It has been a banner year for Fishers Island’s returning shorebirds.

Since April, I have felt uplifted with hope, every time trek to Sanctuary of Sands and see shorebirds on seaweed berms, sandy shoals and rippling tidal pools parallel to our Island’s airport runway.

Over the past 7 years, there has been a tiny yet truly marked increase in shorebirds on this western tip, from American Oystercatchers to Piping plover, even the rarely-seen Short-billed Dowitcher (top photos) and Lesser Yellowlegs (bottom photos) shown above.

*Please continue to support Island Stewardship and kindly leash all dogs within this critical habitat.

From the Field, Field Note by Justine Kibbe, July 24, 2019