Natural Selections

Congratulations to Samantha DeMarco & Kalel Attonito for their first-place photos in the 2023 Birdathon Photo Contest

June 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?

June 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

June 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.”

Lights Out Alert tonight, which means it’s likely that many, many birds will be landing here in the morning

May 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.

Lights Out Alert for Thursday, May 18

May 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

May 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.

Lights Out Alert/Great Birding Alert for May 12

May 12, 2023 — Almost half a million birds will be flying over Connecticut again tonight — emphasis on “again” because the skies were similarly crowded last night.

1. Make sure you turn out your lights tonight to prevent birds from getting killed.
2. Make plans to go birding tomorrow, because it sounds like it will be another great day.

Lights Out Alert/Great Birding Alert for May 11

May 11, 2023 — Almost half a million birds will be flying over Connecticut tonight. You should be on high alert for this and do two things …

Lights Out Alert for May 6, 7, and 8! 

May 6, 2023 — Nighttime migration is increasing over Connecticut the next few nights. An estimated 250,000 birds will migrate through Connecticut’s skies Saturday, Sunday and Monday nights. Help keep these birds safe by turning off your outside lights tonight and drawing your blinds.

Here’s what to do and not to do when you find a bird or other animal that seems abandoned

Please do not bring injured or orphaned animals to any Connecticut Audubon Society facility. Connecticut Audubon is not authorized to accept injured or abandoned animals. But if it is obviously injured, it may need help. The CT DEEP has more information about dealing with distressed wildlife.

Young birders wanted for the Connecticut Young Birders Club!

April 19, 2023 — The Connecticut Young Birders Club is back, and Connecticut Audubon is helping to recruit new members. It’s open to anyone age 11 to 19. Field trips, camaraderie, great fun while learning about birds.

As migration heats up, here are 10 things you can do to help birds

March 29, 2023 — As spring migration starts to heat up, here are 10 actions you can take to help bring birds back, individually and with others.

Single-use plastics are a hazard to birds. This bill will reduce the problem.

February 21, 2023 — Connecticut’s waters are awash in plastics, putting birds and other wildlife at risk. A bill before the General Assembly would help.

Rat and mouse poisons also kill hawks and owls. Connecticut Audubon supports banning 2nd-generation rodenticides.

February 16, 2023 — Poisons that target rats and mice are especially insidious when it comes to birds. We submitted testimony in Hartford yesterday supporting a ban.

This pesticide kills pollinators and birds. It’s time to further restrict its use.

February 15, 2023 — The Connecticut Audubon Society submitted testimony yesterday in support of a bill that would ban some uses of a pesticide that is particularly bad for pollinators and birds, and also asked for the proposal to be strengthened. We’ve been collaborating with the CT Pesticide Reform Coalition.

Pamela Fraser nominated as next chair of Connecticut Audubon’s Board of Directors

October 11, 2022 — The Connecticut Audubon Board of Directors has nominated Pamela Fraser, Ph.D., of Easton to become chair. Pam will take over for Kathleen Van Der Aue, who has guided the organization for four years, helped ably by Pam as vice chair.

Shorebird identification made as easy as possible

September 22, 2022 — There are at least a dozen species of shorebirds still to be found on Connecticut’s beaches in late September. They can be tough to identify. But we’re here to help.

Hot days at the cool coast for New Haven campers

August 8, 2022 — Seventy-five kids from New Haven day camps got a bracing taste of Long Island Sound’s wildness this summer at the Coastal Center at Milford Point. The kids, who were enrolled in New Haven Eco-Adventure camps, each spent a couple of hot mornings feeling the cool breezes. They waded in the lapping waves and explored the marsh, learning about the plants and animals that live on the Sound’s shore. The visits were a collaboration between the Connecticut Audubon Society and New Haven Youth and Recreation camps. The Greater New Haven Green Fund sponsored the visits.

Act now to help preserve Plum Island

July 28, 2022 — Connecticut Audubon’s network of advocates has a chance to help preserve Plum Island for the benefit of the public and the region’s wildlife. Please write today to President Joe Biden and urge him to declare Plum Island a national monument for conservation and historic preservation. 

Peril overcome, an American Oystercatcher returns home to Milford Point

In the sanctuaries …

July 12, 2022 — Life for the birds nesting on the Milford Point sandbar is always fraught, and the summer of 2020 was particularly perilous for the American Oystercatchers there. But two babies survived, and their tale is amazing.

What to do about climate change? “Birds Are Telling Us It’s Time To Act.”

