Protect Connecticut’s 335 bird species

To care about and protect the smallest among us is an affirmation of life itself. Connecticut’s bird population needs that kind of attention right now — and because nature is interconnected and we are a part of it, the benefit is exponential. Our state is vibrant with 335 species of birds, but many of them are threatened by the climate change double whammy of warmer temperatures and habitat destruction. Two-thirds of North America’s bird species are at increasing risk of extinction by the rise in global temperatures, the National Audubon Society warned in a report two years ago. The situation has not improved.

Local Audubon wildlife experts have noticed the changes anecdotally. At the Greenwich Audubon Center, for example, the shifting patterns are noticeable with cardinals migrating farther north while the red-bellied woodpecker becomes more common in the state.

But the danger is, it’s not merely a wave of differing birds — not all can migrate to more conducive climates. “For some species, they are only going to be able to adapt so far and then they will become extinct,” warned Robert LaFrance, policy director at Audubon Connecticut.

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection uses the piping plover as an example of the designation called greatest conservation need (CGN) in its state Wildlife Action Plan. The breeding population is listed as federally and state threatened and in Connecticut is considered critically imperiled. The birds nest in coastal dunes and tidal areas; their habitat loss and degradation is from development, natural processes and human disturbance.

Natural processes, such as storms which are more destructive (higher winds, stronger storm surges) with climate change, require wide-scale, long-range adjustments. But more immediately, other steps can be taken to protect the piping plover habitat, such as fences around nesting sites from mid-April through early August, the action plan states.

Connecticut’s Wildlife Action Plan, which includes mammals, reptiles and other creatures, is a 10-year guide created in 2005 and updated in 2015. The detailed plan is required to receive federal grants for conservation projects. Congressional passage of the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act, a federal bill that includes investments for protecting birds and wildlife, is key.

Success stories of bird species saved with human intervention are possible. Consider that more than a decade ago bald eagles were rare in Connecticut, the population throughout the region decimated by pesticides and other factors. In the state’s first official Endangered, Threatened, and Special Concern Species List passed in 1992, the bald eagle was classified as an endangered species. But with the ban earlier on DDT and careful conservation, monitoring and habitat protection, the bald eagle population now numbers at least 100 in the winter when the birds seek fish in unfrozen waters.

An appreciation for birds is growing during the pandemic as more people tend them with backyard feeders. Extend that caring to supporting local conservation efforts and urging federal funding. We cannot take the 335 species for granted.

Two-thirds of North America’s bird species are at increasing risk of extinction by the rise in global temperatures.