Mark your calendars for the 2021 Spring Migratory Bird Count Sat. May 16, 8 a.m.-10:30 a.m. Meet at the Island Community Center. Bring binoculars.
In late April, Michele Klimczak discovered a roll of wooden fencing as she cleared marine debris on a beach. Today that fencing forms a protective barrier next to nesting shorebirds on South Beach. Geb Cook Photo
Three-year-old juvenile bald eagle flies over Fishers Island, Jan. 20, 2021. John Spofford Photo
Reports of bald eagle sightings have filtered through the Fishers Island community for the past three years. It makes sense, since there are four times as many bald eagles in the lower 48 states than there were a decade ago.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in March reported 316,708 bald eagles in the lower 48. The 71,467 nesting pairs observed are double the number in 2009 and a stark contrast to the all-time recorded low of 417 known bald eagle nests in 1963.
On Fishers Island in the 1960s and early 1970s, before DDT (banned in 1972) had nearly decimated osprey and bald eagle populations, the only osprey nest observed on Fishers Island was near Airport Road. In 2018, Andrew Edwards used a drone to count 17 active osprey nests and 34 fledglings on Fishers Island.
If bald eagles start nesting on Fishers Island, they will be looking for food. They eat birds, reptiles, amphibians, rabbits and muskrat (both live or as carrion). But they also love fish, which comprise 99 percent of the osprey’s diet.
Ospreys and opportunistic bald eagles share much of the same habitat, and ospreys are often on the losing end. Rather than doing their own hunting, bald eagles will sometimes harass ospreys, stealing fish directly from their talons or making them drop fish they’ve just caught, grabbing the fish in midair. Bald eagles are also known to raid osprey nests and snatch fledglings, whether small or just ready to fly.
Ospreys do their best to stand up to the brute force of bald eagles by buzzing them in the sky and sometimes attacking them on the ground.
Using citizen science to help count bald eagles and nesting pairs, USFWS Migratory Birds Program integrated data from its aerial surveys with data collected from observations by 180,000 birders, which had been collated by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
The bald eagle (l) is one of the largest birds in North America, with an average 80-inch wingspan and weighing 6.5 to nearly 14 pounds. Osprey (r) have an average 59- to 70-inch wingspan and weigh 3-4 pounds. They have long, narrow wings with a marked kink (not as apparent in this image) that makes them look like an M-shape from below.
Island Sentinels, founded in 2014
A Fishers Island Conservancy Program
Sentinels are the eyes and ears of FI Conservancy
on Fishers Island
Requirements:
Love of the outdoors and passion for the environment and environmental conservation.
Responsibilities:
Monitor multiple sites across the Island and record field observations through data collection and photographs. Work in John Thatcher Native Garden. Upload digital photos to iNaturalist Fishers Island Atlas of Life Project. Participate in weekly meetings, sharing ideas, observations, and experiences in the field with other Sentinels.
Benefits:
Being part of a team working to improve the environment, studying and carefully observing the coastline of Fishers Island, contributing to biodiversity by working in John Thatcher Native Garden under expert supervision, adding to 9000 observations recorded by Island Sentinels, contributing photos to and learning about iNaturalist, an international citizen science effort, which has attracted millions of observations of flora and fauna.
Application Deadline: June 1, 2021
Interested applicants should provide a statement about why they are interested in becoming a member of the Island Sentinels team.
For more information and to send an application statement:
Email Stephanie Hall, Island Sentinel director: [email protected]
Program Director: Stephanie Hall, molecular biologist
Program Advisor: Marina Caillaud Danforth, plant/insect geneticist
2020 Island Sentinels (l-r) Caroline Toldo, Nicolas Hall, Izzie Reid, Wilson Thors, Gardner Thors, Betsy Conger, and Alexa Rosenberg. Stephanie Hall Photo
Coyote at Middle Farms Driving Range, Nov. 1, 2020. Thought to be one of the most adaptable animals on earth, coyotes have “plasticity”, enabling them to adapt to changes in food availability, cover and habitat. Eastern coyotes are part western coyote (62 percent), western wolf (14 percent), eastern wolf (13 percent), and domestic dog (11 percent). Prue Gary Photo
Island residents were “up in arms” last fall after a bold daytime coyote attack led to the death of a beloved family pet. Coyote sightings on Fishers Island are no longer unusual. Unfortunately, nothing can be done to control their numbers.
