Mattabeseck Audubon Society: Welcome!

Our Mission: The Mattabeseck Audubon Society, a chapter of the National Audubon Society, is committed to environmental leadership and education for the benefit of the community and the earth's biodiversity.

deKoven House, 27 Washington Street, Middletown, Connecticut 06457

January 28 (Saturday 10:00 p.m.)
Backyard Birding, Portland
Viewing of neighborhood feeders and discussion of feed

February 4 (Saturday 8:00 a.m.)
Eagles at Machimoodus Park (Echo Farm)
Walk to Salmon River overlook to look for eagles

February 17-20, 2012
Great Backyard Bird Count
Four-day event open to all bird watchers

March 17 (Saturday 8 a.m.,)
"Let's Go a-Ducking"
Replication of Dave Titus's favorite duck migration trips.

March 18 (Sunday 8 a.m. NOTE: wrong time was listed in Wingbeat!)
Top Stops Along Connecticut River in Portland
With Hartford Audubon

April 14 (Saturday 8 a.m.)
Wildflower Walk
Hike through Giuffrida Park, Meriden

May 5 (Saturday 8 a.m.)
David Titus Memorial Annual Warbler Walk
Blowhole State Park

July 7 (Saturday 7:30 a.m.)
Machimoodus State Park and Hurd Park
With Hartford Audubon

The deadline for items to be included in the Spring/Summer Issue is Wednesday, March 28, 2011. We expect subscribers to receive their copies about April 23. Please send items to Pat Rasch, 24 Elm Road, Cromwell, CT 06416, or email to <mattabeseck@mac.com>

The Board of Directors will meet at 7:30 p.m. on the third Wednesday of each month at deKoven House, 27 Washington Street, Middletown.

Eating Locally Grown
It’s not too early to be thinking about fresh produce. The seed and nursery catalogs and email promotions are already arriving for this year’s planting season. Eating locally grown food is now a staple of environmental sustainability. Locally grown food lowers greenhouse gases by reducing the distance from farm to table. It used to be that foods like fresh tomatoes and strawberries were off the menu in the winter in Connecticut unless you were into food preservation. With the new global economy, many of the once seasonal food products are now available year-round, but they travel thousands of miles to make it to your table using great amounts of fossil fuels to get here.
Not only do these foods contribute to air pollution, many are grown in foreign countries that do not have the same regulations as the United States. They may contain chemicals that threaten food security.
Buying locally grown food contributes to our economy, keeps lands in agriculture, creates jobs, and tastes better. The federal government recognized this many years ago when it made provisions in the food stamp program, now the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, for the purchase of seeds and other materials for growing your own food and for use in farmers’ markets. Today, some farmers’ markets even operate indoors through the winter months. So, while it’s cold and gloomy, sit by the fire and plan your garden or find your local farmers’ market.

Sightings:
It’s beginning to look like a good winter for Snowy Owls in the lower 48. Several were spotted in Nov. in Conn. Maine reports four in early Nov. Michigan hit the jackpot with six seen at once at Muskegon.
At least two more Snowy Owls in Connecticut during the week between Christmas and New Year’s, one along the coast and the other at Bradley Field. This latter bird was reported by a birder who works at Bradley. Unfortunately, it is inaccessible due to security. The coastal bird was first reported briefly in the Old Lyme area. Another, or maybe the same bird, was later seen at Milford Point.

Another item of interest to those who follow the range expansion of Southern birds to our Northern climes—in Maine, between 10 and 15 Blue Grosbeaks were seen at 14 locations in Sept. and Oct. Most were along the coast but one was inland at Colby in Waterville.
A Smith’s Longspur at Norridgewock, Maine, attracted national attention in Sept. This is a bird that nests on the open tundra. You are more apt to see it in Alaska or far north in Canada.

Hammonassett is a prime destination for birding in winter. Horned Larks, Snow Buntings, a few warblers, Common Eider, Loons in winter plumage, Purple Sandpipers, etc., are being reported at Hammo. Be sure to check the field at the Nature Center, the Willard Island trail, the fields and parking lot at the west end, and the water from the Moraine Trail. The log book at the Nature Center is a good resource for recent sightings.

Westbrook’s Iceland Gull Lives!

We missed this bird last year and thought he/she may have passed on to the eternal gull hunting grounds. But on January 1, 2012, the Iceland gull showed beautiful adult plumage. This bird has been seen on Christmas Bird Counts at Middle Beach in Westbrook since 1995, per Arne Rosengran and Joe Morin, who both got to see it again on January 1st (around 12:30 PM and again at 3 PM).
If you go looking for this bird, note that it likes to sit on various roof tops at the end on the road.
Take the beach road off Route 1 at the Valero gas station, and go to the end of the road.

Year of Forest 2011
2011 was designated as the International Year of Forests. 2011 also turned out to be the wettest on record. While having plenty of water may seem like a good thing, all that water proved to be a problem for parts of the forest. The English walnuts were virtually naked most of the season, looking like winter, because it was too wet.
Tropical Storm Irene and Nor’easter Alfred also were extremely hard on the trees of Connecticut. Many homeowners and towns are still clearing the debris from the damage at huge expense. Pressure on CL&P and other utilities to do a better job of securing power and other services will add pressure on the tree population of our state as tree trimming becomes a priority to protect electrical service.
If you have significant trees in the area of power lines that you feel are important to protect, now is the time to plan for that. Call your town planner to learn if there are ordinances and/or regulations protecting trees. If not, visit your local Conservation Commission and land trust to propose such protections.

The David Titus Memorial Bird Card is now available for a $3 donation. We will have them at MAS activities or request by email to mattabeseck@mac.com. Many thanks to Pat Rasch for putting it all together and wildlife illustrator, Mike DiGiorgio, for his beautiful illustrations, many of which were painted specifically for this bird card. The card is a very inexpensive way to own some of the best bird art you’ll ever see. It is extra heavy-duty, all-plastic laminate, printed in full color on both sides. Twenty-four birds are identified by their common name and Latin name, along with the length of the bird and the seasons that they are usually seen in our area. In species that have visual differences between the sexes, both sexes are portrayed.

If you find a baby bird or other animal, it's best to leave it alone. Chances are the parent is nearby and will take care of the baby when you leave the area. If not or you have some other wildlife problem, contact the CT Wildlife Rehabilitators Association at http://www.cwrawildlife.org/ where you can find a rehabilitator in your area or someone to address your problem.

We encourage everyone to buy Duck Stamps each fall. The funds the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the State of Connecticut receive from the sale of Duck Stamps goes directly to conservation of habitat that supports not only waterfowl but many other species of birds and other animals and indigenous plants. You may purchase Federal Duck Stamps at the Post Office, and State of Connecticut Duck Stamps at your local town hall.