EcoTravel gives you a 4-minute tour of how the Ospreys live in Old Saybrook
April 20, 2020 — EcoTravel Director Andy Griswold is on the scene to talk about Ospreys.
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Natural Selections
Welcome to Connecticut Audubon’s blog, Natural Selections. Subscribe for free and you’ll never miss a post.
Dr. Science Explores Rockweed (video, 3 minutes, 16 seconds)
April 16, 2020 — Is Dr. Science taking a nap on the beach? Or practicing yoga? You’ll be amazed when you get up-close and find out. She’ll show you that there’s more going on at the seashore than you ever thought possible!
Read more...Trail to Earth Day #15: Food for Thought — How to Eat Sustainably
April 18, 2020 — Whether in the grocery store or your own kitchen, every time you make a decision about food, you can have an affect on the food system.
Read more...Trail to Earth Day #14: Water and branches
April 17, 2020 — Birds need water and a place to take cover. Those are two easy things you can help them with in your yard.
Read more...Daily Bird: Glossy Ibis
April 17, 2020 — Glossy Ibis have returned to Connecticut from their wintering grounds and big flocks have been seen feeding together. Here’s what you need to know about this eye-catching species.
Read more...Daily Bird: Green-winged Teal
April 16, 2020 — Green-winged Teal is the smallest North American duck with a length of only 14 inches. The striking males pack a lot of color and pattern into a small package. They’ve been seen recently at Milford Point.
Read more...Trail to Earth Day #13: Reduce Light Pollution and Bring Back the Night
April 16, 2020 — Increasing evidence shows the excessive use of artificial light at night is harming wildlife at an alarming rate. What’s at stake? Not much. Only the survival of animals critical to their ecosystems, and pollinators that are vital to producing the food we eat, so ultimately human health as well.
Read more...Daily Bird: Downy Woodpecker
April 15, 2020 — Anyone with a bird feeder already knows this diminutive woodpecker. At about six inches in length, this black and white clinging bird has a coast to coast distribution and is the smallest of our woodpecker family. It is here in Connecticut year round and does not migrate.
Read more...Trail to Earth Day #12: A place so your bird can sing
April 15, 2020 — The bottom line for birds is habitat. They need suitable places to nest, spend the winter, and rest and feed during migration.
Read more...Dr. Science is at the beach (video, 2 minutes, 59 seconds)
April 14 — The amazing Dr. Science talks about plants that drink salt water (not surprisingly those plants are at the beach).
Read more...I Spy: Coastal Connecticut
April 20– Welcome to Mystery Monday! Let’s play a game of I Spy: Coastal Connecticut! Every Monday we will post part of a picture of an organism found along the coast of Connecticut. Make your best guess–you can post your answer on The Coastal Center’s Facebook page: click here or on The Connecticut Audubon Society Facebook page: click here. […]
Read more...Daily Bird: American Black Duck
April 14, 2020 — Black Ducks are a large-bodied dabbling duck about the size of a mallard. They have a yellowish bill with a gray head and dark body.
Read more...Trail to Earth Day #11: In the car, put the brakes on harmful environmental impacts
April 14, 2020 —Transportation is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gas pollution, and cars are major contributors. Vehicle emissions are a big part of this, but a car’s ecological impact goes beyond this single aspect.
Read more...Trail to Earth Day #10: cut out pesticides
April 13, 2020 — If you apply pesticides to your property to kill insects, you’re killing the food that Connecticut’s birds rely on.
Read more...The Daily Bird: Pine Warbler
April 13, 2020 — Of all the warblers that breed in Connecticut, the first to return in spring is the Pine Warbler, arriving in mid- to late March. This year, many have moved into the state during the last few days.
Read more...Follow the footprints: trackers know where the otters roam
April 11, 2020 — Paula, a retired science teacher who lives in Woodstock Valley, leads Connecticut Audubon’s Citizen Science Wildlife and Tracking Program. Since 2003, she’s trained 147 volunteers who have logged 9,216 hours in the field. About a dozen volunteers have stuck with it for a decade or more.
Read more...Video (4 minutes, 16 seconds): Dr. Science goes Brackish
April 11, 2020 — Dr. Science is at the Coastal Center at Milford Point to reveal nature’s formula for an amazing ecosystem called an estuary.
Read more...Video (3 minutes, 30 seconds): making sense of citizen science at Deer Pond Farm
April 10, 2020 — Cathy Hagadorn and Deirdra Wallin explain explain EBird, Motus, and other ways of keeping track of the birds, insects, mammals, and more in our area.
Read more...The Daily Bird and the Trail to Earth Day: See you next week
April 10, 2020 — The Daily Bird and the Trail to Earth Day are taking the weekend off. The Daily Bird write-ups have turned out to be the most popular feature on our website over the last two weeks. Now is a good time to thank the Connecticut bird experts who wrote those for us.