Other than dealing with a bold coyote, this adaptable species is here to stay. In fact, indiscriminate killing of coyotes encourages more breeding. Also, coyotes self-regulate their population by having larger or smaller litters depending on availability of territory and food.
Mass killings of coyotes began in the 1850s. Since then, their geographical range has tripled in the United States, an estimated 40 percent since the 1950s. Originally restricted to the western two-thirds of North America, the species now stretches across most of the continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific seaboard and from Alaska to Panama.
Biologists theorize that the coyote expanded east to fill a vacant ecological niche left by the extirpation of gray wolves, cougars and jaguars. By 1920, coyotes were established in northern New York State.
Coyotes are programmed to pursue and kill prey, but they are also opportunistic feeders and will take advantage of the most available food source. They will consume small mammals, birds, livestock, pets, fruits, vegetables, carrion and garbage. Their habitat has expanded to include not only forests and fields, scrublands and wetlands, but also major cities, wooded suburbs, parks, golf courses and beach fronts.
The first coyote was spotted on Fishers Island between 12-15 years ago. At least one breeding pair was documented in 2017. It is difficult to know how many are on the Island, and frequent sightings are often thought to be the same coyote. Coyotes are smart, become easily habituated to human environments and have few natural enemies other than the great horned owl, which may take a few pups.
Scientists, however, are quick to remind the public that coyotes can play an integral role maintaining healthy ecosystems. They hunt foxes, raccoons, opossums and skunks, and provide rodent control by killing destructive, vegetation-eating rodents that comprise 80% of a coyote’s diet. Their primary foods are rodents, fruits, berries and insects.
Preventing coyotes from associating humans with food or shelter is the best method for minimizing conflicts with them. Eliminate easy access to outside food sources, such as dog food, bird seed and garbage. Supervise pets while outside; keep cats indoors.
Sent as eblast April 16, 2020
It important to know the difference between egg cases of the invasive Chinese praying mantis and the native Carolina mantis. Both live on Fishers Island.
(l-r) Arabella Hatfield and Lillian Kane are proud finalists in the 2021 Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair.
Arabella Hatfield and Lillian Kane, two senior honors physics students at Fishers Island School, were State Finalists in the recent 2021 Connecticut Science & Engineering Fair. The annual competition is open to all 7th-12th grade students in Connecticut schools and Fishers Island.
Both Arabella and Lillian benefited from Fishers Island Conservancy grants to purchase equipment needed to execute their experiments in Carol Giles’s science classes.
Arabella used the fluorometer, purchased for use by oceanography students at school, to measure phytoplankton population density for her experiment: Ocean Acidification: How it Effects the Phytoplankton Species Nannochloropsis Oculata.
Lillian used her grant to purchase oxygen and carbon dioxide probes for her experiment: Exploring Earthworm Ecotypes: Carbon Source or Sink?
Awards
Arabella:
Environmental Sciences Award with CACIWAC—HS Finalist, CSF Medallion
Lillian:
PepsiCo/Pfizer Life Sciences Awards—Finalist – Life Science Senior High – CFS Medallion
Petit Family Foundation Women in Science & Engineering Awards—High School Finalist – Medallion
Future Sustainability Awards—High School Finalist – Medallion
Alexion Biotechnology Awards—3rd Place – Biotechnology Senior High – $300 & plaque
NASA EARTH System Science Award—Certificate and $25 gift card given by CSEF
University of Connecticut – Early College Acceptance—UCONN Early College Experience Program: Life Sciences – Co-Op $100 Gift Certificate
Two new books of interest have recently been published: “The Nature of Oaks”, by Douglas Tallamy and “A World On the Wing: The Global Odyssey of Migratory Birds”, by Scott Weidensaul.
Fishers Island Fire Department maintains careful control over planned burning in the Parade Grounds Sanctuary in March. Jane Ahrens Photo
By Tom Sargent
President, Fishers Island Conservancy
March 25, 2021
Among the many things that were delayed by the pandemic was the annual spring burn of the Parade Grounds Sanctuary grassland. This critical land management tool has been undertaken for generations.
