Join us on April 24 at Cinestudio on the campus of Trinity College in Hartford for another amazing evening of inspiring, documentary style short films. We are once again partnering with Moutainfilm on Tour to bring you a selection of culturally rich, adventure-packed and incredibly inspiring films curated from the Mountainfilm festival in Telluride, Colorado.
Blog – 2018
Don’t miss Mountainfilm on Tour! An evening of great short movies to benefit bird conservation. April 24 in Hartford
Monday, March 31st, 2025Early spring is a good time of year to not do too much in your yard. Birds will benefit.
Wednesday, March 26th, 2025March 26, 2025—To make your yard better for birds, start by doing nothing. At least for a while. That’s the advice from Connecticut Audubon and a University of Connecticut expert, summed up in this recent story from Connecticut Public Radio. “ … raking or mowing last year’s leaves too soon in the spring can kill a key group of creatures in Connecticut’s food web.
Action Alert: Send an email today to help get an important pesticide law passed
Tuesday, March 25th, 2025March 25, 2025—An important bird protection bill is on the brink of moving forward in Hartford. But it needs your help. A simple email will do it. The bill number is HB 6916. It’s called An Act Concerning the Use of Neonicotinoids — insecticides also known as neonics. Please email your State Senator and State House member. Ask them to speak to the co-chairs of the Environment Committee, Senator Rick Lopes and Rep. John-Michael Parker, and to urge the co-chairs to let the committee vote on the bill.
Homegrown Habitat: March 2025 — Pinxterbloom
Friday, March 21st, 2025March 21, 2025 — The rhododendron genus is large, its best-known plants the broad-leaf evergreens such as Rosebay (R. maximum) and countless non-native hybrids and cultivars. But there is a group of delightful native, deciduous azaleas that are also rhododendrons. Pinxterbloom azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides) is a member of this club and is well worth getting to know.
Young, Gifted and Wild About Birds: March 13 — Equity in Birdwatching
Monday, March 10th, 2025March 10, 2025 — For conservation to be truly effective, communities must feel a deep connection to their local environment. This connection often grows through partnerships between scientific institutions and underrepresented groups. The Equity in Birdwatching initiative emphasizes inclusivity, social justice, and community-driven conservation, demonstrating how diverse perspectives help us better understand challenges and find meaningful solutions.
Homegrown Habitat, February 2025: Little Bluestem
Monday, March 10th, 2025March 10, 2025—It may seem odd to write about a grass in winter. But the striking fall and winter beauty of little bluestem is actually why this highly ornamental native grass is featured this month. Also called prairie beardgrass, little bluestem is native to much of the United States, including Connecticut, and was once one of the dominant species in both the shortgrass and tallgrass prairies of the midwest. It has long been one of my favorite grasses both in the wild and in the garden, but of course it wouldn’t appear here unless it had high ecological value as well.
Young, Gifted and Wild About Birds: March 6, Hannah Clipp, Ph.D., on the effects of climate change on forest birds of eastern North America
Sunday, February 23rd, 2025Global climate change threatens biodiversity and bird populations, and predicting future impacts is challenging but necessary. Hannah Clipp, Ph.D., will describe three of her research projects in New England and the Appalachians. The projects are designed to improve understanding of how climate change affects forest bird populations, and how those birds are affected by other landscape changes and habitat associations. She’ll explain the role of land cover and tree species distributions and they relate to the forest bird communities of New England.
“Neonics: High Harm and Low Benefit,” a presentation at the Newtown library about the hazards of insecticides
Friday, February 14th, 2025February 14, 2024 — Community advocates interested in the problems caused by widely-used neonicotinoid pesticides and what can be done to reduce their use are invited to a special free presentation, “Neonics: High Harm and Low Benefit,” in Newtown on Sunday, February 23.
Connecticut Audubon strongly supports new bills in Hartford that will protect birds by limiting insecticides and rodenticides
Thursday, February 13th, 2025February 13, 2025 — Two bills introduced in Hartford this month would lead to significant reductions in dangerous insecticides and rodent poisons in the state, protecting birds and other wildlife. Both have the strong support of the Connecticut Audubon Society.
The problems birds face during migration, and how to solve them: February 20, Young, Gifted & Wild About Birds
Monday, February 10th, 2025The availability and quality of migratory habitat can be make or break for songbirds. Dr. Fengyi (Freda) Guo is working to identify important stopover spots, understand the habitats birds rely on during migration, and see how they cope with obstacles when stopover sites are missing. It’s particularly important in a state like Connecticut, which has both well-documented migration habitat and widespread urban and suburban sprawl that has subsumed many natural areas.
Want to prevent birds from crashing into your windows? It’s all in the lines, dots, stencils and decals.
