Connecticut State of the Birds

Connecticut State of the Birds 2020

Each year since 2006 the Connecticut Audubon Society has helped set the conservation agenda for the state by publishing its annual Connecticut State of the Birds report.

We officially released the 2020 report on Thursday, December 3. Titled “Pandemic: Conservationists scramble in the field, the lab, and the legislature,” it is the first look at how COVID-19 and the lockdown affected conservation in Connecticut.

Its roster of authors continues Connecticut Audubon’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. Authors of articles in the report are UConn Ph.D. candidates Sam Apgar and Eliza Grames; Tykee James of the National Audubon Society; Amy Blaymore Paterson of the Connecticut Land Conservation Council; Scott Kruitbosch of the Roger Tory Peterson Institute; Professor Chris S. Elphick of UConn; and Jim Arrigoni of the Connecticut Audubon Society.

Read the press release and get a copy of the report here.

Every member of the Connecticut Audubon Society receives a copy of the report each year. If you’re a member, look for yours in the mail.

If not, join now to make sure you get your copy!

Praise for the 2019 edition

“The 2019 Connecticut State of the Birds, titled “An Improved Long Island Sound Faces Unpredictable Change”, is a powerful review of the Long Island Sound situation focused on the Waters, Wild Shores, Birds, Wishes and Key Rivers and Waterways. Congratulations.” – John L. Forbis, Old Lyme

“As always, I am so impressed by the quality this report.” – Liz Acas, New Haven

Articles in Connecticut State of the Birds are written by the best ornithologists and conservationist in the state and the region. The report is edited by Tom Andersen, Connecticut Audubon’s communications director.

Throughout the years authors have included:

Gina McCarthy, former administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Connecticut State Ornithologist Margaret Rubega of UConn
Robert Askins and Glenn Dreyer of Connecticut College
Pulitzer Prize-nominee Scott Weidensaul
Peter Marra of Georgetown University, formerly the head of the migratory bird center at the Smithsonian.
Chris S. Elphick of the University of Connecticut
Kathleen Van Der Aue, Chair of the Connecticut Audubon Society and former president of the Connecticut Ornithological Association
David Winkler of Cornell University
Former Commissioner Rob Klee of the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection
David Foster of the Harvard Forest
Sally Harold of The Nature Conservancy
Min Huang of the CT DEEP
Leah Lopez Schmalz of Save the Sound
Wayne R. Peterson of Massachusetts Audubon
Randy Dettmers of the US Fish and Wildlife Service
Jenny Dickson of the CT DEEP
Chad Seewagen of the Great Hollow Nature Preserve
Jamie Vaudrey of UConn/Avery Point
And many others, including Connecticut Audubon Executive Director Patrick Comins and Milan Bull, Connecticut Audubon’s senior director of science and conservation.