Osprey Platform in Guilford Repaired

On October 13, Menunkatuck's Terry Shaw repaired this Osprey platform along the West River just south of the Jared Eliot Preserve in Guilford.

Although all four supports looked good from 100 yards, three of them weren't attached at ground level and two of them were separated.

From a distance the support looked OK. However, it was not attached to the support post.

Four new support posts were driven into he marsh 4' deep with our custom driver (two minutes each!). The posts are 5' long with one foot above ground.The braces were through bolted to the original supports with 1/2" galvanized bolts.

One of the side boards was removed and a new one installed. The sheet metal predator guard will be replaced later.

Because the original nest was so large that it made the platform too top heavy, about 70% of the nesting material was removed.

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Next up is a platform across the West River just south of the Guilford Yacht Club. This one is in such bad repair that it will be replaced. If you can volunteer to help, please let us know. Email terry@menunkatuck.org. And do not forget that we still need the locations of Osprey platforms in the area. Complete the survey at http://goo.gl/X1igQg

We also need financial support for these repairs. We have received a generous donation that will cover most of the replacement costs for what we call the GYC platform. There are many other platforms that will need fixing before the Ospreys return in March. Mail your check to Menunkatuck Audubon Society, PO Box 214, Guilford, CT 06437. You can also donate on line at JustGIve

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


       

Menunkatuck Supports ‘Adopt A Book’ In Guilford

The Guilford Library continues seeking donations toward the purchase of new books for their children’s room. Menunkatuck Audubon again answered that call to ‘Adopt a Book’ by donating biographies of two of our most influential naturalists: by Peggy Thomas, with wonderful illustrations by Laura Jacques, and Rachel Carson and Her Book That Changed the World by Laurie Lawlor and illustrated by Laura Beingessner. And we couldn’t resist donating As the Crow Flies by Sheila Keenan, a whimsical, rhyming, spot-on portrayal of these intelligent birds appropriate for younger kids.

Book plates have been placed in each of these books with the Menunkatuck Audubon Society named as donor. Be sure to share them with a favorite kid this coming year when you visit the Guilford Library.

Thank you to our members, whose support made this donation possible.

Project Limulus: 2012 Horseshoe Crab Population Survey Summary

I am sorry to report that it was a disappointing spring for Menunkatuck’s Project Limulus  volunteers, especially after last year when we tagged 975 crabs.  Our total tagged for this year was only 240.  The crabs just weren’t there!  This would have been of greater concern to us had we not learned that Short Beach in Branford was crawling with them!  Heather Smiarowski, a Beach Captain for The Branford Land Trust, reported that they almost had more crabs than they could handle.  I wondered if Guilford’s lack of crabs could have been due to reconfiguration of the bottom of the Sound caused by Hurricane Irene.  I asked Dr. Mark Beekey, one of the Sacred Heart professors in charge of Project Limulus, and he said that it is not unusual for the crabs to show up in an area one year and then go somewhere else the next year.  We don’t know why this happens. Finding answers to questions like this is one of the reasons we are doing the study.

Recapture numbers were considerably less in Guilford as well.  A recapture is a crab which has already been tagged.  We found only 61 recaptures compared to 262 found last year.

Guilford’s Project Limulus team surveyed the two beaches at Indian Cove a total of 21 times.  We also met on two extra days for tagging only.  Crabs were tagged at the following Guilford beaches: Indian Cove Public, Indian Cove Private, Shell Beach, Joshua Cove, and Grass Island.  Our 2012 survey period began on May 3rd. and ended on July 1st.  We found the greatest number of crabs on May18th.  It is interesting to note that horseshoe crabs were sighted by volunteers as early as April 15th.   This was approximately one month earlier than the past 3 years and was probably related to the mild winter and warmer than average spring temperatures.  One hypotheses to explain our lower crab numbers this year was that we had missed a couple of weeks of tagging because the tags weren’t available until the beginning of May.  This idea, however, seemed to be negated by the fact that Branford continued to find large numbers of crabs throughout May and June. 

I think it is also interesting to note that during the actual beach surveys, which follow a prescribed protocol according to specific dates and tides, the number of crabs counted,(165), was not significantly different from last year’s count of 171.  I don’t know how to explain this.  All of my seasoned volunteers agreed that we really did see less crabs this year. 

New this year, were two visits to local schools.  Accompanied by a pair of live horseshoe crabs,my husband, Vaughn, and I gave presentations about Project Limulus to the students at the King-Robinson Magnet School in New Haven and at Rockville High School in Vernon.  It was great to see the students "getting up close and personal" with the horseshoe crabs! 

  

I can’t say thank you enough to my great team of volunteers for their time, enthusiasm, and dedication.  Here’s hoping that the crabs will decide to come back to Guilford next year!   I look forward to seeing you then.

We are always happy to have new volunteers.  If you are interested, please contact judy@menunkatuck.org.  For more information about Project Limulus, go to info@projectlimulus.org. 

