Early Winter Field Trip

Eagles and Ducks on the Connecticut River

Sunday, January 5, 2014

9:00 a.m.  –  11:30 a.m. 

Dennis Riordan will lead a trip along Connecticut River from Old Saybrook north in search of wintering ducks and eagles.

Meet at Dock and Dine in Old Saybrook at 9 a.m.  For questions or to register for this trip, e-mail dennis@menunkatuck.org.

DEEP Uses Menunkatuck’s Osprey Platform Design

Two osprey platforms at Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford, CT had significant damage in Super Storm Sandy and needed to be replaced. Park management contacted Menunkatuck for the plans for the platform that John Picard designed and that we have been using for the last six years. 

Volunteers from Dominion Energy built two platforms following the Menunkatuck plans. On October 10, 2013, Dennis Riordan and Terry Shaw joined the Dominion volunteers and Patrick Comins of Audubon Connecticut to install the new platforms. The Harkness staff was very happy with the result and cannot wait until the ospreys return next spring.

(From the January, 2014 newsletter.)

The Atlantic Flyway

Urban Oasis Program

Even tiny patches of woods in urban areas seem to provide adequate food and protection for some species of migrating birds as they fly between wintering and breeding grounds, new research from Ohio State University has found.

The results are important because, with the expansion of cities worldwide, migrating landbirds increasingly must pass through vast urban areas which offer very little of the forest habitats on which many species rely.

Birds in the study seemed to be finding enough food in even the smaller urban habitats to refuel and continue their journey,

The results point to the value of Audubon’s Urban Oasis program and its implementation in New Haven as part of the New Haven Harbor Watershed Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership. The habitat enhancements in Beaver Pond, West River Memorial, Dover Beach, and East Shore Parks and the promise of future native species planting, as well as the plans to assist homeowners in converting yards to wildlife habitat will improve the opportunities of migrating birds to find areas to rest and refuel.

And as one of only four Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnerships, New Haven can serve as a model for other cities along the Atlantic Flyway to create their own urban oases.

(More details in the Ohio State Research can be found at http://goo.gl/kr0Ewy.)

(From the January 2014 newsletter.)

Bio Bits: This Fly Has Gall

Have you ever noticed a swelling on the stem of a goldenrod and wondered what it was? This swelling is called a gall and is a deformation of the plant’s growth caused by an insect. A specific gall insect creates each type of gall on each plant species. “Gall insect” refers only to the fact that the insect has the ability to create these deformities. It does not belong to an all-encompassing family of gall insects; in fact, gall insects can be species of flies (including midges), wasps, aphids, or moths. 

Image from Wikimedia

Galls take many forms and can be found on myriad plant species, such as grape, raspberry, cherry, oak, willow, witch-hazel, and goldenrod. Some galls form on plant stems, while others appear on leaves. Buds and twigs can bear yet other types of galls. If the gall is round and grows on a goldenrod stem, it is caused by a goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis).

The goldenrod gall fly is tiny, only about a quarter inch long. During the adult stage of its life, which is only about 2 weeks long, the fly does not eat. This time is spent mating and laying eggs. The female fly will lay her eggs in the stems of emerging goldenrods in the spring. A hatching larva (white and grub-like) will burrow further into the plant stem to create itself a safe home. Chemicals in the larva’s saliva that mimic plant hormones cause the stem to form a ball-shaped growth, or gall. While the outside surface of the gall is hard and protective, the inside is softer and very nutritious. There the larva lives, feeding on the plant’s inner tissues while the gall continues to grow to about the size of a golf ball. It is humbling to think that the chemical secretions of a tiny insect can cause a plant to deform in such a way as to create the perfect house and pantry for the insect’s needs.

Image: Warren Uxley

The goldenrod gall fly larva will live within the gall from one spring to the next. Fall temperatures will cause the fly larva to accumulate glycerol and sorbitol in its body fluids, allowing it to survive freezing and thawing many times over the course of the winter. In the spring it will chew a tunnel through the gall to the outside. But it still needs to pupate, to transform from this larval stage into an adult fly. So it crawls back into the center of the gall, not emerging from its escape tunnel until the transformation is complete.

 Downy woodpeckers and chickadees have discovered the nutritious meal that lies hidden within the goldenrod gall. You may find one of these industrious birds perched upon a withered goldenrod stem this winter as it pecks a hole in a gall to reach the tasty larva within.

Submitted by Cindi Kobak
(From the January 2014 newsletter.)

Citizen Science: iNaturalist.org

iNaturalist.org is a place where you can record what you see in nature, meet other nature lovers, and learn about the natural world.

From hikers to hunters, birders to beach-combers, the world is filled with naturalists, and many of us record what we find. What if all those observations could be shared online? You might discover someone who finds beautiful wildflowers at your favorite birding spot, or learn about the birds you see on the way to work. If enough people recorded their observations, it would be like a living record of life on Earth that scientists and land managers could use to monitor changes in biodiversity, and that anyone could use to learn more about nature.

