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Biodiversity
Day is a Success on Many Levels
The teams began arriving
at our headquarters at Bauer Park on Friday
in the late afternoon, eager to begin
the count. The weather was perfect for
humans and not too bad for insects. The
birders wished we'd had a cold front and
the mycologists (fungi experts) wished
there had been a bit more rain, but all
in all we couldn't complain. Specific
sites were assigned to teams to ensure
coverage of the many ecosystems found
within Madison.
By early Friday evening we had our first
exciting find: two worm snakes, a species
not previously documented in Madison.
The herpetological team brought them back
to headquarters to show us and happened
to arrive just in time to be filmed by
a WTNH news team covering our Biodiversity
Day.
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Before night fell teams of entomologists
and insect enthusiasts were busy setting
up mercury vapor lights and black lights
against a backdrop of white sheets at
various sites in town. Other insect lures
included bait traps and a sweet mixture
of beer and maple syrup that was painted
on tree trunks to attract moths.
These teams worked well into the night,
collecting and identifying insects, while
another team spent the night viewing algae
and diatoms through microscopes in the
Bauer Park lab. Someone went on an owl
prowl, adding three species to our list.
Our naturalist volunteers were hard at
work while Madison slept.
We had coffee brewing by 6 a.m., with
warm fresh bagels and juices set up on
the front porch of the Bauer farmhouse.
It was a beautiful morning in a lovely
setting. Mist rose from the meadows as
the sun rose from the horizon. New teams
arrived as the previous night's teams
awoke from cots in the farmhouse, tents
in the field, and parked vehicles in the
lot. They were ready to start again, some
after only four hours of sleep. (One participant
stayed up all night, volunteering to work
the full 24 hours of the event. Any guesses?
It was the tireless and dedicated Noble
Proctor, of course.)
There were 19 teams in all, with over
95 participants. Two teams specialized
in freshwater invertebrates, while another
specialized in freshwater fish. Peter
Pellegrino's team of students from Southern
Connecticut State University spent the
day at Meigs Point at Hammonasset State
Park documenting intertidal and shallow
subtidal species. The Sound School's team
of teachers and students surveyed the
intertidal zones along the town beaches
as well as Hammonasset State Park. Bennett
Kottler and his SCSU students teamed up
with Heather Crawford from the Connecticut
Sea Grant Extension Program to cover the
salt marshes and dunes. Aimlee Laderman
and her students from the Yale School
of Forestry and Environmental Studies
spent the afternoon in North Madison documenting
botanical species. |
Biodiversity Day co-chairs David Houston
and Cindi Kobak arrive at Bauer Park to
set up for the big day. |
In addition to the above, participants of
Biodiversity Day were affiliated with the
following organizations and schools: American
Museum of Natural History, Connecticut Agricultural
Experiment Station, Connecticut Botanical
Society, Connecticut Butterfly Association,
Connecticut Department of Environmental
Protection Fisheries Division, Connecticut
DEP Long Island Sound Programs, Connecticut
Entomological Society, Connecticut Herpetological
League, Connecticut Valley Mycological Society,
Nature Center for Environmental Activities,
New Canaan Nature Center, New Haven Bird
Club, Regional Water Authority, Trout Unlimited,
and Yale's Department of Ecology and Evolutionary
Biology.
By noon, when lunch was served under
the tent, there were over a hundred mushrooms
and other fungi laid out on tables in
the lab awaiting identification. Freshwater
invertebrate teams were busy keying out
dragonfly nymphs and other aquatic insect
larvae. A milk snake was brought in for
"show and tell." And then someone
spotted a lark sparrow in one of the Bauer
Park fields. This bird had strayed into
the Northeast from grasslands to the west
- a special treat for birders and a wonderful
addition to Madison's biodiversity
list.
Later in the day we learned that a state-listed
species of mayfly was discovered in Madison
in a new locality for New Haven County.
Thirty-two species of butterflies were
seen, including two vagrant species found
at Bauer Park (a new favorite destination
for members of the Connecticut Butterfly
Association). The butterfly team netted
a huge damselfly and brought it back to
the lab for the entomologists to identify.
Excitement grew as they realized it was
the Giant Spreadwing, never before recorded
in southern New England! It is amazing
what can be discovered in a 24-hour period
when you have almost 100 sets of observant
eyes and ears focused on a town. |
Roland Clement and Bob Kuchta confer. |
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WTNH News Channel 8 reporter Leon Collins
and a videographer spent several hours
recording interviews and sights at Bauer
Park.
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The
count ended at 5 p.m. as weary teams returned
to Bauer Park for dinner under the tent.
It was a time to socialize, share discoveries
and congratulate one another on a job well
done.
We thank all the scientists, naturalists,
and students for participating. It was
an honor and a pleasure to work with all
of you and we hope to see you again next
year.
As this goes to press we are still awaiting
species lists from a few teams, so we do
not yet have a final tally on the number
of species recorded. (We do know that Noble
Proctor's team has a very impressive list
of 1136 species that includes everything
from diatoms to mammals.) Once we have all
the team lists we will begin compiling the
data into a publication. Stay tuned. And
please remember, this is just a beginning.
Madison will now have a preliminary list
of the town's biological diversity
that can be expanded as new species are
discovered. This one 24-hour period in September
was just a snapshot in time. Surveys conducted
during different times of year will yield
different species.
The success of Menunkatuck Audubon's
Biodiversity Day was due in large part
to the enthusiasm and commitment of the
naturalist participants. But it was also
due to the support of many other organizations.
The Bauer Park board of directors offered
the use of their beautiful park as our
headquarters for the day. They worked
with us throughout the planning stages
and readied the farmhouse and grounds
for our specific needs. They also set
up a well-equipped lab in an outbuilding,
providing the microscopes and lab equipment
for the scientists. |
| Madison Land Conservation
Trust members volunteered to act as guides
for teams unfamiliar with the town's
special ecosystems. They also videotaped
the day for us. Members of the Coastal
Camera Club went out into the field with
teams, photographing the naturalists at
work, as well as species found. Their
wonderful slides will be used in a future
public presentation. The Madison Jaycees
provided the manpower to set up the tent
that was donated by the Shoreline Foundation.
Bishop's Orchards in Guilford donated
apples. Orchard Hill in Branford donated
shade-grown, organically-grown coffee.
The Regional Water Authority donated bottled
water. Royal Printing in Guilford printed
poster-sized species checklists for us
at a significantly reduced rate.
And, of course, we had financial support.
We received grants from the Audubon Council
of Connecticut, Northeast Utilities, as
well as United Illuminating's Earth
Partner Grant. The town of Madison, the
Madison Land Conservation Trust, the Garden
Club of Madison and the Shoreline Gardener's
Club all donated generously to our effort.
Proceeds from a day's worth of carousel
rides at Lenny & Joe's Fish Tale were
also donated.
We are grateful to all these organizations
and businesses for their help and support.
The teamwork and cooperation demonstrated
by those groups we worked closely with
was an added bonus to the success of this
event. We made many new friends and forged
many new alliances. Menunkatuck's Biodiversity
Day was truly a success on so many levels.
Submitted by Cindi Kobak |
Carol Lemmon, Noble Proctor, and Andy
Brand discuss their findings. |
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A Lark Sparrow sighting at Bauer Park
was one of the birders' highlights of
Biodiversity Day. |
A Common Green Darner poses on a branch. |
Photos by Cindi Kobak and Dan Cinotti
See also:
Biodiversity Day Plans
Take Shape
Biodiversity Day 2000
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