Key Points from the 2024 Connecticut State of the Birds Report

The Connecticut Audubon Society
Key Points from the 2024 Connecticut State of the Birds Report
“The Next Conservation Frontier: Protecting Birds from Insecticides”

Click HERE for a copy of the 2024 Connecticut State of the Birds report

The Connecticut Audubon Society urges immediate action against neonicotinoids. Common birds such as American Robin, Eastern Bluebird, and Barn Swallow are among the species at risk, and delaying action until populations decline dramatically is a costly and ecologically risky approach to conservation. It’s an approach that would echo the disaster of DDT 75 years ago.

Neonicotinoids (neonics) are a class of insecticides that are significantly more toxic than DDT, which was banned in 1972 because of its devastating effects on bird populations.
While DDT is mostly gone, neonics are now widely used on lawns, golf courses, and agricultural fields to kill insects.

Impact of Neonics on Birds

Neonics kill insects, which are a crucial food source for birds, especially during the breeding season.
Birds can be directly poisoned by eating neonic-coated seeds, with a single corn kernel containing a lethal dose for a songbird.
Even low levels of neonic exposure can harm birds, affecting their immune systems, fertility, navigation, and causing weight loss during migration.
Research has linked neonics to significant declines in bird populations, particularly among insect-eating species like aerial insectivores and grassland birds.
The report highlights bird species in Connecticut that are particularly vulnerable to neonics: Eastern Bluebirds, American Robins, Bobolinks, Chimney Swifts, Barn Swallows, and Red-winged Blackbirds.

Call to Action

The report calls for stronger regulations on neonic use in Connecticut to protect birds, pollinators, and the environment.
It recommends a new law in 2025 to reduce neonic use on lawns, golf courses, and in agriculture, and to improve public access to data on neonic use.
The report highlights successful neonic regulations in neighboring states like New York and Vermont as models for Connecticut to follow.
It encourages public awareness and advocacy to push for policy changes and protect Connecticut’s natural heritage.

Connecticut State of the Birds has been published annually by the Connecticut Audubon Society since 2006.

Authors of articles in the 2024 report:

Hardy Kern is the director of government relations at the American Bird Conservancy. He works on policy solutions related to pesticide reduction, protecting public lands for wildlife, and the Endangered Species Act.
Allison Black is the secretary of the Board of Directors of the Connecticut Ornithological Association. She also works as a seabird observer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and has presented in Connecticut Audubon’s Young, Gifted & Wild About Birds series.
Murry Burgess is an assistant professor at Mississippi State University where her research focuses on the effects of anthropogenic stressors on wild songbird health and nestling development. She has presented in Connecticut Audubon’s Young, Gifted & Wild About Birds series.
Emily May is a pollinator conservation biologist for the Pesticide Program at the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.
Bill Hobbs is a contributing writer for Estuary magazine and a nature writer for The Times newspapers.
Dan Raichel is the director of the Natural Resources Defense Council’s Pollinators and Pesticides initiative.
Pamela Hunt is New Hampshire Audubon’s senior biologist for avian conservation.
Andy Griswold is the director of EcoTravel for the Connecticut Audubon Society.
Ken Elkins is the director of Connecticut Audubon’s Coastal Center at Milford Point and a former president of the Connecticut Ornithological Association.
Milan Bull is the senior director of science and conservation for the Connecticut Audubon Society.

Connecticut State of the Birds 2024 is sponsored by WSHU Public Radio.