Monday, February 10th, 2025February 10, 2025—It’s always a shock and a little sickening to hear a bird smash into a window. But there are solutions. And because a least 400 million birds die each year in the U.S. when they crash into windows in houses and other small buildings, we can all make a difference in solving this big problem. Kaitlyn Parkins, the glass collisions program coordinator for American Bird Conservancy, discussed the problem and the solutions on Wednesday, February 5, as part of Connecticut Audubon’s Young, Gifted and Wild About Birds series.
Avian Influenza in Connecticut: What we know, what you should do
Monday, February 3rd, 2025February 23, 2025—People throughout Connecticut are becoming more concerned with avian flu. The information here is what we’ve learned from government agencies and other organizations. It’s subject to change as the situation changes.
Practical solutions for preventing bird-window collisions at home and in your community: a webinar with Kaitlyn Parkins of American Bird Conservancy
Tuesday, January 28th, 2025Join us for a February 5 matinee presentation of Young, Gifted and Wild About Birds. Well over 1 billion birds die each year in the U.S. because of building collisions. That estimate comes from a study published in 2024 and it was eye-opening because it was much higher than previous estimates. One of the study’s authors, Kaitlyn Parkins of American Bird Conservancy, will show us which techniques actually work to reduce window crashes and which don’t. This is news you can use for those trying to make a difference for bird conservation.
CT Pesticide Reform News Release: Widely Used Insecticides Found in Connecticut Waters Pose a Deadly Threat to Aquatic Ecosystems and A Risk to Human Health
Monday, January 27th, 2025January 27, 2025—A University of Connecticut study combining two decades of data with recent tests reveals widespread contamination of the state’s surface and groundwater by an insecticide linked to falling populations of bees and birds. The study, by UConn’s Center for Environmental Sciences and Engineering, adds to the growing body of research and evidence that neonicotinoid insecticides are finding their way into streams and rivers from turf grass including lawns and golf courses as well as from agricultural uses. In addition to the connection to pollinator and bird declines, neonics also pose a health risk to humans. The study recommends that Connecticut enact stronger regulations to further restrict the use of neonics in the state.
Homegrown Habitat, January 2025: Eastern Hemlock
Friday, January 17th, 2025Eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) is perhaps the most iconic of the New England conifers. This graceful, elegant tree is incredibly valuable to wildlife, including many birds. Where it has formed large stands, the deeply shaded hemlock forest takes on an other-worldly quality, its floor spongy with years of dropped needles and its air fragrant and cool. Hemlock forests are unique, invaluable ecosystems.
Young, Gifted and Wild About Birds 2025 to start with UCLA Professor Morgan Tingley, formerly of UConn, discussing the Los Angeles wildfires
Thursday, January 16th, 2025January 16, 2025 — Connecticut Audubon’s Young, Gifted, and Wild About Birds series starts its 2025 season with a January 23 Zoom presentation by UCLA professor Morgan Tingley, Ph.D., about the Los Angeles fires and the effects of climate change-induced wildfire on bird populations. Tingley, a former University of Connecticut professor, lives and works in the heart of the area being devastated by wildfires. He’s been studying the effects of fire and smoke on birds and will also have an up-to-date report on the situation in the Los Angeles area.
Homegrown Habitat, December 2024: Inkberry
Monday, December 16th, 2024December 16, 2024 — Inkberry is one of my garden staples. Its glossy evergreen foliage and upright, vase-shaped form is welcome in many locations, from the foundation beds to a mixed shrub border, and areas where a bit of screening is needed. I love it in combination with other evergreens such as mountain laurel, rhododendron, and spruce or fir, where the subtle differences in the green hues of their foliage is featured delightfully.
Connecticut State of the Birds 2024: Video and key links
Tuesday, December 10th, 2024December 10, 2024—The 2024 Connecticut State of the Birds report warns that some of the state’s most common beloved bird species, including the state bird, the American Robin, are facing a growing threat from pesticides that are widely-used on lawns, golf courses, and farms. Here is a compilation of important links, as well as a video of our December 6 Zoom presentation about the report.
The use of insecticides recalls the specter of DDT for Connecticut’s most common birds: Connecticut State of the Birds 2024
Friday, December 6th, 2024December 6, 2024—A new Connecticut State of the Birds report, released today by the Connecticut Audubon Society, warns that some of Connecticut’s most beloved bird species, including the state bird, the American Robin, are facing a growing threat from a widely used pesticide.
Homegrown Habitat, November 2024: Red Bearberry
Wednesday, November 20th, 2024Red bearberry is an unusual evergreen ground cover that solves many garden problems with beauty and flair—if it’s in the right location. Arctostaphylos uva-ursi is named for its gustatory appeal to bears, but other wildlife, including birds, also eat its red fruit in fall and winter. (Don’t worry about attracting bears with this plant, unless they are already regular visitors.) Other common names include kinnikinick, bear’s grape, hog craneberry, and sandberry.