July 1, 2022 — Targeted, aggressive land preservation and restoration can help Connecticut and other states meet their climate change goals. An added benefit: the work would protect and improve habitat for scores of native birds. A day after yesterday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision in West Virginia v. EPA, it’s worth looking back to Connecticut Audubon’s 2021 Connecticut State of the Birds report, titled “Three Billion Birds Are Gone. How Do We Bring Them Back?”

Daily Bird nesting season special: Red-eyed Vireo

June 27, 2022 — The Red-Eyed Vireo is widely distributed throughout Connecticut wherever forested habitats are present. This bird prefers to forage and nest in deciduous forests and is a very successful breeder throughout the state. You are loikely to hear its near-endless singing before you see the bird.

Daily Bird nesting season special: Louisiana Waterthrush and Northern Waterthrush

June 24, 2022 — These warblers are active, vociferous birds, habitual tail-waggers easily told from our array of other warbler species. Telling them apart is another matter. Habitat is a key to sorting out the waterthrushes, because their habitat preferences are quite different. Knowing their songs also helps.

Daily Bird nesting season special: Ovenbird

June 23, 2022 — Ovenbirds are hard to miss. “TEAcher, TEAcher, TEAcher” rings out through the woods. Olive-backed with dark streaks and spots on the breast, Ovenbirds resemble a combination of Veery and Wood Thrush, although their orange cap gives them away if their singing has not already.

Daily Bird nesting season special: Scarlet Tanager

June 22, 2022 — Scarlet Tanagers are a fairly common forest nesting bird in Connecticut. Most of the larger and many of the smaller forested areas of the state will have nesting pairs. They are mainly associated with oak forests but also look for them in other deciduous as well as mixed conifer forests.

Daily Bird nesting season special: Chimney Swift

June 20, 2022 — Chimney Swifts are aerial insectivores with a round, cigar-shaped body and long, curved wings. They are grayish-brown overall, with a black tint around the eyes and small black bill. The cigar-shaped silhouette of the Chimney Swift is the key identification characteristic. You can also listen for the peaceful chatter sound they make as they fly around in search for food.

Daily Bird nesting season special: Clapper Rail

June 17, 2022 — Despite its large size, Clapper Rail is not an easy bird to locate. These marsh birds are known for their elusive nature and are more often heard than seen. The grasses that make up salt marshes hide them well and provide crucial habitat for feeding and nesting.

Daily Bird nesting season special: Wood Thrush

Jue 16, 2022 — Now is the perfect time to hear the beautiful, flute-like call of the Wood Thrush throughout — as its name would indicate — the woods of rural Connecticut. Listen in the early morning and evening along quiet roads or paths. Follow the call and find the bird and you’ll see that it has a reddish-brown head, back, wings, and tail, and large white dark spots on a white breast and undersides.

Daily Bird nesting season special: Alder Flycatcher

June 14, 2022 — A small hunter of insects, the Alder Flycatcher is one of the interesting members of the Tyrant flycatcher family. The Empidonax genus within this family is made up of nondescript dull olive individuals who are most reliably differentiated from one another by their unique songs and calls. Alder Flycatcher is very difficult to separate from Willow Flycatcher, other than by voice.

Daily Bird nesting season special: babies are scampering around Milford Point. Here’s how to help keep them safe.

In the sanctuaries …
June 13, 2022 — So far, so good for the Piping Plovers nesting on the Milford Point sandbar. Twenty baby birds have hatched and adults are still incubating eggs on three other nests. It’s an incredibly perilous time out there for this federally-threatened species. The birds can’t fly yet and are at the mercy of storm tides and predators. Which is where you come in.

Daily Bird nesting season special: Yellow-crowned Night-Heron

June 9, 2022

Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Nyctanassa violacea
Yellow-crowned Night-Herons are birds of marshes and wet meadows but are not widely distributed across the state. These waders live in or near our coastal wetlands and forage in tidal marshes, tide pools and along the shore of Long Island Sound where they feed on crustaceans, largely fiddler crabs.

Daily Bird nesting season special: Bobolink

June 7, 2022 — With updated information on safe dates for mowing fields in which Bobolinks nest. Bobolinks are found in large grasslands (hay, pasture, airports), of at least 10 acres in size usually. Fields with hills tend to have more birds; they usually nest on the top of the hill or the side in the thick grasses. If you’re in the right area, it’s an easy bird to locate. The males will sit on the top of a clump of grass or nearby tree or shrub and sing, defending their territory from other males; the males also sing while flying low over the grassland.

Daily Bird nesting season special: Indigo Bunting

June 6, 2022 — Until the end of June, the Daily Bird will feature Connecticut’s nesting species, including information on where to find these beauties. The series starts with Indigo Bunting.

