Report Southbound Flagged Plovers

While we are on the beaches monitoring waterbirds this August please be on the lookout for Piping Plovers bearing bands and flags. Migratory periods have the most potential for marked birds to be found in Connecticut. Information for reporting each flag color is provided below. Please cc both Laura.Saucier@ct.gov and ctwaterbirds@gmail.com with any reports, and feel free to email us with any questions.

Please include the following information with each report:

    Flag and band colors, location on each leg, and any alphanumeric codes on the flags.
    Location of sighting
    Date of sighting
    Any photo that shows the bands and/or flag
    Condition of legs

Please report flag colors and band combinations as follows:

• Green flags (coded and uncoded) on the upper leg:  Please send reports to  vt.plover@gmail.com.  Some of the green flags are coded with three alphanumeric characters, but other pipers carry an uncoded (plain) green flag along with lower leg bands. 
• Pink coded flags on the upper leg with two alphanumeric characters:  Please report to wgolder@audubon.org with a cc vt.plover@gmail.com.
• Orange flags (uncoded) and bands: Please report to plover@umn.edu.
• Color bands on only the upper legs and no flag:  Some of these have one band on each upper leg, some have two bands per upper leg. Please report to michelle.stantial@gmail.com with a cc to vt.plover@gmail.com.

Although the current U.S. Atlantic banders (who are extremely vigilant about this issue) confirm that they are not observing injuries nor hearing injury reports from resighters, please copy anne_hecht@fws.gov on any report that includes information about a leg injury on a Piping Plover carrying bands or other colored flags.  They also appreciate reports of "okay" banded/flagged legs if the observer was able to make a careful assessment of leg condition.

Thank you!

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