American Crows - Intelligent Opportunists

Most people, including preschoolers, can identify the American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos). 

wikimedia.org

A large black bird with a thick bill, the ubiquitous crow walks and flies through our lives on a regular basis. It ranges throughout Connecticut, common in urban, suburban and rural areas. It likes open areas with trees, at home in both farm country and city parks. A member of the corvid family, the crow is considered one of the most intelligent species in the bird world. 

Crows are omnivores, eating anything from crops (such as corn and fruit), to insects, snakes, nestling birds, roadkill, and garbage. Families tend to travel and feed together, so where you see one crow you are likely to see more. A family unit can consist of a mated pair and their offspring from previous years, as well as this year’s young. Together they may defend a territory of about 100 acres. Watch them walk through the leaf litter at the edge of the woods or through a grassy area as they scare up insects and snakes. Carrion is also readily eaten, but since the crow is not equipped with a bill that can tear open a fresh carcass, it relies on other animals, such as vultures and mammals, to begin the process. It is not uncommon to see a flock of crows “waiting in the wings” for their turn to feed on larger carrion. The author once observed three crows follow a fisher through the woods as it searched for prey. The crows flew from tree to tree above the fisher, ready and willing to clean up any leftover scraps from the fisher’s next meal.

Dennis Riordan

Crows are opportunists, scavenging scraps from landfills, trash dumpsters, and suburban compost piles. And they have benefited from our human development in other respects as well. As we create more and more “edge habitat” by fragmenting tracts of forest, we provide these “edge predators” with the opportunity to find and plunder the nests of smaller songbirds. 

As winter closes in you may notice small flocks of crows pass overhead in late afternoon. They are returning to their communal winter roost for the night. Typically, the large congregation of roosting crows will disperse from their roost trees in the morning as they spend the day in search of food. By mid-afternoon they begin to head back to the roost. Small flocks will join up at pre-roosting sites before continuing on. If you are along one of the crows’ flight paths this winter, you are likely to see them pass by on a daily basis.

Submitted by Cindi Kobak

(From the November, 2011 Newsletter)

Winter Field Trips

Livingston Ripley Waterfowl

Conservancy, Litchfield, CT

Sunday, November 20, 1:00-4:00 p.m.

LRWC Photo

Livingston Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy, located in Litchfield, Connecticut, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the research and protection of rare and endangered ducks and other waterfowl  throughout the world. The organization maintains an aviary with a diverse collection of waterfowl from around the world for educational and research purposes.  

Join Menunkatuck Audubon Society for a tour of LRWC’s aviaries, and experience a unique opportunity to view and learn about waterfowl from around the world.  Please dress warmly and be prepared to spend up to two hours outside during the tour.  Boots or other waterproof shoes are recommended in case of muddy conditions at the facility.

Pre-registration is required, and a $10 per person donation to LRWC is requested.  To register for this trip, please contact Nina Levenduski e-mailing nina@menunkatuck.org. Carpools from the shoreline area may be set up, inquire with the leader if interested. 

Winter Birdwatching at Sandy Point and New Haven Harbor

Saturday, December 3, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.

USFWS

Sandy Point in West Haven is recognized by Audubon Connecticut as an Important Bird Area (IBA), and a great place to see wintering shorebirds, ducks and other waterfowl.  Join Nina Levenduski and other Menunkatuck birders for a walk on the beaches to look for wintering birds. Beginning birders welcome! Please bring binoculars and dress in layers for cold and windy conditions. Camera, hand lens, field guides, etc. are also suggested.

Optional lunch stop after the walk at a local burger/seafood joint.

Meet at the parking area at the junction of Beach Street and Second Avenue in West Haven.

To sign up for the trip, please contact Nina Levenduski by e-mailing nina@menunkatuck.org. Bad weather the day of the trip cancels.

(From November, 2011 Newsletter)

Film Screenings: Green Fire, Tapped, Living Downstream, and Ghost Bird at Peabody Museum and Blackstone Library

Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time

Saturday, November 12, 1:00-3:30 p.m.

Yale Peabody Museum, New Haven

Green Fire: Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time is the first feature length documentary film ever made about famed conservationist Aldo Leopold. The film explores Aldo Leopold’s life in the early part of the twentieth century and the many ways his land ethic idea continues to be applied all over the world today. 

The film shares highlights from Leopold’s life and extraordinary career, explaining how he shaped conservation in the twentieth century and still inspires people today. Although probably best known as the author of the conservation classic A Sand County Almanac, Leopold is also renowned for his work as an educator, philosopher, forester, ecologist, and wilderness advocate.

Green Fire illustrates Leopold’s continuing influence by exploring current projects that connect people and land at the local level. The film portrays how Leopold’s vision of a community that cares about both people and land—his call for a land ethic—ties all of these modern conservation stories together and offers inspiration and insight for the future.

This film screening is part of the Quinnipiac River Watershed project.

Tapped

Sunday, November 27, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m.

Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford

Is access to clean drinking water a basic human right or a commodity that should be bought and sold like any other article of commerce? Stephanie Soechtig’s debut feature is an unflinching examination of the big business of bottled water.

Tapped is a behind-the-scenes look into the unregulated and unseen world of an industry that aims to privatize and sell back the one resource that ought never to become a commodity: our water.

From the plastic production to the ocean in which so many of these bottles end up, this inspiring documentary trails the path of the bottled water industry and the communities which were the unwitting chips on the table. This film is cosponsored by Audubon Connecticut.

Living Downstream

Friday, December 9, 7:00-8:00 p.m.

Yale Peabody Museum, New Haven

Living Downstream is an eloquent feature length documentary that charts the life and work of biologist, author, cancer survivor and cancer prevention advocate, Sandra Steingraber. 

