May storm birds

A low pressure system is parked off our coast for the duration of the week, spinning constant northeast winds, rain, and thunderstorms our way. While it is undoubtedly hampering the landbird migration, it means shorebird and waterfowl birding is excellent. The northeast winds alone put some good birds in the air and water by Stratford Point early today including 4 Northern Gannet, 3 White-winged Scoter, a Surf Scoter, at least 9 Common Loon, and more.

Morning and afternoon thunderstorms and showers forced a whole bunch of other birds to the ground. While we usually have plenty of shorebirds at Stratford Point, this brought down one very nice not-usually-seen-in-spring species, a Red Knot! It also instantly dropped around 15 Semipalmated Plover, 2 Least Sandpiper, 1 Dunlin, and 1 Sanderling in the muddy upland area. It was only a matter of chance that we did not get something even more significant.

My find of the day was at a pond not far from my home, indicating how important it is to check every body of water, whether it is a tiny pool or a large reservoir, on days such as this. While walking up to it I saw a Solitary Sandpiper and a Greater Yellowlegs, already uncommon birds for the spot. After noticing a Green Heron relaxing in the vegetation I saw something behind it - what is that? A Least Bittern!

Least Bittern hanging out in the open

That is a very tough bird to find anywhere outside of a handful of locations in Connecticut, and seeing one in this neighborhood pond was amazing. It foraged and walked in the open 10 to 20 feet from me. I did not want to flush or bother it too much, but I do not think it would have cared if I walked right up to it. Perhaps it was dropped here while migrating along the Housatonic River (on the other side of the road from this pond). That is only speculation on my part. Unfortunately, it was also raining very hard most of the time while I observed it, and I managed only these few tough photos holding the camera under my jacket.

If only it was a step ahead...

Looking for a snack

The Green Heron

Tomorrow may bring the exact same conditions - check those ponds, pools, lakes, marshes, and anywhere on the shoreline for oddities and rarities. Good luck!


Photos © Scott Kruitbosch

Spring photos

Sometimes it's good to sit back and enjoy the beautiful birds we've seen this spring. Can you ID all of them? The image names all have the species in them so you can check yourself.



























Photos 1-4 © Twan Leenders; photos 5-12 © Scott Kruitbosch

Yankee Magazine picks Milford Point

In the Best Adventures selections for Connecticut in 2011, Yankee Magazine chose the Connecticut Audubon Society Coastal Center at Milford Point as the best birdwatching adventure. You can see it for yourself right here: http://www.yankeemagazine.com/issues/2011-05/travel/best-ct-2011/ct-adventures-2011

Additionally, here is a link to a Milford Patch article on the honor: http://milford.patch.com/articles/magazine-ranks-audubon-center-best-birding-spot-in-state?ncid=wsc-patch-article-headline

As always, you can check out our website for more information on the Coastal Center: http://www.ctaudubon.org/coastal-center-at-milford-point/

Here's a photo Frank Gallo, the Director of the Coastal Center, sent over:


Congratulations to the Coastal Center and thanks to Yankee Magazine!

Connecticut Big Day Birding Challenge 2011!

Connecticut Big Day Birding Challenge 2011!

Saturday, May 21
(rain date 5/22)

On Saturday, May 21, the Connecticut Audubon Raven Luna-ticks (Nick Bonomo, Patrick Dugan, Frank Gallo, Dave Tripp, and Fran Zygmont) will again attempt to break the Connecticut Big Day birding record of 186 species, to raise money for CAS’s Coastal Center at Milford Point. Our total last year of 185 species was just one bird away from tying…the 190s are now in our sights!

We invite you to help us achieve our ambitious goal of raising $10,000 this year. Every dollar you pledge will go directly to support CAS’s Coastal Center at Milford Point – truly one of the best birding destinations in the Northeast. We can’t do it without you, and we thank you for your generosity!

Pledge forms (in PDF form) are available by clicking here, or by contacting Frank Gallo at 203-878-7440 x 501.

Return of the Osprey party

Here is a message from the Director of the Coastal Center, Frank Gallo. We will have more from him and Milford Point later this week.

