The following article was published first in The Connecticut Warbler, the journal of the Connecticut Ornithological Association. We are republishing it here on January 26, 2018, the 159th anniversary of Mabel’s birth! by Kathy Van Der Aue Chair, Connecticut Audubon Society Board of Directors It’s impossible to understand Birdcraft without knowing something of its founder, […]
News
Mabel Osgood Wright and the History of Birdcraft & the Connecticut Audubon Society
Thursday, January 25th, 2018Major Federal Grant Will Help Continue the Restoration of the Smith Richardson Preserve in Westport
Monday, January 8th, 2018January 8, 2018 – The transformation of 36 weed-choked acres in Westport into a thriving sanctuary for birds, pollinators, and native plants took a major step forward recently when the Connecticut Audubon Society was awarded a $145,780 grant from the federal government. The funding is earmarked for a section of the H. Smith Richardson Wildlife […]
How to Behave When Watching a Snowy Owl
Sunday, December 10th, 2017Here are the three basic rules Snowy Owl observers should follow (borrowed from Project SNOWStorm): Keep your distance Respect private property Don’t feed an owl, ever. We’re quoting at length from Project SNOWStorm. Keep your distance: “This is the first and most important rule. Just because the owl may tolerate a fairly close approach doesn’t […]
Parts of the Tax Reform Bills Could be Dire for Nonprofits
Wednesday, December 6th, 2017December 6, 2017 – The tax reform bills recently voted on by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives have the potential to do great harm to the Connecticut Audubon Society’s conservation work. And to the great work other nonprofits do as well. Please contact your elected officials in Washington about it. Here’s why: 1) The bills […]
State of the Birds 2017 Urges Connecticut Conservationists to Rally Behind the Upcoming Bird Atlas Project
Friday, December 1st, 2017Our State of the Birds report earned extensive coverage in the Connecticut media. Here are some examples: Hartford Courant Connecticut Post New London Day News stories also appeared in the New Haven Register, Stamford Advocate, Greenwich Time, Danbury News Times and elsewhere. Hartford, December 1 – The Connecticut Audubon Society released its annual Connecticut State […]
Trail Wood Will be Closed for Winter to Allow Forestry Work that Will Increase Safety and Improve Habitat
Tuesday, November 14th, 2017Pomfret, November 14, 2017 — The Connecticut Audubon Society will close its Trail Wood Sanctuary in Hampton for the winter to allow loggers to safely remove trees that have died or were weakened by damage in recent years by spongy moths. News coverage: The New London Day Channel 3 NBC Connecticut WTNH News 8 The […]
Advocating to Protect Fish – and Birds
Tuesday, October 24th, 2017October 23, 2017 – In the vast web of plants and animals that support life, three of the species that are most important to Connecticut are migratory fish: alewives, blueback herring, and Atlantic menhaden. Menhaden are enjoying something of a resurgence, and have been abundant throughout summer and into the fall in Long Island Sound […]
Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds, 2017
Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017The scores of volunteers and staff who protected the nests of federally threatened Piping Plovers on Connecticut’s beaches did such a good job during the 2017 season that we broke the record for number of breeding pairs since monitoring began in 1996. Nine of those nests were at our Milford Point Coastal Center and nearby […]
Press Release – A study of Old Lyme’s Tree Swallow roost by Cornell, UMass and others could revolutionize scientific understanding of the species
Wednesday, October 3rd, 2018October 3, 2018 – As natural spectacles go, there might be nothing in Connecticut to match the roosting at dusk in late summer of Tree Swallows in Old Lyme. Each evening on Goose Island, tens of thousands of birds convene. Or is it hundreds of thousands? A million? Nobody knows for sure. But now a […]
Contact Senators Blumenthal and Murphy About the Land and Water Conservation Fund
