Connecticut Audubon Society

Connecticut Audubon Society
Center at Pomfret

189 Pomfret St. (Rte.169)
Pomfret Center, CT 06259
860-928-4948

General Information
The rural beauty of Connecticut’s "Quiet Corner" surrounds Connecticut Audubon Society's facility in the northeastern region of the state. Our Center at Pomfret is a community-based facility that offers environmental education programs, bird walks and many opportunities to learn about and explore the natural world.

Our newest facility serves as the gateway to the adjoining 700-acre Connecticut Audubon Society Bafflin Sanctuary with its vast rolling meadows, forests, streams and fertile grassland habitats. The successful combination of a Center and wildlife sanctuary greatly expands environmental learning. Aerial photo of the Bafflin Sanctuary courtesy GLSweetnam.

Nothing enriches learning like first-hand outdoor experience and outdoor teaching surrounded by the natural beauty of a "classroom without walls.” The Center at Pomfret features:

The American Kestrel, a state-listed "Threatened" species, had a record year in Pomfret in 2009. Four nesting boxes produced 18 young falcons! (In 2008 we banded 9 young Kestrels from 3 nest boxes.)

Two of the boxes were located on our 700-acre Bafflin Sanctuary, one was on a Wyndham Land Trust parcel, and one was on privately owned land.
Kestrels need large fields to hunt and cavities in trees to nest. The lack of natural cavities and large fields have reduced their

populations. Carol Millard, our master bird bander, is certified to attach the aluminum bird bands on the young falcon’s leg. Each band has a unique number and phone number on it. The bands help track movements of the birds through migration.
A dozen or so people observed the banding in 2009. This year, if you are interested in observing and photographing the baby falcons up close, give us a call in June 2010.

If you think you may have appropriate habitat, contact Andy Rzeznikiewicz at our Center at Pomfret about installing a nest box: 860-928-4948. Photo of an American Kestrel chick being banded in Pomfret by James Cutler.

Citizen Science Programs
Late Summer/Fall 2010

Join the fun and learn about our environment: become a Citizen Science Volunteer*!

Volunteers from northeastern Connecticut and beyond are welcome to participate in all 5 of our projects, described below. Training sessions are held at our Center at Pomfret unless otherwise noted. Registration is required for all Citizen Science training sessions and projects; call Project Coordinator Paula Coughlin at 860-928-4948 or send her an e-mail. (Field work dates are subject to change based on local weather.)

*In 2009, a total of 111 CAS-trained Citizen Scientists contributed 808 volunteer hours to our Center at Pomfret's 5 Citizen Science projects.

Canterbury Citizen Science Project into 2nd Year

Fall brings Canterbury volunteers out to local streams to learn about water quality in this second year of The Canterbury Citizen Science Volunteer Monitoring Program, a two-year project partially funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and a partnership with the Canterbury Public Library. At the library, Kathleen Hart is a great advocate for the program, encouraging residents to help collect conservation data in town.

I. Rapid Bioassessment 2010 Training Dates for Volunteers: Did you know that aquatic insects are indicators of the health of a stream? Many of us recognize these fascinating insects only during their brief time as flying adults (dragonflies, mayflies, stoneflies and the like) but the early stages of their lives is aquatic. This rapid assessment of stream water quality provides valuable data to the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection and local conservation groups. (Visit the DEP website to view data from past years.)

Train to become an RB Volunteer! Come dressed to muck about in the streams; we’ll provide waders and nets and teach you how to do a stream assessment based on the insects we catch. RBV data will be collected in streams in Woodstock, Pomfret and Canterbury in 2010.

Sign up for one 3-hour RBV training on:
--Sat., Aug. 28 9 a.m.-noon, or

--Fri., Sept 3, 9 a.m.-noon.

Training fee: $7 CAS Members, $15 Non-members, free for Canterbury residents (covered by USF&WS grant). Call to register for training and field work: 860-928-4948. Our RBV data collection field trips will take place Friday and Saturday mornings in Sept. and Oct.

II. Mammal Monitoring Programs in 2010: CAS-trained Citizen Science volunteers monitor study sites in Willington, Eastford and Woodstock quarterly where we document the presence of large mammals: fisher, river otter, black bear and bobcat. In 2009 we also surveyed perspective study sites in Canterbury. You can begin or continue training to become a Citizen Science wildlife monitor by attending training hikes that suit your schedule throughout the seasons. Volunteers in training hike on the Woodstock transect along with seasoned volunteer monitors as they document mammal track and sign.

Photo: Bobcat tracks in the snow on a rock wall are measured by a ciitizen scientist.