Our first annual Return of the Osprey Party was held on April 30 at the Coastal Center and was a great success. More than eighty people attended this wonderful evening to celebrate the return of our long-time Osprey pair to their next. Everyone enjoyed the live music by local artist Tim Rogers, great food, refreshments, and a wonderful selection of auction items.

Our heartfelt thanks go to our generous sponsor, Shoprite, for all their support, and to the many volunteers who did everything, from cook wonderful food, to help set up the event, and, of course, to the participants who came to celebrate with us. We couldn't have done it without you.

We're already gearing up for next year's event which will be even bigger. Anyone interested in helping with the event should contact either Frank Gallo or Louise Crocco at 203-878-7440, or by e-mail at fgallo@ctaudubon.org and lcrocco@ctaudubon.org. It's going to be a blast! Photos from this year's event can be seen below.

Some of the auction items

Frank Gallo and Harry Garafalo



A couple of happy auction winners!

The Federal Budget Affects Connecticut Bird Conservation

We decided to keep blogging here for now while we finish up our new blog on our brand new website (http://www.ctaudubon.org) because there are too many conservation issues and exciting birds to hold off on posting. We will keep you updated on it. For now, here is a message from our Senior Director of Science and Conservation and Conservation Advocate, Milan Bull.

==============

The final FY2011 spending bill, enacted on 15 April, was devastating to bird-related conservation issues, but fortunately less drastic than in earlier proposed versions (e.g., H.R. 1).

Essential programs, such as the funding for the North American Wetland Conservation Act (NAWCA), the State Wildlife Grants, and the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) were initially recommended for elimination, or drastic reductions, in the original House-passed H.R.1. Instead, they were “only” drastically slashed, with some of these and similar programs receiving cuts of one-third the 2010 levels.

Consider these numbers:
The North American Wetlands Conservation Fund ended up at $37.5 million, down 21 percent from FY10 ($47.65 million), but up from $0, proposed in the original H.R. 1.
The State and Tribal Wildlife Grants program is to be funded at $62 million – a reduction of 31 percent from 2010 (i.e., $90 million) and the lowest level for the program in its 10-year history. This is up from $0 proposed in H.R. 1.
Funding for LWCF was put at $301 million – a 33-percent reduction from last year, but up from $244 million proposed in H.R. 1.
The Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act was reduced to $4 million, a reduction of 20 percent from $5 million last year.
The Wetlands Reserve Program, a crucial Farm Bill element, is reduced $119 million from FY10.
EQIP, the Environmental Quality Incentives Program, is reduced $80 million from last year.
The Conservation Stewardship Program, another USDA effort, is reduced $39 million.
At the agency level, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will have to function with a $118-million drop in its overall operations budget.

Most of the anti-conservation riders originally attached to H.R. 1 were removed from the final bill. This includes one that would have undercut the Environmental Protection Agency’s efforts to restore protections for certain wetlands and streams. Still, the final budget bill includes language that would undermine EPA’s efforts to reduce pollution from mountaintop coal mining and mercury emissions from power plants; stop the BLM’s new Wild Lands Policy (issued in late December and clarifying how BLM lands with wilderness characteristics are to be inventoried, described, and managed); and remove gray wolves from Endangered Species protection in a number of states.

With the battle over FY2011 ended, deep concern mounts over how drastic the budget cuts might be for FY 2012.

For more details, see this summary from the Wildlife Management Institute:
http://www.wildlifemanagementinstitute.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=521:conservation-programs-dodge-cuts-in-budget&catid=34:ONB%20Articles&Itemid=54

Thanks to the Birding Community eBulletin for this report: http://www.refugenet.org

We're moving

No, we are not gone and have not forgotten you - we are simply moving this blog to its new place on our new website. It's the same address as always, www.ctaudubon.org, and while we're working out the usual kinks that come with a transition such as this, we will soon be up and blogging there. When we are we will pass along the direct link to introduce you to our new home. All of these posts will still be available and hopefully archived directly on the new site.

See you there!