[CT Birds] Birdathon/Big Days

[COMINS, Patrick]

Birdathon season is here.  A few of us had been talking about trying to make a CT version of the World Series of Birding.  Well, we all got busy and it didn't happen this year, but we can still have some fun seeing birds and supporting bird-related activities, even at this last moment.

Birdathons are simply a big day where you try to seek pledges from friends and family for each species of bird that you can identify in a given area over a set period of time.  Unlike big days, the rules are slightly less formal in that you can have a Birdathon over the course of 24 hours, a weekend or even a longer period of time, so long as you identify that period and geographic range ahead of time.

Birdathons are a lot of fun and can help to raise money for and awareness of bird conservation, education or birding access projects.  Please consider taking part in a Birdathon this year and post the results to CTBirds, including your species list, the money raised and what cause you are supporting.

My Birdathon this year is somewhat low-key and will be taking place tomorrow.  I don't expect to post an impressive list, as my birding partner is Maxson, my 4-year old son, but any money raised will go directly to Audubon Connecticut's bird conservation programs.  If you want an easy way to support Birdathon, you can drop me a note offline and I can send you a pledge card that you can fill out and mail in.

Audubon Connecticut has been very busy over the last year and we have contributed to some great conservation successes.  Some highlights include:

* Hiring of an IBA Coordinator who can dedicated 100% of his time to the identification, recognition and conservation of Important Bird Areas in Connecticut.

* Initiating a small grants program to support conservation/education/monitoring projects by our partners at IBAs across the state.

* Ongoing conservation planning efforts at 14 IBAs.

* Worked with the Trust for Public Land to secure $700,000 in funding for a key acquisition to the Salt Meadow Unit of Stewart B. McKinney NWR in Westbrook, helping to preserve forest integrity at this site and protecting water quality in the Menunketesuck River tidal marsh.

* Worked with partners to secure $2,000,000 in funding for the Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge to help protect key grasslands in Massachusetts (thus helping ensure the health of the regional metapopulation of grassland birds in New England).

* Worked with COA, the New Haven Bird Club, CT Butterfly Association and others to inform the City of New Haven that Lighthouse Point Park would not be a suitable location for wind turbines (the City was very cooperative when they heard about the bird issues).

We are also on the verge of some great conservation successes in the coming year and will continue to work tirelessly to conserve birds and their habitats in Connecticut.  Focusing on the protection of Long Beach and Pleasure Beach in Stratford and Bridgeport will be a big focus of ours over the next few years.

Obviously, partnerships are key in achieving our desired conservation outcomes and support for any bird-related conservation or habitat protection organizations will help to achieve all of our shared conservation goals.

Please consider support for some aspect of bird conservation in this season when we all like to celebrate the return or brief visitation of these intrepid travelers to our favorite local patch.

Thank you for your consideration!


Sincerely,

Patrick M. Comins, Director of Bird Conservation for Audubon Connecticut (the state office of the National Audubon Society).