Tuesday, September 26th, 2017September 22, 2017 – The Appropriations bill now being considered in the U.S. Senate contains a great opportunity to conserve important bird and wildlife habitat in Connecticut. Please take a couple of minutes to call or write Connecticut’s Senators to let them know how important it is. The key feature of the bill is $400 […]
Plum Island Preservation Act Passes in the House
Wednesday, July 26th, 2017July 26, 2017 There was good news from Washington yesterday in the campaign to protect Plum Island. The House of Representative passed the Plum Island Preservation Act, which prevents the sale of the 840-acre island to the highest bidder and directs the government to create a comprehensive plan for the island that focuses on conservation. […]
Purple Martin Cam
Thursday, June 22nd, 20172022 The Purple Martin colony at the Milford Point Coastal Center is thriving once again. Here’s a view inside one of the gourds. Each year, supporters of the Coastal Center “adopt” a gourd for a $60 donation. The funds go directly toward maintaining, repairing, and replacing the gourds, and are essential to the success of […]
Connecticut Audubon’s 119th Annual Meeting
Monday, October 16th, 2017Members of the Connecticut Audubon Society enjoyed a breathtaking raptor exhibition and then voted in three new members of the Board of Directors at our 119th Annual Meeting, in Sherman, on Sunday, October 15. Read our 2017 Annual Report, highlighted by short profiles of 10 conservation leaders of today and of the future! Held at […]
Dave Engelman Volunteer Benchmark Award Winners for 2017
Monday, October 16th, 2017The Connecticut Audubon Society presented three longtime volunteers and a dedicated staff member with the Dave Engelman Volunteer Benchmark Award at our annual meeting at Deer Pond Farm, in Sherman, on Sunday, October 15. This year’s recipients have logged thousands of hours of service at Connecticut Audubon’s sanctuaries and centers and on its board and […]
Patrick Comins, a Leader in Conservation for Two Decades, is Named Executive Director of Connecticut Audubon
Wednesday, June 28th, 2017Fairfield, June 28, 2017 – The Connecticut Audubon Society has named Patrick Comins, a leading authority on the conservation of the state’s birds and the habitats that support them, as its executive director, the organization’s Board of Directors announced today. Comins will lead the organization as it focuses on inspiring an ever-greater spirit of conservation […]
We Oppose the Nomination of Scott Pruitt as EPA Administrator
Monday, December 19th, 2016The following letter was approved by the Connecticut Audubon Society’s Board of Directors and sent to U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal and U.S. Senator Chris Murphy. December 16, 2016 The Honorable Richard Blumenthal U.S. Senate 706 Hart Senate Office Building Washington DC 20510 Dear Senator, The Connecticut Audubon Society opposes the nomination of Scott Pruitt as […]
State of the Birds 2016 News Coverage
Saturday, November 26th, 2016News media from around Connecticut covered the release of the Connecticut State of the Birds 2016 report, “Gains, Losses and the Prospect of Extinction.” Here’s a compilation of links to an editorial and several articles: Editorial Hartford Courant Connecticut Birds at Risk: An Environmental Warning News articles Hartford Courant Many State Birds in Decline and […]
Smith Richardson: A Neighborhood Sanctuary for Greens Farms, Southport, and the Rest of Westport and Fairfield
Thursday, July 21st, 2016July 21, 2016 – You may have noticed changes recently at the H. Smith Richardson Wildlife Preserve, on Sasco Creek Road in Westport, with more on the way. We’re collaborating with a group of enthusiastic neighbors to make big improvements to the preserve, for the birds and other wildlife that rely on it now, and […]
The 6-Minute Guide to Helping Connecticut’s Ospreys
Monday, June 20th, 2016[icegram campaigns=”28432″]
Go Solar with RGS Energy to Benefit Connecticut Audubon
Wednesday, May 4th, 2016The benefits of solar energy to the environment are obvious. If you are thinking about moving to solar, consider RGS Energy – it is likely to benefit you, the environment and us. And if it benefits us, it benefits conservation in Connecticut. The Connecticut Audubon Society has entered into a partnership that will bring us […]
