In the Sanctuaries …
Sherman, August 9, 2021 — On a routine walk at Deer Pond Farm to check on a habitat improvement project, Jim Arrigoni found a creature he had never before seen in his many years as a conservation biologist: the caterpillar of a cecropia moth.
Posts Tagged ‘In the Sanctuaries’
Beautiful animals that aren’t birds: Cecropia moth caterpillar
Monday, August 9th, 2021To protect the beach-nesting birds, the Coastal Center parking lot will again be closed over the Fourth of July weekend
Monday, June 28th, 2021Correction: The Coastal Center gates will be locked at 4 p.m. Thursday, July 1, and reopened at sunrise on Tuesday, July 6.
In the Sanctuaries…
June 28, 2021 — Baby birds are trying to survive, fireworks will light the night sky, revelers will be looking toward the beach. At Milford Point, those three things are not compatible. And so once again the Connecticut Audubon Society will attempt to minimize the disturbance to beach-nesting birds by closing the Coastal Center parking lot for the Fourth if July weekend.
Purple Martin count: 122 eggs, 64 chicks, squirming and growing on schedule
Monday, June 28th, 2021In the Sanctuaries
June 28, 2021 — The Purple Martin colony at the Milford Point Coastal Center is thriving this summer. The number of nests in the 71 gourds has increased by 19% over last year — 44 nests, compared to 37.
Not a Zabulon skipper or an American snout: a rare harvester at Birdcraft
Thursday, June 24th, 2021In the Sanctuaries …
June 24, 2021 — A visit to Birdcraft Sanctuary in Fairfield yesterday resulted in an an exciting rare butterfly sighting for Connecticut Audubon Executive Director Patrick Comins.
A redstart at Birdcraft and a long-shot coincidence lead to a “uniquely thrilling” experience
Wednesday, June 16th, 2021In the Sanctuaries …
June 16, 2021 — A visitor arrived last month at Birdcraft Sanctuary in Fairfield bearing a message from afar. That alone would have been amazing. But the message turned out to be personal, in a way — and an incredible coincidence that left the sender and the receivers with chills.
Volunteers and early adopters are helping Connecticut’s Purple Martins
Tuesday, June 8th, 2021In the Sanctuaries …
June 8, 2021 — Six weeks after they returned from their wintering grounds, Purple Martins are laying eggs in the cluster of nest gourds at the Milford Point Coastal Center. That’s right on schedule. The team of volunteers and staff that monitors and maintains the gourds conducted its weekly check on Friday, June 4, and found eggs in 19 of the 71 gourds — a total of 76 eggs in all. Martins were building nests in 39 gourds, so it’s likely that many more eggs will follow.
A tough weekend for birds on the Milford Point sandbar means protection work must increase
Thursday, June 10th, 2021In the Sanctuaries
June 10, 2021 — A succession of high tides during the full-moon period combined with a days-long storms washed away more than a dozen coastal waterbird nests at Milford Point over Memorial Day weekend. There’s still time for some of the birds to try a second nest — with your help the nesting season won’t be a total loss.
Beaver rides the current and lumbers up onto the beach at Milford Point
Monday, May 24th, 2021May 24, 2021 — The beaver pictured here lumbered up onto the beach at the Milford Point Coastal Center over the weekend, presumably after floating or swimming down the Housatonic River. It undoubtedly wasn’t the first beaver to show up there but it was unusual nonetheless.
Purple Martins are back and you can help them directly by adopting a nest gourd
Thursday, May 6th, 2021In the Sanctuaries …
May 3, 2021 — Purple Martins have been gone from the Coastal Center since early September, probably wintering in the Amazon basin. But they’re back now, and you can help them thrive.
An injured Herring Gull at Milford Point: add face masks to fishing line, nets, and balloon strings on the list of litter that imperils birds
Friday, April 23rd, 2021In the Sanctuaries
April 23, 2021 — They are the latest menace to wildlife — Covid protection masks that are lost or thrown on the ground and get tangled around birds’ wings, necks, and legs. On Monday, April 19, two members of Connecticut Audubon’s staff at the Milford Point Coastal Center found a young Herring Gull completely caught in a mask.
