Late summer and early fall are great times to go birding at the Milford Point Coastal Center. But because Milford Point is first and foremost a nature preserve, we ask that you enjoy the birds without disturbing them, especially on the sand spit.
Blog – 2018
Tips to help protect shorebirds if you visit Milford Point
Monday, July 24th, 2023Combine tough little birds and diligent conservation with a bit of luck, and the result is a record year for threatened Piping Plovers at Milford Point
Monday, July 24th, 2023July 24, 2023 — This looks like a record year for Piping Plovers at Milford Point. Sixteen pairs of this federally-threatened species nested along the sandbar in 2023. As of today, 25 young birds have fledged and six others are preparing to.
At a stronghold for Purple Martins, volunteers and staff band 89 baby birds
Monday, July 17th, 2023July 17, 2023 — Young Purple Martins make a squawking noise that sounds like what the movies imagine a pterodactyl might sound like — harsh, insistent, un-birdlike — only not as loud That’s how some of the nestlings at the Milford Point Coastal Center were expressing themselves the other morning during the center’s annual Purple Martin banding session.
July 2023: Blazing star
Monday, July 17th, 2023July 17, 2023 — In July and August the native meadow flowers start to shine. A standout is blazing star (Liatris spicata), also known as gayfeather due to its feathery flower heads. Its showy purple flowers appear on stalks two to four feet, but occasionally to six-feet high, blooming progressively from the top down.
It looks like maybe another peak year for Connecticut’s Ospreys, but Osprey Nation needs your help to confirm that
Monday, July 10th, 2023July 10, 2023 — Halfway through the 10th season of Connecticut Audubon’s Osprey Nation monitoring program all indications are that 2023 will be close to another peak year for these fish-eating raptors. Osprey Nation volunteers have mapped information for 480 active nests in 2023.
Protecting the Milford Point birds over 4th of July weekend
Thursday, June 29th, 2023June 29, 2023 — We will be locking the gate to the Milford Point Coastal Center parking lot over the Fourth of July weekend to help protect the nesting birds. We know this might be inconvenient if you were hoping to spend part of the weekend birding there. But holiday weekends draw far too many non-birders than is safe for the Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers that nest there. When you include the added disturbance caused by fireworks, it’s a potential disaster for the birds.
Lowell P. Weicker
Wednesday, June 28th, 2023The Connecticut Audubon Society and its Board of Directors is saddened to hear the news of Lowell P. Weicker’s death. The former Governor and Senator was a friend, and a longtime supporter of environmental protection in general and of Connecticut Audubon in particular. His wife, Claudia, is the chair of our Roger Tory Peterson Estuary […]
June 2023: Trumpet honeysuckle
Tuesday, June 20th, 2023Trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), also known as coral honeysuckle and woodbine, is a twining, perennial vine originally native to the southeastern United States. Having naturalized to many more northern and western regions, it is now also considered native in many northeastern and midwestern states, including Connecticut.
Looking to a future where all can share and experience the joys of nature
Tuesday, March 28th, 2023March 28, 2023 — For the past several years there has been an important and renewed focus on issues of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility in our society and institutions. Accordingly, the Connecticut Audubon Society and other Audubon societies across the country have been involved in discussions about the mixed legacy of John James Audubon. At the heart of these discussions is the issue of what his legacy means at a time when our diversity is recognized as a great strength, and inclusivity is viewed as essential to our progress.
Congratulations to Samantha DeMarco & Kalel Attonito for their first-place photos in the 2023 Birdathon Photo Contest
Thursday, June 8th, 2023June 8, 2023 – The Connecticut Audubon Society congratulates Samantha DeMarco of Milford and Kalel Attonito of Darien, the winners of the 2023 Migration Madness Birdathon photo contest. Samantha’s winning photograph featured a Great Blue Heron and a Black-crowned Night Heron along the Derby Greenway. In the Young Birder category, 10-year-old Kalel Attonito won first place for a photo of a Ruddy Turnstone at the shore.
Canaries outside the coal mine: Are Connecticut’s birds being affected by smoke from Canada’s wildfires?
