May 27, 2021 — Thanks to a nationwide grassroots advocacy effort that included members of the Connecticut Audubon Society, the long-standing protections of the country’s most important bird protection law will remain intact. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced recently that it was revoking changes made in 2018 that weakened the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
Blog – 2018
The country’s most important bird protection law is safe, thanks to a vast grassroots advocacy effort
Thursday, May 27th, 2021Daily Bird: Common Raven
Wednesday, April 28th, 2021April 28, 2021 — Common Ravens are among the earliest birds to construct nests, sometimes even while snow still blankets the ground in early March. Listen for its throaty croak, an identification dead give-away that is unlikely to be confused with Common Crow or Fish Crow, Connecticut’s other two big, all-black birds.
Daily Bird: Noisy Spring Woodpeckers — Northern Flicker
Tuesday, April 27th, 2021April 27, 2021 — If Northern Flickers are breeding near where you live, you know it. Their calls pierce the woods in April, loud, long, and persistent. Take the time to look for the bird too because, as Andy Rzeznikiewicz says in today’s Daily Bird, “their various colors and markings are spectacular.”
Daily Bird: Noisy Spring Woodpeckers — Pileated Woodpecker
Friday, April 23rd, 2021April 23, 2021 — Woodpeckers are noisy this time of year. If you happen to live near a pair of Pileateds, you’ll know it. Add their loud territorial call to that of Red-bellied Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, Common Flicker, and Downy Woodpecker, and you have a woodpecker cacophony.
An injured Herring Gull at Milford Point: add face masks to fishing line, nets, and balloon strings on the list of litter that imperils birds
Friday, April 23rd, 2021In the Sanctuaries
April 23, 2021 — They are the latest menace to wildlife — Covid protection masks that are lost or thrown on the ground and get tangled around birds’ wings, necks, and legs. On Monday, April 19, two members of Connecticut Audubon’s staff at the Milford Point Coastal Center found a young Herring Gull completely caught in a mask.
Ten Ways to Help Birds: Number 1 — Advocate!
Thursday, April 22nd, 2021April 22, 2021 — We’ve made a list of 10 things you can do to help birds, and we’re counting them down one day at a time until today, Earth Day! Thank you for all you do to make a difference for conservation!
10 Ways to Help Birds: Number 2 — Reverse the climate crisis
Wednesday, April 21st, 2021April 21, 2021 — The biggest threat to birds is climate change. Birds are already starting to feel the heat right here in Connecticut. It’s a global problem with local and regional implications, and with local and regional opportunities for meaningful action. The most effective action is collective but that doesn’t mean we should ignore individual action.
Daily Bird: Eastern Bluebird
Wednesday, April 21st, 2021April 21, 2021 — One of the most sought after birds to attract to one’s yard! Males are a brilliant bright blue year round with a rusty colored breast, females are more grayish blue with a rusty breast and flanks. Their song is a thrush-like gurgle, often soft but sometimes surprisingly loud and forceful.
10 Ways to Help Birds: Number 3 — Support open space preservation
Tuesday, April 20th, 2021April 20, 2021 — The bottom line for birds is habitat. They need suitable places to nest, spend the winter, and rest and feed during migration. It’s critical that you support the acquisition, preservation, and proper management of open space, including forest land, on the state and local level.
10 Ways to Help Birds: Number 4 — Landscape with native plants to attract insects and birds
Monday, April 19th, 2021April 19, 2021 — Even small yards can have a big impact on birds and insects. Earth Week is a good time to start revamping or enhancing your property. Native plants host native insects that are in turn food for birds and other wildlife. Hundreds of species of pollinators and birds live in Connecticut.
Video preview: Earth Day Backyard Bioblitz, Thursday, April 22
Monday, April 19th, 2021April 19, 2021 — Registrations are trending up for this year’s Earth Day Backyard Bioblitz. It’s set for Thursday, April 22 — all day. But you don’t have to stay in your backyard. Connecticut Audubon’s sanctuaries will all be open. Cathy Hagadorn, director of Deer Pond Farm in Sherman, has some ideas about what you might find there on Earth Day.
Video preview: Dr. Desiree Narango talks about her April 21 Zoom presentation, “The birds, the bees, the flowers and the trees”
Saturday, April 17th, 2021April 17, 2021 — In her upcoming presentation in Young, Gifted, and Wild About Birds, Dr. Desiree Narango will talk about which plant species can attract those birds to your yard or nature preserve. She’ll tell you how to choose which trees and shrubs to plant. She’ll also go deep into the amazing biodiversity you’ll find in your own yard: Butterflies, moths, caterpillars, bees, birds, all illustrated with wonderful photos. Wednesday, April 21, 7 p.m., via Zoom.
10 Ways to Help Birds: Number 5 — Join!
Sunday, April 18th, 2021April 18, 2021 — You’re probably already a member of the Connecticut Audubon Society. If so, thank you! But if you’re not, give yourself an Earth Day gift and join!
10 Ways to Help Birds: Number 6 — Cut out the pesticides
Saturday, April 17th, 2021April 17, 2021 — Pesticides are poison, plain and simple. If you apply pesticides to your property to kill insects, you’re killing the food that Connecticut’s birds rely on. And while you might think you’re targeting mosquitoes or ticks, you’re also killing butterflies and bees of all sorts – Connecticut has over 300 species of native bees!
What to expect during the 2021 Earth Day Backyard Bioblitz? Hundreds of species of plants and animals
Friday, April 16th, 2021April 16, 2021 — If you’re thinking about participating in the 2021 Earth Day Backyard Bioblitz, take a look at what happened last year: Well over 200 people from throughout Connecticut submitted 2,619 observations of 663 species — 444 plants, 86 birds, 38 insects, and 31 fungi.
Daily Bird: April Migrants — Pine Warbler
Friday, April 16th, 2021April 16, 2021 — Of all the warblers that breed in Connecticut, the first to return in spring is the Pine Warbler, arriving in mid- to late March, just ahead of Louisiana Waterthrush.
10 Ways to Help Birds: Number 7 — volunteer for bird monitoring, habitat improvement work
Friday, April 16th, 2021April 16, 2021 — We have two state-wide projects that directly benefit birds and also rely on volunteers – Osprey Nation and the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds. We also doing habitat improvement work throughout the state. It’s important and rewarding work — a chance to help birds directly near where you live.
10 Ways to Help Birds: Number 8 — Keep your cats indoors
Thursday, April 15th, 2021April 15, 2021 — Don’t let the cat out of the house. Outdoor cats kill an estimated 1.3 – 4 billion birds in North America every year (they also kill 6.3–22.3 billion mammals annually).
Daily Bird: April Migrants — Palm Warbler
Wednesday, April 14th, 2021April 14, 2021 — If you wait until May to look for spring warblers in Connecticut, you might miss seeing this gem. At this time of year Palm Warblers have entirely bright yellow underparts with fine dark steaks on their breast sides. They have a rusty red cap that is most colorful in males, an eyebrow that is just as yellow as the breast, and olive-brown upper parts without wing bars.
10 Ways to Help Birds: Number 9 — shop sustainably
Wednesday, April 14th, 2021April 14, 2021 — Over the last 50 years, the population of birds in North America has falled by almost 30 percent. Shopping sustainably won’t solve the whole problem. But it’s one of a number of positive actions you can take. It’s a good Earth Day resolution.
