Fishers Island Conservancy

06/04/2026

We are so excited to welcome Aila to the team as our 2026 intern! 🎉 Aila has spent her summers on Fishers Island and is now studying Marine Biology at Northeastern University, bringing a deep love for this place and its ecosystems into her work! This summer she will be out in the field supporting all of our programs including shorebird monitoring. If you see her out and about on the island, stop and say hi! 🌊

06/03/2026

06/01/2026

FIRST is back for 2026! 🎉 Say hello to Tyler, Naomi, Sam, and Natalie, your Fishers Island Research and Survey Team for the summer! Tyler leads the crew as a PhD student, Naomi is here for her third year (a true FIRST veteran!), and Sam and Natalie are joining us for the first time. If you spot them out on the island, stop by! they’d love to chat about their work and share what they’re discovering. Welcome to the team! 🌿☀️

05/15/2026

Last night was our first horseshoe crab monitoring night of the season and it was a great turnout! 🌙
Thank you to Stephanie and Nick Hall for helping lead the training and guide everyone through the transects for the evening. Even though we only spotted one mating pair, it was still really exciting to get everyone together and kick off the season.
Our next monitoring night is this saturday (tomorrow) at 9:45 PM. Another late-night new moon survey and another chance to hopefully tag and count a few more horseshoe crabs. All are invited! Bring a headlamp and water shoes! 🌊

05/11/2026

Despite overnight storms and dense fog on Mother’s Day morning, this year’s Spring 2026 Migratory Bird Count turned out to be a great day for birding on Fishers Island! 🪶
With the help of our volunteers, we recorded 66 species during the official count and 75 species throughout the weekend running list, another great reminder of how important Fishers Island is as a stopover habitat for migratory birds along the Atlantic Flyway.
A huge thank you to Dr. Adam Mitchell and Tyler McMahon for leading the count and all of the volunteers who helped make this our 13th successful year of bird counts!
Learn more and see the full species list on our website! 🐦

05/04/2026

Our Marine Debris Report for April 2026 has been published. Visit our website to view the report. 🌊
https://www.ficonservancy.org/2026/05/marine-debris-april-2026/

05/02/2026

Garlic mustard is popping up all over the island right now, and this is the moment to act! This fast-spreading invasive plant moves in early in the spring, growing quickly before many native plants have a chance to emerge. It crowds them out, releases chemicals into the soil that disrupt native growth, and once it goes to seed, it can spread rapidly and return year after year.
The good news is it’s easy to remove. Garlic mustard has shallow roots, so it usually pulls up cleanly by hand, especially after a bit of rain. The key is getting to it now, before it flowers and sets seed.
Removing it helps protect native plants, supports healthier habitats, and slows its spread across the island.
If you see it, pull it! Now’s the time! 🌱

05/01/2026

Join us for this year’s spring migratory bird count on Sunday, May 10th at 8 am!! We’ll meet at the community center before heading out across the island to spot and record birds during peak spring migration. Whether you’re a seasoned birder or just getting started, all are welcome! Bring binoculars and dress for the weather! 🌿🪶