Connecticut Audubon Society Presents Annual “Dave Engelman” Volunteer Award to Phil Donahue
Connecticut Audubon Society presented television personality and film producer Phil Donahue, a former Westport, Ct., resident, with its annual volunteer award for his dedication to helping restore the state’s population of Purple Martins, a threatened species, at its 116th annual meeting, Thursday, October 2, in New Haven.
Milan Bull, Connecticut Audubon’s senior director of science and conservation, credited the colonies on Donahue’s former waterfront property, and the website he established with streaming video of nesting martins, for inspiring a surge in interest in martins across the state.
When Connecticut Audubon Society first helped Donahue erect a martin colony, in 2002, there were only seven martin colonies in the state. But, Bull said, thanks largely to the publicity Donahue helped bring to the Purple Martins’ plight, individuals, non-profit organizations and government agencies have continued to put up nest boxes and gourds, and there are now approximately 40 Purple Martin colonies in Connecticut.
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