Another season has come and gone — and as always, it was busy and went by very quickly (apologies for not keeping up with the blog)! For some reason each year, it still comes as a surprise to head out to South Beach, Chatham in early August and not see plovers; and by plovers, of course, I mean Piping Plovers. On August 13, we in Southeastern, MA felt a change in the wind and humidity, and fall suddenly seemed to be here. Jeff saw the first color-banded Canadian Roseate Tern fledgling of the year, who flew at least 770 km from Country Island, Nova Scotia, to reach us on outer Cape Cod. Last year, it was August 14, and the winds shifted about the same time — the first sustained northeast wind in months.
Almost all of the Coastal Waterbird Staff and Colleagues, 2010. Photo by Ben Carroll
August 23 marked the last day of the majority of the Coastal Waterbird Program seasonal staff for 2010. For many it means the excitement and stress of finding a new job opportunity for the fall and winter, for a few it means graduate school (Congratulations Kate, Mo and Ben!), for some it means going back to finish at their universities, and for others it is onward to help with the research effort in the coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico affected by the oil spill. For the two full-time staff, myself and Becky, it means being able to look back at 2010 as a really fantastic year for Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers on Cape Cod — we know our final productivity estimates are going to be great when the final numbers are completed, especially compared with last year, which was the worst on record. But most of all, it means saying goodbye to a wonderful group of staff and volunteers who enabled 258 pairs of Piping Plovers, 48 pairs of American Oystercatchers, 861 pairs of Least Terns and 145 pairs of Common Terns a chance to breed and be productive — and they were. Thank you to everyone who contributed to, worked for and volunteered for the Coastal Waterbird Program of Mass Audubon in 2010. Coastal bird conservation does not and will not happen without you.
Piping Plover/Ben Carroll
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