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Dolphin fatality

Dolphin fatality

This Common Dolphin (note yellow/grayish hourglass on side) was discovered northside up east. I want to thank Jr Edwards for photo documenting and remind our Community to call Mystic Aquarium 860-572-5955 EXT 107. As part of North Atlantic Region Stranding Network; our Island’s first responders will be contacted either to assist in a live stranding or document a marine mammal fatality. This includes whales, dolphins, seals and sea turtles.

– from The Field by Justine Kibbe January 2, 2019.

Big Stony by Justine Kibbe

A Huge “Shout Out”: To the Henry Ferguson Museum for this past Summer’s major clean-up of this critical habitat.

Killdeer eggs

Killdeer eggs.

Killdeer eggs within “scrape”, Sanctuary of Sands, Fishers Island.

“Stewardship is as Stewardship does….”

– from The Field by Justine Kibbe June 25, 2018.

Photo contributed by Anne W.

Mylar Maim

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

Sanctuary of Sands

I am so very grateful to see the Heart of Island Stewardship-a “speedy recovery”; red rock graffiti ALL picked-up in just a day!

– A Snippet from The Field by Justine Kibbe June 8, 2018

Tribe Stewardship

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.

 

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.

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

Mylar Menace

Need I say more?….

– A Snippet from The Field by Justine Kibbe May 18, 2018

Mylar Monster by Justine Kibbe

. . . and with a vengeance-Mylar balloons; the most insidious of debris creeping upon Fishers Island. Please promote BEST Practices of Stewardship! It only takes a few seconds to disentangle, deflate and dispose….

Respect & enjoy our unique marine environment for years to come.

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