Be a Good Egg

On July 17th, Annette, Chris, and I participated in the “Be A Good Egg” program sponsored by Audubon. Kate O’Connell, from the Theodor Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center in Oyster Bay, runs the program. We have done it in the past, but since Covid-19, we had to stop. We set up camp at the entrance to the ocean at Lido Beach Town Park. The set up consists of tables with flyers about the birds we are trying to save, a sample of the nest with eggs, keychains, pins, and sticker giveaways, and stuffed (not real) piping plovers and an oyster catcher, all under a tent with chairs. As people come onto the beach, we approach them and ask if they would like to sign a paper that states they will not go near the piping plover nesting sites that are fenced off. Besides Annette, Chris, myself, Kate, and her crew, there were three volunteers who were in high school or college.

It was a beautiful day, we received 129 signatures, and saw a few piping plovers and oyster catchers! This time, no one refused because they thought the birds were taking over their beach!