Photo Top: American Oystercatchers are highly sensitive to human disturbance. Photo by Paul J. Fusco.



Lapland Longspurs have been killed by the thousands at communications structures. Photo by Paul J. Fusco.

Power lines can be deadly to raptors such as this Cooper's Hawk. Photo by Julian Hough.

Founded in 1898, Connecticut Audubon Society is an independent science-based conservation organization focused on Connecticut’s native birds and habitats. In keeping with our mission, in 2006 we launched a new annual initiative called “Connecticut State of the Birds.” This was a first-of-its-kind report for the state, and it focused on the single major threat to our native birds: habitat loss. As a result, an estimated 50% of Connecticut’s native bird species are declining, and 17% are on the State’s Endangered, Threatened and Special Concern list. That is: 50 out of 290 regularly or annually occurring bird species in Connecticut are State-listed.

Our 2006 report also contains our five specific, science-based recommendations for mitigating these threats and protecting Connecticut’s birds and habitats. In cooperation with the State and other conservation organizations, Connecticut Audubon Society has followed through on all five recommendations, and we are pleased to see that bird conservation in Connecticut is moving forward.

For our 2007 "Connecticut State of the Birds” Report, another group of independent experts described the next most serious set of threats to our native birds. These are specific factors, either man-made or within our control, that kill or injure millions of birds annually and destroy precious habitat. Just one of these, glass strikes, conservatively kills an estimated 100 million birds every year in the U.S. -- and some experts say 1 billion!

Our just-released 2008 "Connecticut State of the Birds" Report, issued February 11, describes possible conservation strategies for six bird species that are in serious trouble -- and for which their Connecticut habitat is critical to their global survival -- to illustrate how complex the problems and solutions are related to habitat protection and bird conservation. These include the Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow (a state-listed “species of Special Concern”), the Blue-winged Warbler (a state-listed “Endangered” species), the Golden-winged Warbler, the American Oystercatcher (a state-listed “species of Special Concern”), the Cerulean Warbler, and the Bobolink (a state-listed “species of Special Concern”).

As you will read in our latest report, there are no "one-size-fits-all" programs or simplistic solutions. The next, difficult steps are to design, fund and implement action plans that address the problems we’ve identified, including changing human behavior, which is probably the most difficult challenge of all. But conservation is a "global" issue that concerns all of us. Right here, right now, in Connecticut, we can and must do something to protect at-risk bird species and disappearing wildlife habitat and the countless plants, insects and other animals that share these same habitats.

Connecticut Audubon Society will continue to work with State legislators, the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection, other state agencies and other conservation organizations to develop the specific actions required to implement our recommendations and make progress in achieving our common goal of conserving Connecticut’s birdlife and protecting our natural environment.

To ensure that our "Connecticut State of the Birds" reports are both scientifically valid and impartial, we have established a scientific advisory board of distinguished experts in the field. However, these publications and the articles and recommendations they contain are the responsibility of the authors and Connecticut Audubon Society, and do not necessarily imply the endorsement of the other organizations or individuals involved.

Sincerely,

Robert Martinez, President
Connecticut Audubon Society
Fairfield, Connecticut

Connecticut Audubon Society's
"Connecticut Bird & Habitat Conservation Priorities"

1. Preserve Grasslands

--Protect existing grasslands from development.

--Provide farmers with incentives to mow after the nesting season.

--Provide incentives to convert marginal cropland to grassland.

--Key Species: Meadowlark, Bobolink, Grasshopper Sparrow.

2.  Manage Land to Create More Shrublands

--Actively manage public land to increase shrublands.
--Provide incentives to private landowners to create shrublands.
--Encourage utilities to maintain power line cuts as shrublands.

--Key Species: Blue-winged Warbler, Brown Thrasher, Towhee.

3. Protect Remaining Beach and Saltmarsh Habitats

--Actively prevent degradation of the limited existing habitat.

--Provide funds for policing during the nesting season.

--Use dredge spoil to create safe artificial nesting islands.

--Key Species: Oystercatcher, Least Tern, Sharp-tailed Sparrow.
 

4. Slow Forest Fragmentation and Stop Deer Overbrowsing
--Use land acquisition to preserve large blocks of unbroken forest.

--Reduce deer populations in impacted forests.

--Key Species: Scarlet Tanager, Ovenbird, Wood Thrush.

5.  Limit Unnecessary Human Threats

--Eliminate feral cat colonies on public lands.

--Promote light awareness programs for major buildings.

--Establish guidelines for lighting on communications towers.

--Support controls on all invasive species.

--Key Species:  All migratory and native species.