Community Programs
Community Programs
This year the Connecticut State Legislature is meeting in a “long session”. Audubon has several areas in which legislation is sought to protect birds and the places they need. Among these are legislation regarding:
Regulating neonicotinoids for non-agricultural use
Expanding nature based solutions
Protecting vulnerable communities from climate change by supporting urban forestry and community interest in tree planting and maintenance, parks, and/or community gardens in densely populated areas
x us as we host Robert LaFrance, Director of Policy for Audubon Connecticut, for a discussion of these and other legislative initiatives and learn what you can do to help getting them passed. Before joining Audubon, Rob had a long career with DEEP as its legislative liaison and brings long relationships with legislators to Audubon.
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.
Join Menunkatuck Audubon Society as we participate in the 124th Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Every year, Christmas Bird Count volunteers collect valuable data on winter bird populations that augment scientific studies and aid regulatory decisions. Christmas Bird Count data was used in the recent Audubon climate report, Survival by Degrees and is used for the Bird Migration Explorer.
How to get involved: Birders of all levels are welcome to participate! More experienced birders may be assigned as a team leader, while those with less experience will be paired with an appropriate team leader. Anyone residing within the count area can submit “Feeder Watch” data from their own property. We will also need volunteers willing to help with publicity, data compilation, providing refreshments, and other tasks.
For more information: If you would like to participate, please contact Sue Stark (sue@menuntatuck.org).
To view a map of Menunkatuck’s Christmas Bird Count Circle, please visit: menunkatuck.org/christmas-bird-count.