Week 6: Removing invasive plant species within 175 acres of historic Parade Grounds, Fishers Island.
Erick Jones, Emily Birardi, & Nickia Gibson from University of Delaware concentrate on European buckthorn and cottonwood as well as core invasives ; autumn olive, oriental bittersweet and bush honeysuckle.
Video Snippet From the Field
Parade Grounds.
Help Fishers Island
Help Monarch butterflies
To help themselves…
Keep ‘em coming back for more!
Field Note, From the Field by Justine Kibbe, July 6, 2018
Low tide: Hungry Point, Fishers Island.
Looking forward to working on the Fishers Island Seagrass Management Coalition with the Nature Conservancy Long Island & Henry L. Ferguson Museum.
Stewardship is as stewardship does.
Field Note, From the Field by Justine Kibbe, July 6, 2018
The osprey population on Fishers Island continues to grow. Andrew Edwards used a drone to count the number of fledglings in nests this year.
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.
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
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
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
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.
[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:
“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
