Connecticut Audubon Society’s conservation biologists will be the keynote speakers at the annual meetings of two Fairfield County organizations this month, discussing the plight of insect-eating birds such as barn swallows and purple martins, and the importance of conservation planning and habitat management.
First, Milan Bull, our senior director of science and conservation, will discuss the mysterious population decline of 17 local bird species that eat only insects they catch on the wing, at the Friends of Sherwood Island Annual Meeting on Thursday, June 6.
The decline was the topic of our Connecticut State of the Birds 2013 report, “The Seventh Habitat and the Decline of Aerial Insectivores,” released in February.
Bull’s topics will include things individuals can do to help aerial insectivores.
He will be joined by Phil Donahue, media personality, writer and producer, who has successfully provided nesting boxes for Purple Martins on his property in Westport (visit www.gazebophil.com for more information).
The meeting is set for 7 p.m. at the Sherwood Island State Park Nature Center, in Westport. It’s free and the public is welcome.
At the Aspetuck Land Trust’s annual meeting, on Wednesday, June 12, Anthony Zemba, Connecticut Audubon Society's director of conservation services, will discuss the landmark comprehensive conservation and management plan we prepared for Aspetuck Land Trust’s Trout Brook Valley Preserve in 2012.
Trout Brook Valley is one of the region’s most important ecological features. TBV is host to over 100 species of conservation concern, including the Eastern Box Turtle and Jefferson Salamander, and encompasses more than 60 ephemeral wetlands/vernal pools.
The year-long study led to management decisions and policies by Aspetuck’s board of directors designed to provide a better balance on the preserve between conservation and recreation.
Zemba’s presentation will focus on the study and its recommendations. He will also discuss how Connecticut Audubon’s conservation services program is providing landowners around the state with science-based conservation management plans to protect and improve habitat.
The meeting is set for 7 p.m. at the Pequot Library in Southport. It is free and open to the public.
