August 25, 2023 — For the fourth time in six years, a Roseate Spoonbill is visiting Connecticut.
Blog – 2018
Rare bird alert: Once again, a Roseate Spoonbill visits Connecticut and the Milford Point Coastal Center
Friday, August 25th, 2023September 2023: Asters
Monday, September 25th, 2023Asters and goldenrods: These two standouts of the late-summer and autumn landscape give new meaning to the oft-repeated garden design phrase “four-season interest,” but from the point of view of our treasured pollinators and songbirds.
Roseate Spoonbill 2023: a selection of photos
Monday, August 28th, 2023August 28, 2023 — The Roseate Spoonbill that arrived at Connecticut Audubon’s Milford Point Coastal Center on Thursday, August 24, has not caused quite the elation among birders as the spoonbill that spent three weeks in the area in 2018. Still, this year’s visitor is not without its fans. About 30 people climbed the Coastal Center’s observation tower late in the afternoon on Sunday, August 27, to see it in the Charles Wheeler Salt Marsh.
More young Piping Plovers than ever fledged at Milford Point in 2024
Friday, October 11th, 2024October 11, 2024—Good news to report from the Milford Point Coastal Center: For the second year in a row baby Piping Plovers were abundant, a testament to the support of Connecticut Audubon members and the diligence of the coastal rangers who watch over the nests.
August 2023: Goldenrods (with asters to follow in September)
Monday, August 21st, 2023August 21, 2023 — The dynamic duo of yellow goldenrods and purple asters is one of the glories of the late-summer landscape. These members of the aster family often grow near one another, for good reason – bees, who benefit greatly from both genera, are attracted to the combination of purple and gold. Robin Wall Kimmerer, botanist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass, says of goldenrod and asters, “Their striking contrast when they grow together makes them the most attractive target in the whole meadow, a beacon for bees. Growing together, both receive more pollinator visits than if they were growing alone.”
Catch up with these conservation stories in the Connecticut news media
Thursday, August 10th, 2023August 10, 2023 — It has been a good summer for bird conservation, and that has caught the attention of editors and reporters throughout Connecticut.
Homegrown Habitat Mail: Great, basic advice on planting for the benefit of birds and pollinators
Wednesday, August 2nd, 2023August 2, 2023 — Responding to a question about what to plant on a specific property, Homegrown Habitat author Sarah Middeleer instead responded with advice that almost any homeowner can use.
Northern Bobwhite joins the list of breeding birds at the Bafflin Preserve in Pomfret. But for this grassland species, there’s more to the story
Monday, July 31st, 2023July 31, 2023 — One of the great things about the bird world is that you just never know. You never know, for example, when a species that hasn’t nested in the state in 20 or 30 years will suddenly settle down and raise a family on your sanctuary, which is what a pair of Northern Bobwhite did this year at Connecticut Audubon’s Bafflin Preserve in Pomfret.
Tips to help protect shorebirds if you visit Milford Point
Monday, July 24th, 2023Late 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.
Combine 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.”