                                       2010                     2011                  2012

Total crabs tagged-       370                       975                    240

Total recaptures-             26                        262                      61

                                        2010                    2011                  2012

Total crabs counted 

during surveys -              151                      171                    165                   

2010

Indian Cove Public Beach              Indian Cove Private Beach    

Single males-4                                  Single males-13

Single females-1                               Single females- 4

Pairs-30                                              Pairs-19

Female with 2 males-2                    Female with 2 males-3

Female with 3 males-0                    Female with 3 males-4

Total crabs-71                                   Total crabs-80

2011

Single males-19                              Single males-6

Single females-9                             Single females-1

Pairs-41                                            Pairs-13

Female with 2 males-7                  Female with 2 males-1

Female with 3 males-1                  Female with 3 males-0                                                                                                                 Total crabs-135                               Total crabs-36

                                                                                                                                                              

                                                                                                                                                      

2012

Single males-15                               Single males-7

Single females-4                              Single females-3

Pairs-27                                             Pairs-31                      

Female with 2 males-5                   Female with 2 males-0

Female with 3 males-0                   Female with 3 males-0

Females with 4 males-1                 Female with 4 males-0

Total crabs-93                                  Total crabs-72

Three Chapter Area Schools Embrace Audubon Schoolyard Habitat Program

Michelle Frankel and Taralynn Reynolds describe a program for children

King-Robinson Magnet School in New Haven and Melissa Jones Elementary School and Abraham Baldwin Middle School in Guilford are embracing the Audubon Schoolyard Habitat Program.

Melissa Jones students admire the Habitat Recognition sign that the school was awarded for its adoption of the Audubon At Home healthy habitat program.

The Audubon Schoolyard Habitat Program develops healthy schoolyard habitats for children and wildlife by providing schools with the guidance, training, and resources to create habitat for wildlife on the school grounds and integrate place-based nature education into the curriculum. The program is well aligned with the children and youth programmatic priorities at the schools. Access to a schoolyard habitat will provide all children at the school with access to nature on a daily basis and help them understand the connections between making healthy choices for themselves and for the environment. Activities will build skills in inquiry, observation, and math using experiential techniques, enabling children to be more successful at school. They will have the opportunity to work with adults, play leadership roles and make positive decisions by participating in the Garden Stewardship committee. Family education activities will provide opportunities for families to nurture and support children’s learning and encourage families to make healthy choices at home.

Place-based nature education is critical to the development of an environmentally aware citizenry. At a time when passive indoor activities and restrictions on outdoor play dominate children’s out-of-school time, youngsters have little direct experience in nature. There is an urgent need for place-based learning about the natural world, particularly in urban areas. Richard Louv documented the nationwide epidemic of “nature deficit disorder,” linking lack of nature exposure to rise in obesity, attention disorders, and depression. The American Association for the Advancement of Science urges teachers to take science out of the textbook and into reality.

Audubon Connecticut has been awarded a grant for $23,314 from the Carolyn Foundation to develop the Schoolyard Habitat Program at King-Robinson. The grant will expand on the three-year partnership Menunkatuck has had with King-Robinson to enable the establishment of a large wildlife meadow, development of a Schoolyard Habitat Educator’s Guide, teacher training, and field trips for the school children.Carolyn Foundation to develop the Schoolyard Habitat Program at King-Robinson. The grant will expand on the three-year partnership Menunkatuck has had with King-Robinson to enable the establishment of a large wildlife meadow, development of a Schoolyard Habitat Educator’s Guide, teacher training, and field trips for the school children.

This slope at King-Robinson Magnet School will be transformed into a meadow.

The Guilford schools have each received grants from the Guilford Fund for Education.

Melissa Jones school social worker Lorrie Shaw was awarded $3500 in 2011 and has used the funds to establish a native wildflower and shrub garden that was used by the K-4 students as part of their classwork. She was also able to purchase binoculars and field guides for the students to use. Melissa Jones was awarded the Audubon at Home Habitat Recognition Award for its commitment to establishing the school as a healthy habitat.

Baldwin science teacher Sue Kennedy received $3500 this year. With the help of students from the Guilford High School Ecology Club, a monoculture courtyard area has been transformed into a garden space with native perennials and fruit bearing shrubs. A sloped area that has been ignored and is overgrown with non-native plants will become a meadow with pollinator-friendly plants. Additionally, Sue will be purchasing binoculars and field guides.

This courtyard at Baldwin Middle School is being converted from a garden of day lilies to one with a variety of native perennials and fruit-bearing shrubs.

The courtyard garden is starting to take shape.

The Schoolyard Habitat Recognition Program addresses core content standards and outdoor environmental education provides the perfect format for students to improve their scientific inquiry skills. The students will have the opportunity to describe basic natural phenomena such as the seasonal changes in plants or the life cycle of insects found in the garden.

Melissa Jones students study plants and insects in the garden.

Students will be able to use the wildlife gardens to develop authentic research projects, such as examining factors that affect plant growth, seed preferences of birds at feeders, and parental care at nest boxes. Students will use the appropriate tools including hand lenses, binoculars, tape measures, and simple data collection sheets. Students could have ‘magic spots’ where they go every week to observe seasonal changes of the gardens. Such hands-on experiences encourage students to set questions for themselves rather than simply to respond to questions set by teachers and engage in authentic research and learning experiences.

The Schoolyard Habitat gardens provide an outdoor learning space in which the students can improve their scientific inquiry skills

The first step in adopting the Audubon Schoolyard Habitat Program is an assessment of the school campus habitat followed by recommendations for making it more wildlife-friendly. Contact Taralynn Reynolds (treynolds@audubon.org) for more information about having your school become part of this exciting program.

Michelle Frankel is a Conservation Biologist and Taralynn Reynolds is the Audubon At Home Coordinator for Audubon Connecticut.