Set fires are a natural way to remove woody plants and invasive species as well as a way to release natural nitrogen back to the soil. Typically the Fishers Island Conservancy burns only 1/3 of the acreage so any grassland dwellers have plenty of room to relocate. Fire is a part of the natural world and birds and animals have evolved to respond to these rhythms. The burn is our most effective weapon in managing this native habitat. Last year, as the shutdowns loomed, we were forced to abandon this annual rite.
What a difference a year makes
On a chilly early spring evening this past week, our friends and partners at the Fishers Island Fire Department pulled up with their crew and equipment. Led by Chief Jeff Edwards and the Conservancy’s own Donnie Beck, they began by back-burning near Elizabeth Field and then progressed towards the center of the Sanctuary.
Once creating these fire breaks, they moved east towards South beach, setting controlled small fires along the way. The wind took over and spurred these fires across the center of the Sanctuary. The sound of the waves, the spring peepers, and the crackling of the fires was astounding. The choreography of the fire department was fantastic to see and it seemed as though half the island turned out to watch the dance.
They marshaled the fire through the Parade Grounds, never letting this new found predator out of their grasp. Flames, heat, and smoke roared as the monster consumed its prey. Then suddenly, it was over. Only smoke, ash, and small pits of flame remained as the beast was satiated. All was calm and quiet. The Red Wings returned to their perches calling out their territories. The peepers chorus, never disrupted, continued their spring song. We watched as the silhouettes of the firefighters moved slowly to their trucks, flashing lights doused, the rumbling of their diesel engines disappearing into the dusk.
To witness a short intense grassfire is to be filled with fear and awe. To watch it under controlled settings with the oversight of an experienced fire crew is to be filled with admiration and gratitude. So, THANK YOU to the Fishers Island Fire Department for all they do for the Fishers Island Conservancy and the community as a whole. It is partnerships like these that make Fishers Island such a special place. We are all friends and neighbors who share a common love for the island. Here’s to spring and an end to the pandemic and being once again able to gather with old friends.
A healthy manatee drifts under dock in Vero Beach, FL amidst reflections of boats on lifts. Disappearing seagrass causing a feeding crisis for manatees is farther up the east coast near Merritt Island. FIConservancy Photo.
Manatees are starving to death in Florida. These gentle giants, weighing up to 1200 pounds, feed almost exclusively on seagrass and eat 9 percent of their body weight everyday.
Seagrass has long been in trouble in Florida’s increasingly polluted Indian River Lagoon Estuary. But scientists say that this year, in main manatee feeding areas, there’s almost no seagrass left for these herbivores to eat, causing them to become “severely emaciated” and die.
Fishers Island seagrass does not have to support the voracious appetites of manatees, but “our” seagrass forms the base of a highly productive marine food web, providing foraging areas and shelter for young fish and invertebrates, and food for migratory waterfowl and sea turtles.
This unique habitat also improves water quality by filtering polluted runoff, absorbing excess nutrients, storing greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, and trapping sediment, reducing the force of wave energy, thereby reducing coastal erosion.
Fishers Island has 94 percent of the remaining eelgrass in New York waters of Long Island Sound and 25 percent of all eelgrass in the Sound. (Eelgrass is a form of seagrass and gets its name from its long, eel-like leaves.)
Decimation of once abundant and protective eelgrass meadows in Long Island Sound, prompted The Nature Conservancy to evaluate eelgrass areas and boating patterns around Fishers Island. The study concluded that boating activity, particularly in summer months, presents a grave threat to Fishers Island eelgrass meadows.
The Fishers Island Seagrass Management coalition has been working to raise awareness about the serious threat to seagrass, and to designate seagrass management areas (SMA) to guide and balance effective use and protection of seagrass ecosystems around Fishers Island.
The loss of seagrass along any shore, whether through pollution or summer boating, is a recipe for irreparable environmental harm.
Changes in eelgrass distribution around Fishers Island from 2012 to 2017, published Feb. 28, 2019 in The Nature Conservancy report: An Evaluation of Eelgrass Extent and Vessel Use Patterns Around Fishers Island, New York.