The Sandy Point Association is sponsoring its annual cleanup of the bird sanctuary and surrounding area on Saturday, March 28 (rain date, March 29) from 11. a.m. until mid-afternoon.
Trash bags, trash pickers, gloves, snacks and bottled water will be provided. Staff from Audubon CT and CT DEEP will provide volunteers with background on the importance of this cleanup to nesting shorebirds, many of which are federally or state threatened. Ample free parking will be available in the Sanctuary parking lot, located at Beach Street and Third Avenue Extension,
Every year, large amounts of trash and debris wash up on the barrier beach, shoreline, and marshes of the Bird Sanctuary. This spring clean-up effort was highly successful last year in helping the Piping Plover, Least Tern and American Oystercatchers to successfully nest last season! The four pairs of American Oystercatchers that nested at Sandy Point last summer fledged four chicks, more than any other shoreline site in CT!
The cleanup this year will provide an opportunity to thoroughly remove debris that has washed ashore over the winter from all sections of the Sanctuary while also providing significant access to the shoreline and tidal flats (low tide that day will be around 2:30 pm).