Weed Team Warriors on Parade
Field NotesFrom the Field

Love these Warriors: The Weed Team!

by fic0n5erv
The Weed Team: Erick Jones, Nickia Gibson and Ben Sammarco from the University of Delaware
Weed Team Warriors on Parade
Weed Team in the field
9 ft. Pile of weeds

Helping Fishers Island Conservancy eradicate plant invasives and restore Critical Wildlife Habitat… Erick Jones, Nickia Gibson and Ben Sammarco from the University of Delaware. “The core invasive species we’re encountering are autumn olive, oriental bittersweet, and bush honeysuckle.”

PS. Incredibly tough work within 185 acres of historic Parade Grounds-inviting more insects, butterflies and migrating birds back each year.

– from The Field by Justine Kibbe June 26, 2018.

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Mylar Maim
From the FieldVideo Snippets

Mylar Maim

by fic0n5erv

Mylar balloons floating across our Sounds are notorious for entangling and killing marine life.

This snippet was meant to show how similar the balloon can “appear” as a Jelly Fish, mistaken and ingested by Sea turtles.

Mylar balloons are devastating.

As stewards this summer, PLEASE pick-up and discard properly all debris.

– A Snippet from The Field by Justine Kibbe June 25, 2018

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Lion’s mane Jelly Fish
From the FieldVideo Snippets

Lion’s Mane Jelly Fish

by fic0n5erv

This video was taken in 2015-showing the biggest jelly fish species within Long Island and Fishers Island Sounds.

The arrival “season” for these jellies around our Island has differed these last 7 years –could be trends in climate and water temps.

*Sea Turtles depend on jelly fish as a main diet staple.

– A Snippet from The Field by Justine Kibbe June 25, 2018

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Field PhotosFrom the Field

Rightful Recovery!

by fic0n5erv

This afternoon, Sanctuary of Sands:

Breeding pair of Least Terns sighted upon Critical Habitat recently recovered from red rock graffiti.

Note the Signs of the times-tread lightly, leash dogs.

I believe these birds are as pleased as I am!

~ Photos from the Field by Justine Kibbe June 21, 2018

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Tribe Stewardship
Audio ClipsFrom the FieldStewardship

A Message for Island Stewardship

by fic0n5erv

Tribe Stewardship

PlPlease HELP remove the painted red rock Grafitti from South Beach, Fishers Island-Make the Message “Clear” For Island Stewardship!

A special thanks to Mason Horn, who provided the wire rock cage for collection and my Tribe at school for creating the laminated sign, and to Jim Ski who has offered to crush the rocks.

**Eastern tip of runway-Sanctuary of Sands.

– Audio Clip by Justine Kibbe June 5, 2018.

 

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Bird CountsNews

2018 Spring Migratory Bird Count Nets Record Number of Birds!

by fic0n5erv

FIConservancy’s 2018 Spring Migratory Bird count, held May 6 in collaboration with the National Audubon Society, was a huge success! Three hundred birds, comprising 55 species, were recorded from one end of the Island to the other, compared with 45 species recorded last spring.

[av_two_third first av_uid=’av-4t5nxy’]An overcast sky and the threat of rain did not deter a group of 13 birders in four vehicles, led by Adam Mitchell from University of Delaware. Following Audubon bird count rules, the group made 15 five-minute stops. At each timed stop, the birders would count birds and call out what they saw.

Sites with the greatest number of bird species included:

  • Race Point (15)
  • Money Pond (15)
  • Demonstration Garden/Theater (13)

“It is likely that the increased number of birds in the Parade Grounds correlates directly with the removal of invasive plants,” Mr. Mitchell said.

Although 55 is the number for the official count May 6, a few dedicated birders informally added nine more species as they scanned the sky on the ferry ride to the Island May 5 and at an informal birding tutorial that afternoon.

Birders also reported hearing an American woodcock calling out on the Parade Grounds the night before the official count.

Photo by Kristen Peterson.

Recorded bird species, both official and unofficial:

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Mallard
American Black Duck
Common Eider
Red-breasted Merganser
Ring-necked Pheasant
Common Loon
Great Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Osprey
Northern Harrier
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Greater/Lesser Yellowlegs
Herring Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Common Tern
Mourning Dove
Chimney Swift
Belted Kingfisher
Downy Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
American Kestrel
Blue Jay
American Crow
Fish Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Tufted Titmouse
White-breasted Nuthatch
Winter Wren
Carolina Wren
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
American Robin
Gray Catbird
Northern Mockingbird
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Blue-winged Warbler
Black-and-white Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Parula
Yellow Warbler
Black-throated Blue Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Chipping Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Song Sparrow
Eastern Towhee
Northern Cardinal
Baltimore Oriole
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Common Grackle
House Finch
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow
Merlin

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Piping Plover morning tidal wrack line
Field NotesFrom the Field

Move Over For This Endangered Plover!

by fic0n5erv

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

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Field NotesFrom the Field

Ribbon & Balloon Debris-Tying in with Island Stewardship

by fic0n5erv

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

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controlled burn
grasslands restorationNews

2018 Grassland Restoration Controlled Burn

by Betty Ann Rubinow

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
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Hunting for Evidence of Ancient Hurricanes
News

Hunting for Evidence of Ancient Hurricanes in Fishers Island Ponds

by fic0n5erv

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s (WHOI) Coastal Systems Group (CSG) is hunting for evidence of ancient (paleo) hurricanes, and the clues lie in the mud deposited at the bottom of these ponds. “We look for layers of sand that may have been washed over with hurricane storm surge. These layers of sand originating on the beach and carried by the waves and high waters, cover the mud and offer clues about when and how large the storm may have been.” As a precursor to collecting the deep cores of mud from the bottom of the ponds, the team from Woods Hole first needed to determine several bits of information such as: How deep are the ponds? Are they fresh, brackish or salty? For how long have the ponds been there? And are they susceptible to hurricanes of the past tracking along the eastern seaboard?

WHOI visited Fishers Island on June 12, 2014 in an effort to gain scientific information about several ponds on the east end of the Island. With the help of Fishers Island Naturalist Justine Kibbe and Island Sentinel Conner Wakeman, they surveyed the ponds using a skiff (special thanks to Steve Malinowski) kayak and canoe, and utilized scientific equipment such as a depth gun and CTD (Conductivity/salinity, Temperature, Depth) to make measurements.

The ultimate goal was to map the ponds then revisit sites and core 30 feet into the mud to find layers of sand deposited from past hurricanes. The historic record, collected from human observation and tide gauge data, gives us only a short history of hurricane events (about 150 years), whereas a 2,000 year story is preserved in the mud.

Woods Hole Oceanographic institute will be back to core Island Pond sometime over the summer….stay tuned.

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