect the ribbon snake by leaving it where you found it, and by preserving its wetland habitats.

Submitted by Cindi Kobak

Image: Wikipedia

(From the July 2013 newsletter.)

Citizen Science: Marine Debris Tracker

Summer is here and millions of people worldwide will be heading to beaches and waterways for sun and fun. Will they find clean beaches and clear waterways?

With bottles, cans, abandoned or lost fishing gear and other marine debris washing up on our shores each year, the University of Georgia and NOAA have teamed up to create a new, innovative cell phone reporting mechanism to combat the marine debris problem. This high-tech tool, or app, tracks where marine debris is accumulating and gives anyone with a “smart phone” an opportunity to be a part of the solution.

The easy-to-use Marine Debris Tracker app can be downloaded free for use on iPhones and Android phones. The simple tool allows users to report the type of debris and its location through GPS features pre-installed on a cell phone. The data reported are posted at marinedebris.engr.uga.edu for viewing and downloading. The app also encourages users to recycle or properly dispose of the trash they find.

Jenna Jambeck, assistant professor for the Faculty of Engineering at UGA and one of the app’s developers, says the app is one way the initiative is trying to reach people and raise awareness of marine debris.

infographics.ws

Marine debris can kill or injure wildlife when animals ingest it or become entangled in it. The debris can also have an economic impact on the tourism industry and other coastal businesses by affecting the beauty and cleanliness of beaches and waterways. Jambeck and codeveloper Kyle Johnsen, her colleague from the Faculty of Engineering at UGA, hope that the Marine Debris Tracker tool will help officials make decisions about how to handle marine trash — from supplying extra trash cans to providing opportunities to recycle or dispose of abandoned or lost fishing line and other gear.

Marine Debris Tracker does not have to be used within 3G, wifi, or cell range. Since the majority of debris tracking might take place in remote areas or even on the water, you can log and track as many items as you want and store the data. Then you can upload them later once you are back in 3G/wifi/cell signal.

Marine Debris Tracker is designed exactly for beach cleanup data collection. Instead of the paper data card you would normally use to mark items you find, you simply open the app on your phone, choose items from the list as you find them and log them. The list of items you found will be sent to our database once you submit your data from that day. 

Marine Debris Tracker can be used for regular beach cleanups or just log any debris item you see when you casually visit the beach. If you feel it is safe, you can also pick it up and recycle or dispose of it properly. Do not try to pick up large items, dead animals or anything that you suspect to be hazardous. You can also follow some very general guidelines. Try to pick a beach location that you can monitor regularly (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly) at the same general time. Then walk the same area (both horizontally and vertically) each time using Marine Debris Tracker to log (and hopefully picking up using gloves and a trash bag) the debris items that you find. You might want to make note of any major storm events or any other noticeable factors (wind, etc.) that might be influencing the debris that day. You can keep track of your marine debris data over time and then examine trends, etc. These are good activities for students to conduct too.

(From the July 2013 newsletter.)

Menunkatuck Uses Solar-powered Sound Systems to Attract Purple Martins, Chimney Swifts

Menunkatuck Audubon Society installed a solar-powered sound system at the Guilford Salt Meadows Sanctuary to attract purple martins to establish a new colony. A second system was installed at Hammonasset Beach State Park to attract chimney swifts to nest in the artificial chimney at the shorebird pool bird blind.

At the Sanctuary the purple martin house has had fly-over martins every spring, but none have nested. Again, there have been fly-overs of chimney swifts, but no nesting.

Solar-powered sound system at the Guilford Salt Meadows Sanctuary.

According to the Purple Martin Conservation Association, “The Dawnsong has proven to be one of the most powerful tools used today to attract martins to a new site. It is the recording of ASY (after second year), or adult black male martins singing a song in the predawn hours that is used to lure subadult martins (those that were raised last year) to their colony site. Anyone that uses this tape can tell you that IT WORKS.” Research by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Department of Natural Resources in Minnesota shows that playing recordings of Chimney Swift vocalizations results in swifts investigating artificial chimneys. 

An ASY purple martin (left) perches next to a decoy as it investigated the apartment.

The challenge with using sound recording at both the Sanctuary and at Hammonasset is that there is no access to a source of electricity. The solution is to use a solar-powered sound system. A suitable sound system is used by Audubon’s Project Puffin in Maine and by other seabird restoration projects that are typically located on isolated islands with no electricity. Murremaid Music Boxes builds custom sound systems for attracting birds throughout the world.

The solar panel for the chimney swift tower sound system is mounted on the roof of the bird blind.

Funds for the two sound systems came from an Audubon Collaborative Grant, a mini-grant from the Connecticut Ornithological Society, and matching funds from our members’ donations.

The Sanctuary sound system has attracted purple martins to investigate the apartments, however as of June 26, there are none nesting. The system at Hammonasset was installed late in the migration season and has not attracted any swifts. It will be used again during fall migration when swifts roost communally. Research indicates that swifts will use fall roost sites for nesting.

Further developments will be reported in the newsletter.

(From the July 2013 newsletter)

Cicadas are coming

In the next few weeks, Connecticut will see the appearance of millions of 17-year cicadas. From Steve Grant in the Hartford Courant.

"It is amazing to see millions and millions and millions of cicadas all in one place," said Chris Simon, a professor in the department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology at the University of Connecticut and a leading cicada researcher....

From East Haven east to Madison and Killingworth and north to at least Farmington, the cicadas will emerge in late May or the first week of June, climb to the tops of trees and then, a few days later, the males, seeking a mate, sing. After mating, the females cut tiny slits in small tree branches and lay their eggs. The adults live for only two to three weeks. In late summer the eggs hatch and the nymphs burrow into the ground to begin a new 17-year cycle.

Radiolab's Cicada Tracker has a form for reporting cicada sightings and an interactive map with soil temperature reports as well as cicada reports.

The site magicicada.org supports Dr. John R.Cooley's cicada research by providing information about cicadas and a tool for reporting cicada sightings.

Cicada inmages from en.wikipedia.org.