HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008 Midyear ReportNORTH FORK AUDUBON SOCIETY
ENDANGERED SPECIES PROJECT
2008 MIDYEAR REPORT
3/25 to 6/15
SOUTHOLD SITES
North Fork Audubon Society has a contract with the Town of Southold to monitor
endangered species nesting on twenty beaches in the Town. One additional site in
Cutchogue Harbor, Meadow Beach, is monitored under a separate contract with The
Nature Conservancy. During the period 3/25 to 6/15/08, NFAS monitors visited each site
at least twice to assess appropriate nesting habitat. Sites which appeared more suitable for
nesting (often based on the presence of nesting plovers) were designated for more
frequent monitoring. Some sites were visited twenty or more times in the period and a
total of 179 site visits were conducted.
Included in the monitoring was completion of the DEC's Long Island Colonial Waterbird
and Piping Plover Survey The results of the survey were used in discussion with DEC to
establish an appropriate level of monitoring for each site for the remainder of the season.
Several sites have been designatext as inactive, and will receive cursory monitoring
through July. These sites are Angel Shore, Downs Creek, James Creek, Kimogener
Point, Maratooka Point and Paradise Beach Point. Sites which show nesting activity will
be monitored up to four times per week until any chicks have fledged. The chart below
outlines the frequency of monitoring for each site.
Piping Plovers were observed nesting on eight sites during the period, and chicks were
hatched at three sites. Five nests were destroyed or abandoned during extreme tides or
other weather events, but in two cases the plovers have renested. Fencing and wire
exclosures have been erected at the following sites to provide greater protection from
predators and pedestrians: Conklin Point, Corey Creek, Goldsmith Inlet, Gull Pond, Little
Creek (Nassau Point Causeway), Mattituck Inlet and Richmond Creek. No fencing was
set up at Conldin Point, based on the isolation of this site and an apparent lack of
predators. The Meadow Beach site was apparently predated before it could be exclosed.
Least Terns have been observed in small numbers on many sites, and have established
sizable colonies at Mattituck Inlet and Little Creek. A third large colony, at Gull Pond,
was destroyed by an extreme tide and has been abandoned. Some nesting activity has
begun, but no chicks have been hatched yet.
Submitted 8/5/08
Tim Bohen
SITE
Angel Shores
Conkling Point
Corey Creek Mouth
Cutcho(Jue Harbor (TNC Preserve)
Cutchogue Harbor (Private)
Downs Creek
Goldsmith Inlet (Private)
Goose Creek Southold Bay
Gull Pond West
Hashamomuck Beach
J, ames Creek
Jockey Creek Spoil Island
Kimogener Point
Little Creek
Little Hog Neck
Marratooka Point
Mattituck Inlet
'aradise Beach Point
~ipes Cove
Port of E~vpt
Richmond Creek
TOTAL
VISITS
WEEK OF
23-Mar
30-Mar 6-Apr 13-Apr 20-Apr
I 1
1 I 1 1 1
I 1
1 1 1
I 1 I I 1
I 1
1 1
1 I 1
1 1
1 I 1
1
1
1
1
9 8 8 4
1
13
26-Apr 3-May
1
1
1
2
2
1
1 1
2
1 2
10-May
2
2
2
2
3
1
1
3
19-May
1
2
2
1
1
6
1
2
4
1
2 1 2 2
1 1
1 1
1 1 2 2
13 10 21 25
26-May
2-Jun
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
3
1
2
18
9-Jun
2
2
1
1
3
1
1
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
20
1
1
3
2
4
1
2
1
1
2
1
3
1
2
5
30
TOTAL
2
10
14
13
7
2
22
4
11
9
2
4
2
2O
6
3
18
3
7
4
16
179 #VALUE!