In the last 50 years, 2.9 billion breeding adult birds have been lost from the United States and Canada. To put it another way, we've lost more than a quarter of our birdlife since 1970. These findings were reported in the world's leading scientific journal, Science.
Grassland birds are hard hit, with a 53% reduction in population — more than 720 million birds. In the Northeast some species no longer breed. This decline is largely due to hayfield mowing during the weeks that species such as Savannah Sparrows, Bobolinks, and Eastern Meadowlarks are actively nesting. New England's working farmers, in particular, face financial pressures that force them to mow earlier and more frequently. To protect these grassland birds we must develop new strategies.
Margaret Fowle will discuss grassland bird ecology and some of the challenges these species face in the Northeastern US. She will present some strategies such as the Bobolink Project designed to mitigate and potentially reverse the population declines of this important suite of species.
Margaret Fowle is a conservation biologist and Program Manager with Audubon Vermont's Priority Bird and Working Lands Initiatives. Prior to coming to Audubon in 2009, Margaret coordinated Peregrine Falcon and Bald Eagle recovery efforts in Vermont. Margaret obtained her Master's degree in wildlife biology from the University of Vermont.
The Shepaug Dam Bald Eagle Observation Area has provided visitors with views of wintering Bald Eagles for 30 years. The Shepaug Hydroelectric Station keeps the water below the dam to be ice-free in winter and the churning water brings fish close to the surface making it a place that Bald Eagles are able to find food in the coldest of winter.
We will be at the observation area for about an hour. There are no facilities besides porta-potties. Dress warmly in layers. Bring lunch, binoculars, and cameras.
The drive time between Shepaug Dam and the Menunkatuck chapter towns is between 45 and 75 minutes.
Space is limited to 20 participants so reservations are required. For more information email Carl Harvey at carl@menunkatuck.org.
Ticks are a significant concern in Connecticut due to their role in transmitting various diseases, most notably Lyme disease. The state's dense woodlands, moderate climate, and diverse wildlife make it an ideal habitat for ticks, particularly the black-legged tick, also known as the deer tick.
Addressing the problem with ticks in Connecticut requires a multi-faceted approach involving personal vigilance, community efforts, and scientific research to mitigate the risks and protect public health.
Join a talk by Dr. Scott C. Williams, Head of the Department of Environmental Science and Forestry at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station about tick management research. Scott will discuss tick and tick-borne pathogen management research he and his team are conducting throughout Connecticut including Guilford.
His recent research is investigating host-targeted efforts, specifically the impacts of medicating white-footed mice and white-tailed deer, similar to treating pets against fleas and ticks but at drastically lower doses. He hopes that this strategy can reduce tick and pathogen abundances at a town-wide level, which should translate to fewer ticks and reduced opportunity for the public to obtain a tick-borne disease. Come with questions on ticks and disease ecology and he will be happy to entertain them.
We've all heard amazing facts about bird migration—the long distances that birds travel, the ways that they navigate, etc. But did you ever wonder how we figured all of this out? While working for the American Ornithological Society, Rebecca Heisman became fascinated with the varied and creative techniques that scientists have used to study bird migration, and this eventually became the basis for her book Flight Paths: How a Passionate and Quirky Group of Pioneering Scientists Solved the Mystery of Bird
Migration. In her talk, she'll share some surprising stories from the history of bird migration research and discuss why understanding migration is so crucial for bird conservation.Rebecca Heisman is an award-winning science writer who lives in Walla Walla, Washington, and has worked with organizations including the Audubon Society, the American Bird Conservancy, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and the American Ornithological Society. Flight Paths is her first book.
The Connecticut National Estuarine Research Reserve (CT NERR), a center within the University of Connecticut, was designated in January 2022, as the newest of 30 such sites across the country that focus on coastal research, education, and stewardship.Kevin O’Brien, manager of the CT NERR, oversees a staff responsible for a variety of projects that target collaborative, place-based approaches to delivering environmental monitoring, science, education/training, and stewardship that address issues of habitat sustainability, climate impacts, and water quality in southeastern Connecticut.
This presentation will provide attendees with a background of what the National Estuarine Research Reserve System is and brief history of how the CT NERR came to be. It will also provide details on some of the current and future efforts designed to provide locally relevant and nationally significant programs, information, and resources to help create a resilient, healthy Long Island Sound estuary and watershed where human and natural communities thrive.
Kevin has a Bachelor’s Degree from Lafayette College and a Master’s Degree from the University of Miami’s Rosenstiel School of Marine & Atmospheric Science. He was a NOAA Coastal Services Center Coastal Management Fellow from 1999-2001, and prior to joining the CT NERR, he spent over 20 years within the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection’s Land and Water Resource Division, working on state and regional programs focused on coastal resource management. One of the projects he managed was the CT NERR designation.
Details coAudubon's Bird-Friendly Maple Program recognizes maple producers and sugarbush managers who commit to managing their forest for bird habitat value alongside sap production. Through this work, these land managers help improve habitat for many species of birds who depend on our forests for breeding and migratory stopover habitat, and whose populations have been declining. The Bird-Friendly Maple Program began in Vermont, has been steadily expanding into more states, and currently includes 8 sugarbushes across nearly 100 acres of forest in Connecticut. In this webinar, we will cover the basics of Bird-Friendly Maple, what ideal sugarbush habitat looks like, and how this program contributes to Audubon's overall forest work.
Rosa Goldman (she/her) is a Forest Program Senior Associate with Audubon Connecticut and New York, a regional office of the National Audubon Society. As part of Audubon's Healthy Forests team, she works with private landowners, land trusts, and state and conservation partners to advance habitat management for forest birds across Connecticut, as well as in New York's Hudson Valley. Rosa manages Audubon's Bird-Friendly Maple and Forester Training & Endorsement programs in Connecticut. She is a licensed forester in Connecticut and holds a Master of Forestry degree from the Yale School of the Environment.ming soon.
Good News for Linking Habitat Conservation Across the Americas
John Hannan has worked with multiple bird conservation organizations across the Americas. Join us to see his beautiful imagery of our hemisphere’s birds and landscapes while learning about some of the key bird conservation initiatives happening right now across the Americas.
This work, being done by a wide ranging coalition, has become a core part of National Audubon’s ten-year strategy and there is a central role chapters can play in it. Together we can help build healthy and sustainable communities all along our migratory birds’ flyways, therefore protecting the same birds we work to safeguard right here in Connecticut. From massive endeavors to preserve more than 550 million acres of of coastal and wetlands habitat to community science projects you can participate in, John will present an uplifting view of bird conservation in the Americas and ways you can be part of it.