Field Trips

Woodcocks And Cider

Jared Eliot Preserve, Guilford

Saturday, March 15, 6:30-8:00 p.m.

The American Woodcock, also known as the “Timberdoodle”, is a common yet elusive member of the shorebird family, unique because its primary habitat is wooded uplands.  In early spring, male woodcocks can be seen and heard at dusk along the edges of woodland meadows performing their rather peculiar courtship display.  Join us on a prowl through the Guilford Land Trust’s Jared Eliot Preserve in search of woodcocks.  Then enjoy a cup of hot cider after the walk.

Be prepared for wet/muddy footing, please wear waterproof boots!  Please bring binoculars, a flashlight or headlamp, and a mug for a hot beverage after the walk. Rain or bad weather the day of the trip cancels, and we will postpone until Sunday March 16 at the same time.  

Directions:  From the Guilford Green, follow Water Street (Route 146 Westbound) for 1 mile.  Make a left onto Mulberry Point Road.  Make the first left onto Mulberry Farms Road and park along the road next to the field. (Map)

Birdwatching and Geology Walks at East Rock Park

Sunday, April 6, 8:00 a.m. (Bird walk), and 10:30 a.m. (Geology walk) 

(Rain date Sunday April 13, at the same times)

Birder and geologist Nina Levenduski will lead two walks exploring the natural world of New Haven’s East Rock Park.  The first walk will focus on birds, looking for early spring migrants and lingering winter birds in the park.  The second walk will uncover the geology of East Rock and the surrounding landscape.  Both walks will begin at the Eli Whitney Museum parking lot, and will cover 1-2 miles of varied terrain; the geology walk will include steeper trails and hill climbing.  Beginners welcome!  Please wear sturdy shoes or boots, and bring water and a snack.  Binoculars, hand lens, camera, and field guides are recommended but not required.

In case of bad weather, the walks will be rescheduled to the following Sunday (April 13)

Directions:  Meet in the parking lot of the Eli Whitney Museum at 915 Whitney Avenue, Hamden for both walks. (Map)

To register for either trip, please contact Nina Levenduski at nina@menunkatuck.org.

(From the March, 2014 newsletter.)

Bio Bits:Early Blossoming Shadbush

The shad migration heralds in spring for many people in New England, as does the flowering of an understory tree known as shadbush (Amelanchier canadensis). Since these two events coincide, early settlers gave the tree its common name that forever associates it with the upstream spawning migration of the fish. 

Shadbush is a species of serviceberry that grows across much of the eastern United States. There are dozens of species of serviceberry (Amelanchier) found in North America, Europe and Asia. Though most are shrubs, some are considered small trees. These members of the rose family can grow up to 30 feet tall, but our local shadbush usually reaches heights of only 20 feet. Its multi-stemmed trunk and its habit of sending out suckers allow the shrub to spread to form a thicket. Look for it in damp areas of the forest understory. 

Racemes of snowy white flowers crowd the tips of the shadbush’s branches in early spring, just as its leaves are about to unfurl. These short-lived blossoms attract bees and other insects to pollinate them. Then, sadly, the five narrow petals of individual flowers will delicately drift to the ground as the blossoms fade. Small berrylike fruit will form in their place over the next couple of months, turning from red to a dark purple-black when ripe. 

Another common name for shadbush is Juneberry, in celebration of the early summer ripening of its fruit. Edible and quite delicious, the fruits are used in jams and pies. They were also collected and dried by Native Americans and early European colonists to be added to pemmican, a dried meat and suet food staple. But humans are not the only creatures who love shadbush fruits. Numerous birds, such as the gray catbird; American robin; eastern bluebird; veery; wood thrush; cedar waxwing; mourning dove; downy, hairy, and red-bellied woodpeckers; tufted titmouse; scarlet tanager; rose-breasted grosbeak; and wild turkey appreciate these ripe fruits so early in the season.  