Spring Bird Walks with Stefan Martin
Monday, March 22nd, 2021In the Sanctuaries … Friday, May 21 8 – 10 a.m. Coastal Center, 1 Milford Point Road, Milford, CT. Join Stefan Martin, our habitat steward, for a walk along the marsh, beach, and upland areas of the Coastal Center in search of migrating songbirds and shorebirds. Situated on Long Island Sound at the mouth of […]
Deer Pond Farm in Sherman is the place to be for a great Earth Week bird walk, Saturday, April 24
Monday, April 12th, 2021In the Sanctuaries …
April 12, 2021 — Spend the Saturday morning of Earth Week at Deer Pond Farm looking for (and no doubt finding) Red-shouldered Hawks, Pileated Woodpeckers, Louisiana Waterthrushes, Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows and many more migratory and breeding birds.
This guided bird walk at the Coastal Center on April 23 is a great way to celebrate Earth Week
Sunday, April 11th, 2021In the Sanctuaries …
April 11, 2021 — Join Stefan Martin, our habitat steward, for an Earth Week walk along the marsh, beach, and upland areas of the Milford Point Coastal Center in search of migrating songbirds and shorebirds. Friday, April 23, 8 to 10 a.m.
Celebrate Earth Week with an April 20 morning walk at the Larsen Sanctuary in Fairfield
Friday, April 9th, 2021In the Sanctuaries
April 9, 2021 — Botanist and naturalist Jim Cortina, along with Connecticut Audubon volunteer Burt Boardman, will lead a nature walk for adults focused on learning about plants and animals in the Larsen Sanctuary. The destination is Deer Meadow. Along the way, there will be stops to examine the springtime signs and emergence of a great variety of wildlife.
Volunteers of Friends of Larsen Sanctuary in Fairfield complete “one for the books”
Thursday, April 8th, 2021In the Sanctuaries
April 8, 2021 — The volunteers of the Friends of Larsen Sanctuary group could hardly contain their enthusiasm after spending a long day planting native trees and shrubs recently. Guided by Charlie Stebbins, Misty Beyer, Mary Hogue, and George Neamonitis, they planted 79 native trees and shrubs along the Fragrance Loop trail, near Farm Pond, in the pollinator garden, and along the entrance.
Board Chair Kathleen Van Der Aue Honored for “Patient and Purposeful” Collaborations on Behalf of Birds
Tuesday, March 30th, 2021March 30, 2021 — Kathleen Van Der Aue, the chair of Connecticut Audubon’s Board of Directors, has been honored by the Connecticut Ornithological Association with an award named for Connecticut Audubon’s founder, Mabel Osgood Wright, the pioneering conservationist who in many ways inspired Van Der Aue’s own conservation work.
In the thick of it with the rare New England cottontail: An interview with cottontail expert Lisa Wahle
Sunday, March 28th, 2021In the Sanctuaries …
March 28, 2021 — Rare and elusive, New England cottontail rabbits live throughout the northeast, including on at least three Connecticut Audubon sanctuaries. In this video interview Lisa Wahle talks about the project; the difficulty of identifying them in the field; their range; and the Connecticut Audubon sanctuaries where they find refuge.
Wildlife After Dark: A free Zoom presentation about fishers and other mammals at Deer Pond Farm
Thursday, March 25th, 2021In the Sanctuaries
March 25, 2021 — The birds of Connecticut Audubon’s sanctuaries are well-documented. But what about the large, formidable weasels called fishers? Wildlife biologist Katerina Gillis is working on it. On Thursday, April 1, at 7 p.m., she’ll walk you through what she’s learned in a special free Zoom presentation filled with amazing images from her game cameras.
Nest Boxes for New Canaan’s Birds
Wednesday, March 24th, 2021In the Sanctuaries … March 24, 2021 — Breeding season is underway and birds needs places to nest, so Connecticut Audubon staff spent this morning in New Canaan helping volunteers put up nest boxes at the Bristow Bird Sanctuary. The work is part of a series of habitat improvements that the New Canaan Conservation Commission, […]
An easy way to keep up with what’s happening In the Sanctuaries
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021In the Sanctuaries … March 2, 2021 — Connecticut Audubon’s sanctuaries are amazing places. Amazing for the diversity of birds, the occasional moose, the minks and fishers, the bobcats, the scores of other animals. But they’re also amazing for the people of Connecticut. You can snowshoe. You can look for breeding birds. You can track […]
