Piping Plover morning tidal wrack line

Move Over For This Endangered Plover!

,

Piping Plover morning tidal wrack line

Great news!

I spied this Piping plover on Chocomount beach mid-week. Note the single black neck- band (breeding plumage) and sand colored camouflage. I was happy to see it feeding within the morning tidal wrack line; deposits from healthy Seagrass (Eel grass) meadows that surround Fishers Island. This shorebird species is listed as threatened in Connecticut and endangered in New York.

*Please be mindful about leashing dogs on beach walks during these nesting weeks.

– Field Note by Justine Kibbe May 10, 2018

Piping Plover

Young Gray Seal ashore on Chocomount

Young Gray Seal ashore on Chocomount

,

This seal pup has been sighted several times along Chocomount beach. While it has been documented for The Mystic Aquarium and the Stranding Network, it appears to be “resting”.

Please use wisdom and keep ALL human activity at a SAFE distance.

Please be aware and leash all dogs!

PS. This pup showed me its sharp teeth with a “snarl”. . .

– A Snippet from The Field by Justine Kibbe May 9, 2018

Scarlet Tanager

Scarlet Tanager “Revisited”

,

I found myself bicycling up east again Thursday afternoon. Lo and behold this individual bird was still dancing about the branches above Oyster Pond. I quickly hopped off to take this closer video snippet of what looks to be a “variant” adult breeding male (occasional individuals are orange) hiding within the ground cover.

– A Snippet from The Field by Justine Kibbe May 3, 2018

Scarlet Tanager

Scarlet Tanager & Wooded Habitat

,

Riding through the wooded habitat that hugs Oyster Pond, I spied this brilliant Scarlet Tanager flitting and perching from branch to branch. My Sibley Guide to Birds notes it’s an adult male with breeding plumage from Mar-Aug; otherwise it dons rich yellow colored feathers with black wings.

I look forward to joining the Fishers Island Conservancy Spring Bird Count Sunday May 6th at 8am-each year learning more and more about my fine-feathered friends.

– Field Note by Justine Kibbe May 4, 2018

Adult Male Scarlet Tanager by Justine Kibbe

Queen Isabella Beach

,

It’s funny growing up on Fishers Island; often times we forget to take notice and appreciation of the unique names of the very beaches that are so much a part of our daily lives. Here she is – the Queen. And she’s got the royal “wave” down…but more importantly she rules over healthy Sea grass meadows. Just about 400 healthy acres of eelgrass are left that surround us Islanders within Long Island Sound. So don’t forget Please Preserve & Protect, because we rule…

– A Snippet from The Field by Justine Kibbe May 2, 2018

Proud Parents Mute Swans

Proud Parents of 6 Cygnets

,

I caught up with the pair of Mute swan (March Field Note jottings) while up east along the bike path bridge nearing the Big Club. It was such a warm spring afternoon with buds and blossoms bursting. I imagined this pair was bursting as well-with pride for their brood.

– A Snippet from The Field by Justine Kibbe

Ribbon & Balloon Debris-Tying in with Island Stewardship

,

Marine debris is very apparent clogged within harbors, coves, and washed ashore on all beaches of Fishers Island. While most items of trash are more obvious, I include here the most insidious…ribbon and balloon along with fishing line, which have become a constant observation in any daily data collected. This incoming debris is slowly but steadily becoming treacherous to sea life and shorebirds that “are” our Island. Here is recent culprit on Big Club beach & older photo of entangled bird on South beach.

– Field Note by Justine Kibbe May 2, 2018

Fishing Line Debris

controlled burn

2018 Grassland Restoration Controlled Burn

,

2018 controlled burn at Battery Marcy, east of the airport. Jane Ahrens Photo

The Fishers Island Fire Department, in coordination with FIConservancy, annually conducts controlled or “prescribed” burns in the Parade Grounds and surrounding areas that are part of the Conservancy’s Grassland Restoration project.

Fire is necessary to maintain grassland, and different sections are burned on a rotating basis every three years, with careful exclusion of nesting bird areas.

John Sargent wrote a thoughtful and comprehensive story about the 2018 controlled burn.

Read story

NY Sues EPA Over Long Island Sound Dumping Site

,

For updates to the lawsuit intended to protect the Long Island Sound Estuary, filed in August 2017, including the recent update on April 16, 2018, please visit fishersisland.net