Counting blessings

By Beth Sullivan

Now that we have stopped counting calories, we can continue to count our blessings. In this season of giving and thanks, we have a great deal for which to be grateful.

Avalonia Land Conservancy is founded on the generosity of its members. They are the bedrock. Each year our membership grows, our foundation can get stronger. We work on outreach to connect with those who do not yet understand our mission. We strive to engage the next generation of conservationists. We post our signs so we have a visible presence in the communities where we have our preserves. We invite all, members and non-members alike to stroll the trails, hike the woods, and enjoy what Avalonia has been able to preserve with the support of its members. Thank you.

Avalonia is further supported by the generosity of special donors: those who exceed expectations because they believe in the mission and understand the importance of the preservation of a resource that is rapidly changing and disappearing. There are no words of thanks, special enough, to recognize a larger gift, a grant, or a piece of treasured land, entrusted to Avalonia for care in perpetuity. It is not only our mission, but our promise, to care for each donation to the very best of our ability. Thank you.

None of that caretaking can be done without our volunteers. With the exception of two part-time paid staff people, the organization is completely dependent on its volunteers, from top to bottom. From executive officers to ground teams, volunteers direct and lead, man the keyboards, keep the books and lists, and attend conferences and meetings. Volunteers do outreach and education. Volunteers monitor the preserves, clear trails, mow fields, and improve habitat. There is no way to accurately count all the hours amassed by our volunteers, and no way to truly estimate the value. Thank you.

It might be cold; everyone is busy. It has been said before, but bears saying again: go out and find a place of peace. If it is an Avalonia preserve, please remember all that it takes to have that space and place available. Give thanks!

Photographs by Beth Sullivan unless otherwise indicated.

Continental Marsh

Cottrell Marsh

Knox Preserve

Osprey at Paffard Marsh. Photograph by Rick Newton

Sandy Point as seen from Dodge Paddock.

The view from Tri-Town Ridge line Forest. Photograph by C. Tjerandsen.

As we approach the end of the year, don't forget you can support Avalonia Land Conservancy through the Amazon Smile program. 

The Purpose of a Sign

By Beth Sullivan.

A few weeks ago, we emerged, hot and sweaty and dirty from a work effort on Knox preserve. We were met by a woman and a young child looking for a place to spend some time hiking and found themselves on Wilcox Road, parked behind us and planning to walk into the preserve.

It takes a team to erect the big signs that make Avalonia preserves.

The Osprey on Paffard Marsh benefit from the protected land.

She asked if we were with Avalonia and wondered if she could ask some questions. Well..of course!!

A chance encounter...

Turns out that Ellyn Santiago is a Westerly Sun reporter who travels the roads of Stonington regularly and had noticed the big new sign on Paffard Marsh. She had always loved the marsh and its family of osprey and was pleased to know it was forever preserved. This began a line of questioning about signs: how we choose names, how do we acquire property, why do we want signs on the properties and what do we want people to know about Avalonia.

Dean Avery Preserve is a small, scenic gem.

You start your hike down into the Stone Bridges trail here...

leads to an article...

Each of those questions could take a full page to answer, but what she came away with was an understanding that we, Avalonia, are proud of all the properties we have acquired, no matter how they have come into our hands. Each one has a story. By putting our signs out on the land we can proclaim proudly, that this land is preserved for you, the public, and future generations to enjoy and appreciate. Whether you walk a trail or sit in your car with binoculars watching the osprey, it will always be there for you and your children and grandchildren to enjoy. Because Avalonia is all volunteer and member based, we rely on our members’ generosity and our donors’ gifts to support all our activity. Land has great value and does not come cheaply in this part of the state. Every acre is cherished. Our stewardship is carried out with thought and care. We often spend our own money on wood and paint for those signs, and spend free weekend days to set them in place, just so they can be visible to those who pass by, like Ellyn. Just maybe they will bring in new members, or another donation, or just a passing thought of gratitude that the beautiful marsh land is preserved forever.

And end up here.

about our signs.

Here is a link to the article Ellyn wrote and we are grateful for her efforts. 

Wequetequock Cove Preserve sports this sign.

Wequetequock grasslands

Photographs by Beth Sullivan and Rick Newton.

Another First - The Osprey

Spring struggles to arrive. Winter has done its best to thwart us: snow, cold, wet, dark and gray. Yet spring does arrive; birds return; amphibians emerge; plants begin to break ground and their buds swell.

Many spring events are triggered by daylight and day length; others respond to warmth. Some need both. Avalonia volunteers spend a lot of time outdoors, all year long, and we respond to day light and warmth too. As we are out and about, we are looking for signs of spring and continue to count “FIRSTS”.

                                                        Photo by Rick Newton

Birds that have spent the winter in southern climates don’t know what the weather is like up here, so they rely on day length to trigger their impulse to return north. Of course, a nice southerly breeze is a big help and frequently in mid to late March we experience a period of warm teasing weather. It is during these times we look for our returning birds, and the most eagerly awaited are the osprey. Many of the osprey from our area winter in Central and South America. As the hours of daylight begin to increase and reach equality with hours of dark at the Spring Equinox, these birds are making their return. Here in Southeastern CT we count on them arriving around St Patrick’s Day, give or take a few days. Ospreys are very loyal to their nest sites. While males and females do not spend the winter together, banding records and studies have shown that bonded pairs will return to the same nest site, usually at different times, and one will wait for the other to renew that bond for another year.

Despite the strangle-hold of winter, the first osprey was reported locally on Saturday March 16^th. Right on time. As “fish hawks” they rely on open water to find food. While the ice has melted from most bodies of water, fish often tend to swim deeper to find warmer temperatures. If the weather continues cold with freezing nights, the newly arrived osprey may have a hard time finding food. However, as the next weeks go by, temperatures are bound to warm up. With southerly breezes, more osprey will return to their nest sites along the shore, and there will be plenty of food.

                                                        Photo by Rick Newton

Take some time to look for the very visible platforms used for nesting. Decades ago, osprey nested on big dead trees, called snags, along marsh edges, and along the shore. Those sites have nearly disappeared and now osprey rely almost exclusively on man-made platforms for nesting. They will reuse and enhance and enlarge the nest each year, some reaching quite impressive sizes. After the super storm Sandy last fall, and the blizzard and wind storms this winter, the returning osprey may have more work to do.

Now that the weather is finally warming, go find a nest site, and observe from a distance. Several Avalonia properties in Stonington have osprey nests, including Cottrell Marsh, Continental Marsh, and Paffard Marsh which may have the most visible one. There is also one just over the railroad tracks very visible from the Knox preserve. Many others are on private or state properties all along the shore. Enjoy the return of the osprey!

Written by Beth Sullivan

Learn more about the osprey at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology