Shoreline Superstars Embrace Adopt-A-Beach Competition

(l-r) The Kinsolving/Farrar family, the Tombari/Enright family and (not pictured) the Webel family collected the most marine debris this summer in FIConservancy’s Adopt-A-Beach competition.

FIConservancy’s first community marine debris program was a great success thanks to all who participated. We’re thrilled to announce that the Kinsolving/Farrar, Tombari/Enright and Webel families collected the most marine debris throughout the season. Please join us in celebrating these shoreline superstars!

With the help of all those who joined in, we’re off to a great start expanding our coverage and collection of marine debris, helping to protect our waters and wildlife. But this is a never-ending process.

FIConservancy has cleared and hauled away over 10 tons of marine debris in the past two years alone. We are lucky and grateful to have Michele Klimczak, FIConservancy’s Marine Debris Coordinator, clearing this pollution year-round, sorting, weighing, reusing whatever possible in creative ways and properly disposing of the rest. But Michele is just one person, and there is more shoreline to cover and more debris than she alone can collect.

We hope you’ll continue to “bring a bag” when you visit the beach anytime of year. You can reach out to Michele to coordinate pick up or label your bag (your name, date and shoreline location) and leave it in the FIConservancy truck when it’s parked by the movie theater. Michele was recently off-Island for a month and shared the following anecdote:

“While I was away, folks were texting and emailing me so I had them dump the debris into the back of the truck. When I got back, I sorted over 90 pounds of debris collected in my absence, which was the best homecoming gift!”

We’re so encouraged and heartened by this story and how the Fishers Island community comes together to make a difference. Let’s keep it up! We’re looking forward to engaging even more of our community in this effort next summer.

The destructive spotted lanternfly: Wings open and wings closed.

Be on the lookout for the colorful but treacherous spotted lanternfly (SLF). Relatively new to the U.S., it is an invasive insect from China that is known to feed on 70 different types of plants and trees. SLF adults emerge in July and are active until the first hard frost.

This insect was first spotted in Pennsylvania in 2014, and by July 2021 had spread to about half of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, eastern Ohio and Indiana.

Closer to home, the the SLF has been found in western Connecticut, parts of New York state, and on Sept. 29, Rhode Island reported a second credible sighting in West Greenwich, RI. This insect usually spreads by hopping rides on vehicles as they move from state to state.

The U.S. Dept of Agriculture has issued a thorough SLF Pest Alert pdf with information about the SLF and what you can do about it. If you see an SLF, take pictures and report it to New York State via its SLF reporting form. Scraping its grey egg masses from trees and man-made outdoor items is vital to slowing its spread. Egg masses can be double bagged and discarded, or placed in alcohol or bleach to kill them.

Indicating the significance of this dangerous pest, FIConservancy posted advance warnings about the SLF in 2018 and 2020.

Thanks for your help.

Mystic Aquarium’s Animal Rescue Program is offering virtual training to become a First Responder on Fishers Island.

FIConservancy, working with the Animal Rescue Program, will store supplies on Fishers Island, should they be needed in case an animal is beached or requires transportation to the aquarium for care. (See picture of animal rescue supplies below.)

Sarah Callan, Assistant Manager of Mystic Aquarium’s Animal Rescue Program welcomes potential volunteers:

There is no obligation. Start the process and watch the training video. It’s fine if you decide being a First Responder is not for you. You only become a responder in our system once you complete the quiz and sign up for our Google Classroom (details below).

There is no time commitment. When we receive an animal distress call on our hotline, we search our system for First Responders on Fishers Island. We will start calling our list of responders to see who is available. If you are, great! If you aren’t, no worries. We move on to the next person on our list. If you are available to respond, you will log the hours you volunteer for that day on our online “Better Impact” system.

It’s easy to get started:

First, click here to sign up on Mystic Aquarium’s new volunteer “Better Impact” database page.

Next, click here to view the training video.

The following links will take you to documents that explain the process in further detail:

Guide to becoming a First Responder

Important Dates

First responders are an integral part of our program. We look forward to having you on our team!

Sarah Callan
Assistant Manager, Animal Rescue Program
55 Coogan Boulevard
Mystic, Connecticut 06355
Office: 860-572-5955 x 134
Cell: 860-625-1169
Hotline: 860-572-5955 x 107
www.mysticaquarium.org

FIConservancy, working with the Animal Rescue Program, will store supplies on Fishers Island, should they be needed in case an animal is beached or requires transportation to the aquarium for care. Email FIConservancy’s Stephanie Hall (fiskhall@gmail.com) with questions, sightings or for assistance.

Fall 2021 Migratory Bird Count

(l-r) Barred owl and red-tailed hawk are often spotted on Migratory Bird Counts. Justine Kibbe Photos

Mark your calendars for the 2021 Fall Migratory Bird Count Sunday, Sept. 19, 8 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Meet at the Island Community Center. Bring binoculars.

Following Audubon bird count rules, birders will make 15 five-minute stops from West End to East End. At each timed stop, birders count birds and call out what they see.

Results from bird counts help scientists and conservation organizations chart bird populations and help us get a sense of the prevalence of different bird species in our area.