New pesticide restrictions signed into law

June 2, 2022 — A pesticide restriction bill that passed the General Assembly in Hartford with the strong support of Connecticut Audubon’s grassroots advocates was signed into law yesterday by Governor Ned Lamont. Public Act 22-142 makes it illegal to use chlorpyrifos on golf courses or for any cosmetic or non-agricultural use.

Advocates act to ensure passage of new pesticide bill

May 23, 2022 — Timely advocacy on the part of Connecticut Audubon members and others around the state led to passage of a bill in Hartford that will cut the use of an insecticide that’s dangerous to birds.

New horseshoe crab rules might help migrating shorebirds

May 20, 2022 — The state of Connecticut has set new rules in hopes of protecting horseshoe crabs. The shorebirds that eat the crabs’ eggs might benefit as well. The rules shorten the season for commercial fishing of horseshoe crabs and lower by 70% the number of crabs that can be caught.

Spring migratory birds: Hooded Warbler

Usually first noticed by a ringing “weeta, weeta, weeteeo” song, a Hooded Warbler sighting highlights almost any bird walk in the Connecticut woods. Hooded Warblers reach the northern edge of their breeding range here in Connecticut (although there is a breeding population in southern Ontario), generally arriving during the first week of May and setting up housekeeping almost immediately. Hooded Warbler would be a great bird to add to your list during the Migration Madness Birdathon, May 13-15.

Spring migratory birds: Black-throated Blue Warbler

The Black-throated Blue Warbler, stunningly unique in its adult male garb, is quite average in other ways. It’s never as rare or hard to find as a Mourning Warbler, and never as abundant at the height of migration as a Yellow-rumped (Myrtle) Warbler, or a Palm Warbler.

Spring migratory birds: Blackburnian Warbler

One of the most strikingly colored of our wood-warblers, this species’ flaming orange throat was responsible for its colloquial name of “Fire Throat.” With yellow and black on its neck and face, black wings with a large fused white wing bar, and black streaks on a yellow to white belly, the male is unique among our North American warblers. Females are a muted version of the male, showing two narrower wing bars.

Spring migratory birds: Black-and-white Warbler

May 3, 2022 — Although every warbler species is unique, the Black-and-white Warbler stands out, and for a variety of reasons. Many warblers exhibit bright and flashy colors, but the aptly named Black-and-white Warbler is just that: black and white. Yet it is far from drab: the ornate and contrasting stripes conjures the exotic pattern of a zebra.

Spring migratory birds: Canada Warbler

When searching for Canada Warbler, it is important to become familiar with its unique song. One of my favorite ways of locating a Canada Warbler is by slowly driving along Greenwoods Road in Peoples State Forest, listening for its clear, loud chip note, followed by an abrupt, explosive series of short notes that regularly ends with a three-note phrase.

“Spring Migration: Global Ecology in Connecticut’s Treetops” — a Zoom presentation with Yale’s Scott Yanco

May 2, 2022 — When we watch songbirds migrate through Connecticut, we’re seeing more than just beautiful creatures flitting through the tree canopy — we’re witnessing a tiny part of an amazing global-scale ecological process.  In conjunction with the 2022 Migration Madness Birdathon, you’re invited to a special Zoom program on the topic.

Spring migratory birds: Magnolia Warbler

The Magnolia Warbler is certainly one of the most beautiful and sought after migrants by birders throughout the state. Although during a good migration year it can be found in many habitat types ,it prefers flowering hardwoods, particularly oaks where it can be seen foraging among the flowers for tiny insects and caterpillars.

Spring migratory birds: Black-throated Green Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler
Setophaga virens

They haven’t arrived quite yet but you’ll be hearing them soon.

Spring migratory birds: Yellow Warbler

 “Sweet, sweet, sweet, ain’t I sweet!” sings the Yellow Warbler, and indeed it is sweet to hear this most vocal of warblers warming up the early spring season with song.

Spring Migratory Birds: Palm Warbler

Palm Warbler
Setophaga palmarum

Palm Warblers arrive earlier in April on their way to Canada. But some are still around so it’s not too late to look for them — and for their wagging tails.

Spring Migratory Birds: Northern Parula

April 26, 2022 — The Daily Bird is alive and well, brought back to celebrate spring migration and to prepare us all for the 2022 Migration Madness Birdathon. We start with Northern Parula, written by Connecticut Audubon Executive Director Patrick Comins. Videos by Gilles Carter, a member of Connecticut Audubon’s Board of Directors.