Living Downstream is based on Sandra’s book of the same name, and, like the book, documents the growing body of scientific evidence that links human health with the health of our environment. 

This film screening is part of the Quinnipiac River Watershed project.

Ghost Bird

Sunday, December 18, 2:00-3:30 p.m.

Blackstone Memorial Library, Branford

Set in a murky swamp overrun with birders, scientists, and reporters, Ghost Bird explores the limits of certainty, the seductive power of hope, and how one phantom woodpecker changed a sleepy Southern town forever.

In 2005, scientists announced that the Ivory-billed woodpecker, a species thought to be extinct for 60 years, had been found in the swamps of Eastern Arkansas. Millions of dollars poured in from the government while ornithologists and birders flooded the swamps to find the rare bird. Down the road, the town of Brinkley, Arkansas - itself on the brink of extinction – was transformed by the hope, commerce, and controversy surrounding their feathered friend. Now six years later, the woodpecker remains as elusive as ever. Ghost Bird brings the Ivory-bill’s blurry rediscovery into focus revealing our uneasy relationship with nature and the increasing uncertainty of our place within it.

This film is cosponsored by Audubon Connecticut.

(From the November, 2011 Newsletter)

Citizen Science: Project Squirrel

No matter where you live, city or suburb, from the Midwest to the East Coast, Canada to California, whether squirrels live in your neighborhood or not, you are encouraged to become a squirrel monitor.

Squirrels are useful organisms to study because they are active during the day and everyone has an opinion about them. Additionally, squirrels can be important indicators of local ecology because they are resident in small territories and active year round, they require a range of resources that are also important to many other urban animals, and their populations rise and fall with the same predators and environmental conditions that affect our neighborhood wildlife.

What to do:  Take a look around your home, office, school, or anywhere you are and, whether you see squirrels or not, visit projectsquirrel.org/ and click on the green button to submit your observations.  We want to know where squirrels are as well as where they aren’t.

How often:  You can submit as many observations from as many places as you like.  It’s most effective to submit at least one observation per site per season but the more observations the better.

Who:  Anyone of any age can participate.  Make it an office game or a classroom project, compare notes with friends in other states, get your family involved—everyone can observe nature.

For complete details, visit projectsquirrel.org/.
(From the November, 2011 Newsletter)

Quinnipiac River Watershed Is Focus of Project to Improve Water Quality

http://qrwgis.newhaven.edu/watershe.htm

Menunkatuck Audubon Society has partnered with Audubon Connecticut, Yale Peabody Museum, and other local environmental organizations on a project to raise awareness among legislators, homeowners, and the general public about ways to reduce both non-point and point sources of pollution and to improve habitat for birds and other wildlife within the Quinnipiac River Watershed. Improving Water Quality and Wildlife Habitat in the Quinnipiac River Watershed will promote legislative, municipal, corporate and personal actions to improve water quality and habitat for wildlife in the QRW through a combination of (1) legislative forums in New Haven and Wallingford, (2) a film series coupled with panel discussions to be held at the Yale Peabody Museum in New Haven, and at venues in Wallingford and Meriden, and (3) outreach materials to be displayed and disseminated at a wide range of venues.

Funded by a grant from the Quinnipiac River Fund to Audubon Connecticut, the project will address the need to reduce non-point and point sources of pollution and to improve habitat for wildlife by providing people with the tools, resources, and motivation to take on actions that can make our homes, schools, businesses, and municipal spaces in the Quinnipiac River Watershed healthy and vibrant while also providing sustainable habitats for birds and other wildlife. Improving habitat for wildlife also improves natural infrastructure for reducing non point source pollution.

The project is part of the Audubon At Home in Connecticut program of Audubon Connecticut, part of the larger National Audubon Society’s mission. The goal of the AAH program in Connecticut is to inspire people to incorporate conservation actions into their daily lives by providing the support and resources necessary to do so, in order to conserve birds, wildlife, and habitat. AAH educates the public on water conservation and water quality issues, encourages reduction of pesticides and other harmful chemicals, removing invasive plant species and replacing them with native plants that support wildlife naturally.

The film screenings at the Yale Peabody Museum are:

• Vanishing of the Bees, October 26 The film starts at 6:30 with the doors opening at 5:30. 

• Green Fire, Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for Our Time, November 12

Doors will open at 1:00. After the screening of the film you will have a chance to ask local environmental leaders questions about their work and address concerns about the Quinnipiac River.

• Living Downstream, December 9

The film starts at 6:30 with the doors opening at 5:30.

• The Work of 1,000 will be shown during the Peabody’s annual Earth Day celebration.

Visit the Peabody website for complete details.

Representatives from local environmental organizations (please see below for a complete list of organizations) will be at each of the film screenings to speak with the public about the Quinnipiac River Watershed and the work they are doing to protect its valuable natural resources.

Local environmental organizations involved in the project include Audubon Connecticut, Menunkatuck Audubon Society, Quinnipiac Valley Audubon Society, Citizens Campaign for the Environment, Connecticut Fund for the Environment/Save the Sound, Quinnipiac River Watershed Association, and The Watershed Partnership.

The Quinnipiac River Fund was created “to improve the environmental quality of the Quinnipiac River and the New Haven Harbor and the watersheds of these water bodies, and otherwise to benefit the environment of these resources.” The fund was established in 1990 by a court settlement of litigation between the Connecticut Fund for the Environment, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and the Upjohn Company, concerning wastewater discharges from the Upjohn Company’s plant in North Haven. The Upjohn Company was required to pay $1.2 million dollars over a three year period. This money was used to establish a permanent fund. The net income from this fund is used to fund projects that will improve the quality of the Quinnipiac River Watershed.

(From the November 2011 Newsletter)