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.

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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.

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