That’s the vision behind iNaturalist.org. So if you like recording your findings from the outdoors, or if you just like learning about life, join in! Go to inaturalist.org for more information.
(From the January 2014 newsletter.)

Menunkatuck Audubon Society Annual Report 2013

Suzanne Botta Sullivan reports on the past year’s activities

I am pleased to report that 2013 was another outstanding year for Menunkatuck Audubon Society. With your financial support and the hard work of the Chapter Board members and many volunteers we have conducted a vast array of programs, field walks, and conservation studies, worked on habitat restoration, increased our partnerships, and much more. With great pride, we list here for your review the significant accomplishments achieved in 2013.

Conservation

The Hammonasset Beach State Park Purple Martin and Tree Swallow Project continued with careful monitoring of five purple martin houses with 60 compartments and 31 tree swallow boxes. Nesting attempts by European starlings and house sparrows are discouraged and as a result success rates for both the purple martin colonies and the tree swallows have flourished (143 purple martin fledged and 114 tree swallows fledged).

Grants from the Audubon Collaborative Grant ($1500) and the Connecticut Ornithological Association ($300) provided funds to help  purchase two solar powered sound systems to play recordings to attract purple martins and chimney swifts.

Four kestrel nest boxes were installed at the East River Preserve and the Dudley Preserve in Guilford. 

Our partnership with the Northeast Connecticut Kestrel Project continued with securing a $3500 grant from the Nuttall Ornithological Club’s Blake-Nuttall Fund. The grant will be used for geolocator deployment with American kestrels in an attempt to better understand the population movements of central Connecticut’s threatened falcon.

Menunkatuck expanded its role in New Haven by working with Audubon Connecticut, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Common Ground High School, and other organizations in the USFWS establishment of the New Haven Harbor Watershed Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership, the second such refuge announced by USFWS. 

We partnered with the West Haven Watershed Restoration Committee in getting an Audubon IBA Small Matching Grant for $2500 for the Sandy Point Bird Sanctuary Enhancement Project. Non-native invasive plants were removed in the fall. Native species will be planted in spring.

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Your support of Menunkatuck Audubon Society helped us secure the following grants and matching grants for us and our partners in 2013.

Audubon Collaborative Grant -  $1500

Connecticut Ornithological Association Small Grant - $300

Nuttall Ornithological Club’s Blake-Nuttall Fund - $3500

Audubon IBA Small Matching Grant - $2500

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Citizen Science

Our partnership with the Project Limulus horseshoe crab tagging surveys had more than 27 volunteers conduct 16 surveys.

Menunkatuck members participated in Audubon Connecticut’s spring and fall bird migration surveys to identify critical stopover habitat.

Advocacy

Menunkatuck took the lead on an move to institute a ban on balloons in all state parks. Balloons are a serious problem for birds and other wildlife. Menunkatuck’s proposal to DEEP for banning balloons was sent to other Audubon Chapters in Connecticut as well as other environmental groups. Seven other organizations sent letters of support.

Education and Outreach

The Birdathon was held in May. Menunkatuck and The Audubon Shop participated together and more than 100 species were recorded. 

As part of the New Haven Harbor Watershed Urban Wildlife Refuge Partnership, Menunkatuck worked with local high school students in migratory bird surveys and in two invertebrate surveys.

We participated in the Yale Peabody Museum’s Earth Day program, the New Haven Migration Festival, and in the Hammonasset Festival.

General Public Meeting

Public programs are held monthly on the second Wednesday of each month (except July and August). Last year the meetings featured a variety of topics and speakers, including programs on birding in South Africa, snakes of Connecticut, a live porcupine, and landscaping with native plants. Our meetings are free and open to the public.

Field Programs

This year Menunkatuck provided four exciting field programs, including a woodcock search at the Guilford Salt Meadows Sanctuary, a spring trip to Central Park and the New York Historical Society’s Audubon watercolors exhibition in New York, and a fall walk at Lake Saltonstall.

Newsletter 

The newsletter is printed six times per year. In addition to informing our members and friends about Menunkatuck’s activities and events we include Cindi Kobak’s “Bio-bits” natural history essays. The Newsletter also includes tips on going green and information about upcoming events in our chapter area. Citizen Science highlighted six opportunities for helping scientists with their research. The newsletter is also available online as a PDF. Getting your newsletter electronically saves Menunkatuck about $5.00 per member.

Web Site

Menunkatuck maintains a web site that features a blog, a photo gallery, and a variety of educational information and links. We are also on Facebook with frequent posts with photos, event notices, and links to bird and environmental articles on the Internet. 

Volunteers

Menunkatuck volunteers contributed more than 1200 man-hours to conservation, advocacy education, and outreach activities.

Conclusion

As you can see, Menunkatuck is a leader in environmental education, conservation, and advocacy. Please join the Menunkatuck Board in making 2014 an even better year. If you can become more involved please e-mail me at president@menunkatuck.org or speak to any Board member at any event.

~Suzanne Botta Sullivan
(From the January 2014 newsletter.)