We’re fortunate that Fishers Island is on the Atlantic Flyway, a major north-south flyway for migratory birds in North America. Migrating songbirds descend on woods and thickets, along ponds and next to streams, to feed on the insects that fuel their migrations.

University of Delaware team of Emily Baisden and Will Almeida will lead the bird count and answer all questions about migratory birds.

View Fishers Island Moths With An Expert

(l-r) Small-eyed sphinx and green marvel moths. Images captured on Fishers Island by nationally-recognized Delaware entomologist Doug Tallamy.

Don’t miss a rare opportunity to marvel at the numbers and diversity of moths on Fishers Island this Friday night July 16 from 9 p.m.-10 p.m. (and later!) outside the State Troopers barracks adjacent to the Parade Grounds.

Texas entomologist Adam Mitchell PhD is organizing and presenting the Moth Event. Dr. Mitchell is intimately familiar with the flora and fauna of Fishers Island having spent several summers here preparing his PhD thesis.

“We will be setting up a mercury vapor lamp, which projects light with high lumen (light) capacity. This should attract moths, beetles and other nocturnal insects to a bedsheet that we will hang near the lamp to provide a place for insects to rest,” Dr. Mitchell said.

“Large moths start to take flight between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. and continue until dawn. The mercury vapor lamp will be on all night, as different species take flight at different times. Our purpose is to determine the diversity of native moths on the Island and to continue developing a species inventory for FIConservancy.

“I’ll be near the sheet likely until midnight and will return before dawn to take photos, inventory, and remove the sheet–otherwise the birds will have a very bountiful breakfast!”

Continue learning about flora and fauna Saturday, July 17 at 10 a.m., when Dr.Mitchell will lead a walking tour of native grasslands at the Parade Grounds.

Carpenter Bees Are Important Native Pollinators

Carpenter bees not only drill through wood, but they also pollinate flowers. They are easily identified by their large size and sleek black abdomens as opposed to smaller bumble bees that have fuzzy black and gold striped abdomens.

Many people think of carpenter bees as nuisance insects that require extermination. In fact, these bees are important native pollinators.

It’s difficult to keep that in mind when this largest of native bees is boring perfectly round holes into the eaves, posts, beams, and/or decks of your home. Prevention, however, is the key to protection.

One way to keep some carpenter bees a safe distance from your home is to pound a 2 x 4 of unfinished wood into a corner of your property. Above video taken by FIConservancy President Tom Sargent shows that this technique has proven successful on Fishers Island!

Carpenter bees love untreated wood, so all exposed wood surfaces should be painted with a primer and two coats of exterior paint. Stains and varnishes also offer some protection but are less effective than paint.

Prevention is best done in early spring before nesting activity begins, and holes should be filled in the fall, only after the bees have emerged from the nest.

These bees will not eat your house like carpenter ants or termites. They do not eat wood but rather drill through it to create space to lay eggs and often will return annually to the same nesting area. The damage they cause is usually minor and cosmetic in nature. But over time, if left unchecked, the damage can worsen and lead to more serious problems.

Large male bees buzz around the nest to protect the nesting area, but they have no stingers. The females have stingers, and will sting only when provoked.

Carpenter bees are vital to our native plant communities and gardens, feeding on nectar and transferring pollen. With a decline in native bee pollinators due to diseases, pests, pesticides, stress and malnutrition, maintaining a healthy population of carpenter bees is more important than ever.

Marine Debris Repurposed!

(Clockwise) Geb Cook, District Manager of FIFerry District; Michele Klimczak, FIConservancy’s Marine Debris Coordinator; full length of fencing installed on South Beach; rolled fencing that washed up on Fishers Island. Michele Klimczak and Geb Cook Photos

In late April, Michele Klimczak discovered a roll of wooden fencing that had washed up on a beach in the area of Clay Point Road. Michele, FIConservancy’s Marine Debris Coordinator, has cleared tons of marine debris from Fishers Island shores in recent years.

“I think this fencing is from Ocean Beach in New London,” Michele said. “It’s not unusual for their fencing to roll into the water. I try to reuse and repurpose what I can and had a great idea for this fencing!

“Why not install it on South Beach to protect the nesting area of shorebirds!

“The fencing was partially buried, and I couldn’t budge it. So I asked Joe Brock if he could use his machinery with a digger scoop to pull it out of the sand. He gladly offered to help, dug up the fencing and dumped it into the back of my truck.”

Geb Cook, District Manager of FIFerry District and Gordon Murphy, FIFerry Business Manager, helped Michele carry and install the fencing at Bud’s Hole/Sanctuary of Sands. Geb and Gordon brought supports for the fencing and a tool to secure them in the ground.

Geb and Michele cleared and hauled away all of the cans and plastic waste from the brush in and around the dune that is a nesting ground for shorebirds. The fence is meant to deter walkers from climbing the dune. A bright yellow nesting bird sign is posted on the fence for an extra measure of caution.

“This was truly a team effort!” Michele said.

Sanctuary of Sands on South Beach adjacent to Elizabeth Airport runway is part of the area, including the Parade Grounds, owned by the Town of Southold and managed by the FIFerry District. This area is also part of FIConservancy’s 12-year program to restore and maintain grasslands.