This native tree is a great addition to a homeowner’s natural landscape plan. In addition to its early spring blossoms, the fruits are sure to attract many birds to your yard, often simultaneously. One homeowner in North Guilford witnessed six different species of birds crowding together in her shadbush to share in the bounty. 

Submitted by Cindi Kobak

Images: www.hort.uconn.edu/plants/.

Menunkatuck Audubon will have shadbush available to order from our Plant Sale for the Birds this spring.

Please visit our website www.menunkatuck.org for an order form.

(From the March, 2014 newsletter.)

The Atlantic Flyway

Corrie Folsom-O’Keefe, Audubon Connecticut’s IBA Coordinator, reports on wintering shorebirds in the Bahamas

In Connecticut, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began monitoring Piping Plovers in 1986 when the species first received protection under the Endangered Species Act. The CT DEEP Wildlife Division added their expertise with the passing of the Connecticut Endangered Species Act in 1989. The Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds joined the USFWS and the Wildlife Division and with the help of an amazing group of volunteers have been stewarding Piping Plovers and other beach-nesting birds along the Connecticut shoreline since 2012. Working together, staff, field technicians, and volunteers exclose nests, protecting them from predators; put up string fencing to reduce disturbance in nesting areas; and engage beachgoers and municipalities about beach-nesting species, the threats they face, and how to help. Through these efforts, the number of pairs of Piping Plover nesting in the state has slowly increased.

Protecting Piping Plover on their nesting grounds is very important to species recovery, but we also need to think about the species and the habitat it uses during migration and over the winter. Until very recently little was known about the locations used by Piping Plover in winter. The 2006 discovery of 400 Piping Plovers in the Bahamas by Audubon and the Bahamas National Trust triggered a closer look at the nation’s 700 islands and roughly 2,000 cays. During a 2011 census, researchers found over 1,000 Piping Plovers--perhaps 20% of the entire Atlantic Coast population--concentrated in one small cluster of Bahamian islands--Andros Island, the Joulter Cays (now a globally Important Bird Area), and the Berry Islands. The census filled in a huge gap in our understanding of these engaging and imperiled birds.

In January I joined National Audubon Society staff from along the Atlantic Flyway pitching in to locate additional sites important to Piping Plover and other shorebirds in the Bahamas. Traveling by flat bottom skiffs and on foot we inventoried shorebirds and other waterbirds on mudflats and along the edges of mangrove islands. 

Over the course of the five days we spend in East Grand Bahama, we were able to locate 526 Short-billed Dowitcher (possibly enough to qualify the area as a continentally Important Bird Area), 276 Least Sandpipers, 148 Semipalmated Plover, 50 Sanderling, approximately 75 Black-bellied Plover, 20 Ruddy Turnstone, 12 American Oystercatchers, between 7-14 Piping Plover, and 6 Wilson’s Plover.

The data not only increases our knowledge of shorebird wintering habitat but also will be used by the Bahamas National Trust to determine whether the area should be designated as a National Park. 

Surveying for shorebirds on their wintering grounds in East Grand Bahama was an awesome opportunity and I look forward to sharing my stories while on the beaches of Connecticut this summer.

(A longer version of this report is at goo.gl/1qnkfA.)

(Corrie will be at the March public meeting recruiting volunteers to assist with summer shorebird monitoring and spread the word about the Forest Bird Habitat Assessments that Audubon will be offering for landowners.)

(From the March, 2014 newsletter.)

Citizen Science: Wildlife Health Event Reporter

The Wildlife Health Event Reporter, www.wher.org, is a web-based application created to record wildlife observations by citizens concerned about dead or sick wildlife.

Early detection of disease events that affect wildlife is often difficult to achieve. There must be observers in the area to take note of the event, and have knowledge of what to do with that information, as well as beat scavengers to the evidence. To help address this need, the Wildlife Data Integration Network (WDIN) developed WHER.