We offer 3 levels of Mammal Monitoring
Volunteer involvement:
1) “Backyard Tracker” level requires 10-15 hours of participation.
2) “Bafflin Tracker” training requires 20 hours and prepares volunteers to document mammals on our Bafflin Sanctuary.
3) “Volunteer Mammal Monitor” training requires 50 hours of training and prepares volunteers to monitor a study site.
Training hikes, workshops and presentations are offered throughout the year and volunteers can move from one level to the next as their interest and schedule allow. The Citizen Science Mammal Monitoring Project receives support from the NewAlliance Foundation.
Mammal Monitoring Training Hike (in Woodstock) on Sat., Sept. 25 9 a.m.– 3 p.m. Fee: $50 CAS Members, $60 Non-members, free for Canterbury residents (covered by USF&WS grant).

Future Training Dates and Hikes:
--Looking for bear sign in northwest CT in October, date to be announced;

--Training hike in Canterbury, early December date to be announced.

Pre-registration is required. Call Paula Coughlin, Citizen Science Coordinator, at 860-928-4948 or send her an e-mail.

III. 2010 Vernal Pool Inventory: Vernal pools are small, temporary bodies of water that are critical breeding habitat for many amphibians that need protection. You may have a vernal pool in your backyard! There are many ways to get involved. You can report the location of a vernal pool, document vernal pools as a trained citizen science volunteer, or learn how your town can begin its own vernal pool inventory using our model program. Vernal pool season goes by quickly so don’t miss the fun! On Friday and Saturday mornings in April and May, our trained volunteers documented vernal pools in Canterbury, Pomfret and Woodstock. We tramped through woods, listened for wood frogs and counted amphibian egg masses. We also gathered reports from residents of vernal pool locations in the three towns.The vernal pool data we gathered is transferred to a map to help agencies & conservation groups involved in land use decisions. We'll share our results with you shortly.

IV. Canterbury Grassland Birds Habitat Survey:
Did you hear a meadowlark this spring, or see a kestrel hunting in a nearby field? Maybe you noticed an “LBJ” (little brown job) with a yellowish eyebrow stripe in the grass – it could have been a Savannah Sparrow! These are just a few of the grassland bird species whose numbers have dwindled as grassland habitat disappears. We launched this project in 2009, and once again this past June and July our CAS-trained volunteers looked and listened for breeding grassland birds. We'll share our results with you shortly.

V. StreamWalk Project 2010: During June, July and August, CAS-trained volunteers joined Citizen Science Coordinator Paula Coughlin on field trips to collect data or worked on selected stream segments on their own schedule, in order to contrinute to stream cioncervation efforts in the Quinebaug River watershed. In one 3-hour session, we train volunteers learn how to report the physical characteristics of streams: depth, vegetation and condition of the streambed. Check back for future training dates.

Connecticut Audubon Society’s StreamWalk and Rapid Bioassessment projects receive support from the Watershed Assistance Small Grants Program, conducted in association with the CT Department of Environmental Protection under Section 319 of the Clean Water Act and administered by the Rivers Alliance of Connecticut. These projects provide valuable data to CT DEP (and is posted on their website), the Eastern Connecticut Conservation District & local conservation groups.

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Citizen Science Volunteers: Save the Date!

Citizen Science Volunteer Appreciation Night takes place on Wed., Dec. 1, 2010.
Check back for more details.

A giant “thank you” goes out to Aaron Landry, a Woodstock resident, recent graduate of EastConn in Brooklyn and newly inducted Eagle Scout. Aaron oversaw a challenging trail improvement project on the Bafflin Sanctuary, including the installation of new railings and trail steps on a Bafflin trail leading up to the CT DEP Airline Trail. Located on a very steep slope, the job required a lot of rough and rocky post-hole digging and stonework. Several new trail signs were also created and installed. Thank you Aaron and BSA Woodstock Troop 27 for the great work. Your efforts have made the Bafflin Sanctuary that much easier to traverse and enjoy.

There’s always more work to be done! If your Cub Scout den or pack or your Scout troop is interested in a community service project, or if you are considering an Eagle Scout project at the Center at Pomfret, the Center at Trail Wood or the Bafflin Sanctuary, please contact: Terry LaVoie, Administrative Assistant, at 860-928-4948 or tlavoie@ctaudubon.org.

Directions

From I-395:
Take Exit 93 and travel West on Route 101.
At the junction of Route 101 and Route 169, turn right onto Route 169 North. Travel 1 mile; our Center will be on your right.

From I-84:**
Take Exit 69. Travel East on Route 74 to Route 44 East.
Where Route 44 meets Route 169, continue East on Route 44 for another 1/4 mile; our Center will be on your right.

From I-91:
Take I-91 to I-84 East and follow directions above.**