8/28 Milford, 10am-1pm, Mid- tide , receding, 85-90F, sunny. Beautiful morning on the marsh. Our ospreys have fledged yet the two juveniles were on the nest and calling loudly around 12:30-lunchtime. Our Purple martin colony was very successful and all have left for South America. On the marsh: 2 Starlings foraging in the marsh grass , 5 Mute Swans (2 adults & 3 juveniles), 15 Black bellied plovers on a mudflat, 2 Snowy Egrets and 3 Great egrets , 1 Great Blue heron, 1 Greater Yellowlegs, several D.C. Cormorants, 1 Common loon, and many very vocal Herring gulls. On the grounds: 1 American redstart, 1 Black & white warbler, 1 Northern Cardinal, 1 Northern Flicker, 2 Mourning doves, 2 Goldfinches, 1 Carolina wren, and many House sparrows at the feeders. Senator Chris Murphy along with about 40 other individuals ( state legislators, Mystic Aquarium representatives, people from Briarpatch, Audubon representatives, members of D.E.E.P, fishermen, Oyster farmers etc) met and were discussing the health of the Long Island Sound and funding to keep it an important, viable natural resource for the state. Bev Propen, Orange