Read more...Trail to Earth Day #9: Composting with worms
The Trail to Earth Day, a series of simple tips to help the environment (with music at the end), will run through the 50th Earth Day, April 22. We’d be happy to send you one a day via text. Sign up here. April 9, 2020 — This series is based on suggestions that we solicited […]
Read more...The Daily Bird: Great Egret
April 9, 2020 — Great Egrets have arrived along the shore of Long Island Sound. Look for this large, long-legged wader foraging in wetlands, lakes, and marshes.
Read more...Trail to Earth Day #8: Make your windows safe for birds
April 8, 2020 — Up to a billion (with a “b”) birds a year are killed when they crash into windows. It’s a problem where individual action can make a difference.
Read more...Daily Bird: Wood Duck
April 8, 2020 — This time of the year Wood Ducks are found in good nesting habitat. That includes almost all freshwater bodies and wetlands with nearby large trees and adequate cover.
Read more...I Spy: Coastal Connecticut
April 13, 2020 — Welcome to Mystery Monday! Let’s play a game of I Spy: Coastal Connecticut!
Read more...Trail to Earth Day #7: Changing Simple Habits Today Saves Water for Tomorrow
April 7, 2020 — There’s one situation where you definitely don’t want to worry about water use these days: washing your hands. Lather up and rinse well! But there are plenty of other ways to save water.
Read more...Daily Bird: Cedar Waxwing
April 7, 2020 — In late winter and early spring, look for Cedar Waxwings feasting on the blue berries of the Eastern Red Cedar.
Read more...The Daily Bird: Great Horned Owl
April 6, 2020 — Today’s Daily Bird consists of one great photo. Our friend Tomas Koeck took it in Fairfield, and we thank him for the chance to publish it here.
Read more...Trail to Earth Day #6: Make a Little Birdhouse
April 6, 2020 — Build a birdhouse (or buy one) and put it up.
Read more...Video (2 minutes, 30 seconds): Spring activity in the wooded wetlands
April 5, 2020 — The noisiest places in the natural world right now, at least in Connecticut, might be vernal pools. Conservation biologist Jim Arrigoni explains what’s going on, in this video.
Read more...Trail to Earth Day #5: It’s Cool for Cats to be Indoors
April 5, 2020 — 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).
Read more...Trail to Earth Day #4: Lower Your Carbon Footprint During this Rite of Spring
April 4, 2020 — We all have different tolerance levels for clutter, but no one can deny the good feeling of clearing out those unused items taking up space. Rather than making their ultimate destination a landfill or incinerator, consider the alternatives.
Read more...The Daily Bird: Canvasback
April 3, 2020 — Of all the waterfowl found in North America, perhaps none are more deserving of the title King than the dramatic Canvasback.
Read more...Trail to Earth Day #3: Stay Conservatively Plugged In While Working at Home
April 3, 2020 — With small changes to consume less power, we can be more energy efficient, environmentally friendly and save money.
Read more...Video (1 minute, 30 seconds): “A bluebird comes tenderly up to alight …”
April 2, 2020 — This is the time of year to put your Eastern Bluebird box up (and if you don’t get bluebirds, maybe you’ll get Tree Swallows). Deirdra Wallin and Stefan Martin were back in the field again at Deer Pond Farm recently to talk about it.
Read more...News: Osprey Nation 2019 Season Report
April 2, 2020 — The sixth season of the Osprey Nation citizen science project saw increases in the total number of Osprey nests in Connecticut.
Read more...The Daily Bird: Red-breasted Merganser
April 2, 2020 — The Red-breasted Merganser’s distinguishing characteristics are a long neck, a scarlet bill, and a double crest at the back of the heads of both males and females.
Read more...Trail to Earth Day #2: Make Your Property a Great Place for Birds and Insects — and For Yourself
April 2, 2020 — Landscape for birds. Lots of us can make the property we live on far more sustainable, in lots of ways. Reduce the size of your lawn. Let the clover take over.
Read more...The Daily Bird: Northern Gannet
April 1, 2020 — Some people associate spring migration with songbirds such as warblers or other delightfully petite and colorful passerines but there’s another bird that comes to my mind – the Northern Gannet.
Read more...Trail to Earth Day #1: Hike, Walk — Be Safe But Get Outdoors
April 1, 2020 — Idea number 1: Go for a walk. Governors and health officials are telling us to stay home but they’re also saying it’s fine to go for a safe walk. In fact, they say it might be essential.
Read more...The Trail to Earth Day
March 31, 2020 — The 50th Earth Day is April 22. How are you celebrating or marking the occasion? We have ideas, almost two dozen of them, and we’ll share them, one per day, over the next three weeks.
Read more...The Daily Bird: Palm Warbler
March 31, 2020 — If you wait until May to look for spring warblers in Connecticut, you might miss seeing this gem.
Read more...The Daily Bird: Winter Wren
March 30, 2020 — Winter Wrens can be found throughout the state at this time of year although they are usually hard to find because of their secretive habits. The best place to look is in thick brush near streams.
Read more...How to behave when watching an owl
Follow these three basic rules no matter which owl — Barred, Snowy, Northern Saw-whet, etc. (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 […]
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