‘Extraordinary recovery’ for ospreys, bald eagles
Connecticut Audubon looks back at 125 years of conservation in this year's report
The Connecticut Audubon Society released its annual State of the Birds Report Thursday and this year’s theme looked back 125 years of bird conservation across the state. The report celebrates a century and a quarter of conservation.
Connecticut Audubon hopes to draw attention to historic successes and current crises facing birds, using families of birds as a lens to view conservation issues overall in the state.
“We picked these groups of birds because they’re emblematic,” said spokesperson Tom Andersen, “They’ve had long histories of drastic declines because of the things humans have done, but to some extent they’ve all made comebacks due to the extraordinary efforts of conservationists.”
Historic successes
Birds of prey are some of the biggest winners over the past century of conservation. In 1970 there were only about ten ospreys nesting in the state of Connecticut. Today there are over 800 nests along Connecticut’s coastline.
Ospreys, like other raptors were harmed by the pesticide DDT in after it came into widespread use in the late 1940s. DDT weakened eggshells of many birds, cracking them when parents sat on them to brood. Ospreys also lost valuable nesting habitat due to coastal development.
“Lots of government agencies, conservation groups and individuals met their needs by putting up nesting platforms,” said Andersen. “The osprey population is now abundant and seems stable in Connecticut. It’s just an amazing success story.”
Bald eagles and peregrine falcons are also recovering across the state. The Connecticut Audubon reports that bald eagles are nesting in over a third of the towns statewide. Peregrines require more specialized nesting habitats on cliffs, or tall buildings but have reestablished themselves in 12 towns.
“Twenty years ago, who would have ever thought you’d see a bald eagle nesting in Connecticut?” said Andersen. “Now they’re nesting in 67 towns.”
Ducks and geese are also doing well overall due to waterway protections like the Clean Water Act and hunting restrictions. Wood ducks, once in serious decline across much of their range, have rebounded in Connecticut and throughout New England.
“The story of waterfowl over the past 125 years is illuminating, it tells us a great story and gives us hope,” said Paul Schmidt chief conservation officer of Ducks Unlimited at a press conference. “The basic formula is simple. Science plus collective will equals recovery.”
Uncertainty
But not all ducks are doing equally well. Rafts of sea ducks like eiders, scoters and Long-tailed ducks in Long Island Sound have gotten noticeably smaller but it’s not clear why. Breeding mallard ducks in Connecticut declined over the past twenty years by 34% for unclear reasons as well.
Some of the biggest question marks for long-term bird conservation in Connecticut are for the futures of wading birds like egrets, herons, and ibis. These birds were one of the original rallying cries of the fledgling Audubon Society in the 1890s. Egrets, herons and ibis produce beautiful plumage, irresistible to 19th century hat makers. Birds were shot by the thousands in pursuit of fashion.
After protections were put in place and fashions changed many of these species recovered. But recently they have faced increasing loss of nesting habitat to waterside development, recreation and the expansion of common suburban animals like deer and raccoons.
“The population is on pins and needles out there,” said CT Audubon science director Milan Bull Sr. “There’s a lot of public recreation on the islands.”
Andersen said that part of the point of highlighting these things isn’t to provoke despair but to demonstrate that the work of conservation is always changing. Progress is possible if people pay close attention and respond to the changes in birds around them.
Among the top recommendations for protecting bird habitat, beyond preservation and purchase of open spaces, islands and shorelines are things like preventing plastic pollution, particularly fishing lines, reducing raccoon predation and removing invasive plants. Herons and egrets in particular need thick vegetation far from human disturbance for nesting. Deer population control to protect bird nesting habitat, especially on islands is also needed, conservationists say.