Wednesday, June 7th, 2023June 7, 2023 — People who live in Connecticut and beyond are able to take refuge from the smoky air by staying indoors. Birds can’t do that, obviously. So how is the smoke from the Canadian wildfires affecting birds? It’s impossible to say for sure but one answer is: it can’t be good.
General Assembly passes a ban on fishing for horseshoe crabs
Monday, June 5th, 2023June 5, 2023 — A bill that would ban the harvest of horseshoe crabs in Connecticut has passed the Connecticut General Assembly and is awaiting the signature of Governor Ned Lamont. The language of the bill is simple: “no person shall engage in the hand-harvesting of horseshoe crabs or the eggs of horseshoe crabs from the waters of this state.”
3 new conservation laws: Connecticut Audubon members speak out successfully, as bills to protect shorebirds and migrating birds pass in Hartford
Friday, June 9th, 2023June 21 update — Governor Ned Lamont signed the Lights Out bill into law yesterday.
June 9, 2023 — Three important environmental bills supported by the Connecticut Audubon Society and its members passed the Connecticut General Assembly in Hartford in recent days and have been sent to Governor Ned Lamont to sign into law.
Great fun for enthusiastic participants in 2023’s Migration Madness and Birdathon
Monday, June 5th, 20232023 Migration Madness participants: 360 2023 Birdathon participants: 68 Species seen: 176 $$$ raised for bird conservation: $13,000 Scroll to see the prize winners and complete leaderboard for the 6th Annual Migration Madness Birdathon. June 5, 2023 — Congratulations to Joanne Bourque of Pomfret and Frank Mantlik of Stratford, the big winners in this year’s […]
State Senate Action Alert: Lights Out
Wednesday, May 24th, 2023May 24, 2023 — The State of Connecticut has a chance to become part of a growing movement to protect birds. Please ask your state Senator in Hartford to become a co-sponsor of House Bill 6607, “An act concerning the nighttime lighting of state-owned buildings at certain times for the protection of birds.”
May 2023: Chokeberry
Monday, May 22nd, 2023This month’s Homegrown Habitat plants are the chokeberries. Write to author Sarah Middeleer at homegrown@ctaudubon.org. Red and black chokeberries are two closely related shrubs that are highly attractive to birds and pollinators but are also appealing additions to the garden. They are both native to our region and are tolerant of widely varying growing conditions.
Lights Out Alert tonight, which means it’s likely that many, many birds will be landing here in the morning
Saturday, May 20th, 2023May 20, 2023 — Yet another big bird migration night tonight — half a million, give or take. So please turn out your lights. All the reasons for doing so are in the previous Lights Out posts. But half a million birds is a good reason to make one late push for Connecticut Audubon’s 2023 Migration Madness Birdathon. You’re helping conservation in Connecticut by turning out your lights. Take the next step and participate in the Birdathon. It’s a fundrraiser for bird conservation in the state, and you can do your part by signing up or making a pledge.
Governor Lamont proclaims June 4, 2023, as Connecticut Audubon Day in the state!
Tuesday, May 30th, 2023May 30, 2023 — the state of Connecticut is celebrating our organization’s 125th anniversary with an official proclamation by Governor Ned Lamont declaring June 4, 2023, as Connecticut Audubon Society Day. Then on June 7, the celebration of the founding continues as Connecticut Audubon presents two programs in conjunction with the Fairfield Museum and History Center. It was on June 4, 1898, that the Audubon Society of the State of Connecticut held its first annual meeting of members. Two hundred and fifty people crowded into Fairfield Town Hall on that Saturday.
Lights Out Alert for Thursday, May 18
Thursday, May 18th, 2023May 18, 2023 — It looks like another big night for migrating birds — a Lights Out High Alert night. Please make sure you turn out your lights tonight to prevent birds from getting killed.
Lights Out Alert for Monday, May 15
Monday, May 15th, 2023May 15, 2023 — It looks like Connecticut is in for one more night of really big songbird migration — which is great for Tuesday morning birders but not so great for the birds, if they crash into lighted buildings. So please, Lights Out again tonight.