After wildlife disease events are recorded in WHER, these observations are joined with other wildlife sightings and are viewable in tabular reports or on a map, enabling people to see where similar events are happening.

Why Collect this Information?

Seventy-five percent of recent emerging infectious diseases in humans began as animal infections and most of these have involved wildlife. With the help of citizens, this system can collect timely and useful information about wildlife mortality events (e.g. date, location, and affected species).

These data are integrated and summarized by the system to provide essential information for better understanding wildlife disease patterns and their potential impact on wildlife, human, and domestic animal health.

How Can Citizen Scientists Help?

Individuals can help with this wildlife health surveillance effort by reporting their sightings of sick/dead wild animals to WHER.

After creating an account, users can begin entering their observations. The system will guide them step by step through the process. Data recorded includes: 

• Date and location 
• Species of animal(s) involved 
• Actions taken 
• Additional event observations 
• Images of species involved or environment surroundings of event

After a user completes a report, contact information and a description of observations of interest for the area’s local wildlife agency is provided, if available. The details usually include what kind of events the group is interested in and who to contact directly. This extra effort to make direct contact when suggested will help control out-breaks more quickly and may curtail their spread. Users can also contribute reports to WHER using their smartphone. HealthMap.org has enhanced its application, “Outbreaks Near Me,” to collect and provide animal disease reports to WHER. The mobile application captures similar data elements that the web-based WHER application collects.

Visit the About page on the WHER web site at www.wher.org.

(From the March, 2014 newsletter.)

Monarch Butterflies and Other Pollinators Are Declining – But We Can Help

As we could tell from their scarcity in our area last year, monarch butterflies are declining across their range. In early February, 2014, news reports from Mexico stated that the number of monarchs in the wintering area was the lowest ever recorded. The population of wintering migrants is measured by the number of acres of forest that the monarchs occupy. This winter there are only 1.65 acres with monarchs, a 44% decline over 2012-2013.

Researchers have identified several possible reasons for this alarming reduction in the number of monarchs. Climate change and resulting weather that makes reproduction difficult is one. Deforestation in the Mexican wintering areas is another. A third is the use of genetically engineered crops on which glyphosate herbicides can be sprayed. The herbicides are wiping out milkweed, the only plant on which monarch larvae feed.

Monarch butterfly on common milkweed.

As individuals, we cannot do much about climate change or deforestation in Mexico, but we can about the milkweed that monarchs need to survive. Planting milkweed in our gardens and encouraging our friends and neighbors to do the same can help alleviate the larval food problem.

Also troubling is the alarming drop in the number and biodiversity of native pollinators — bees and wasps, flies, butterflies and moths, and beetles. For example, a 2011 study reports that four species of North American bumble bees have had population declines of as much as 96% in the last 100 years and their ranges have restricted significantly (goo.gl/cmXf5Y). The Xerces Society Red List identifies the rusty patch bumble bee as Imperiled (at high risk of extinction) and the yellow banded bumble bee as Critically Imperiled (at very high risk of extinction). 

One of the primary reasons for the low pollinator numbers is loss of habitat. Here again we can do something to help. Pollinators have two requirements, food and nest sites. Native flowering shrubs and perennials will provide the nectar and pollen that they need from spring through fall. Nest sites can be patches of bare ground, brush piles, bundles of hollow reeds, or a nest block.

Pollinators will also be helped by avoiding the use of pesticides which either kill insects directly or impair their ability to reproduce.

Menunkatuck’s Plant Sale for the Birds is offering pollinator-friendly perennials as well as bird- and pollinator-friendly shrubs. Start your pollinator garden this spring. See the Plant Sale brochure in this newsletter or visit menunkatuck.org.

(For more about the decline in the monarch butterfly and wild bee populations, see Yale Environment 360 - goo.gl/kGHR86 and  goo.gl/HW97zI.)

(From the March, 2014 newsletter.)