Photograph by: Ed Sigda Date: September 16, 2005 Location: Unit IV of Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge Details: American Golden Plover in Sea Purslane vegetation

Photograph by: Ed Sigda Date: September 16, 2005 Location: Unit IV of Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge Details: Buff-breasted sandpiper in Sea Purslane vegetation

Photograph by: Ed Sigda Date: September 16, 2005 Location: Unit IV of Prime Hook National Wildlife Refuge Details: More Buff-breasted sandpipers in Sea Purslane vegetation

The refuge staff has energetically advertised and heralded the promotion of scientific excellence through a multi-regional wetland study by means of new releases (August 8, 2005), Friend's Group Newsletter articles and web-site information. Prime Hook has also engaged the local birding and conservation communities plus several refuge volunteers in actively participating in gathering data for this study so that the local public understands the importance of this endeavor.

As this first field season draws to an end several exciting results were recorded. We first experienced immediate success in attracting targeted fall migrant shorebirds when water level manipulations were timed just right as per experimental design parameters. Full pool levels were maintained in the appropriate designated study site until early June. After a four week drawdown was initiated, newly created wetland conditions attracted several hundred fall migrating shorebirds by July 15, 2005.

Shorebird numbers peaked to 6,000 birds by the first week of September but a prolonged drought completely dried up the wetland. Despite the dry weather conditions, vegetation responses to drawdown prescriptions produced beautiful stands of sea purslane (Sesuvium maritimum), a popular food item for snow geese, pintails and green-winged teal, but first used by fall migrant shorebirds in late September. These purslane patches immediately attracted good numbers of black-bellied and semipalmated plovers, semipalmated, least, and pectoral sandpipers and the more rare American golden-plovers plus a few buff-breasted sandpipers, which provided exciting new bird observations for local birders.