More IBAs Announced

Audubon Connecticut announced six new Important Bird Areas (IBAs) located in nine towns along the coast of Connecticut. All of the sites include state property under the management of the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

In addition to being popular destinations for birders, these sites are also some of the most critical bird habitats in the state, serving a variety of functions for the conservation of birds in Connecticut and even North America as a whole. Several of the locations serve as critical rest stops for thousands of migratory shorebirds on their long annual journeys to and from nesting grounds in the Arctic to tropical wintering grounds. Some are nesting areas for birds of global conservation concern, such as Piping Plover and Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, both listed as globally vulnerable by BirdLife International. Still others provide nesting and feeding areas for state-threatened herons and egrets, thus helping to preserve the avian diversity of our state.

Important Bird Areas help put Connecticut's role in the conservation of birds into a global perspective.

These sites also highlight the importance of public lands and the effectiveness of the conservation partnerships that exist in Connecticut. Many entities, from state and federal agencies and municipalities to a wide variety of nonprofit conservation organizations are all working together to help ensure that these most important places remain special long into the future. By recognizing these sites as IBAs, Audubon Connecticut hopes to facilitate additional cooperation between the various landowners and conservation groups and to increase local stewardship of the sites and the birds that use them.

Three of the newly named IBA sites are in the Menunkatuck chapter area:

The East and West River Marsh Complex in Guilford and Madison has a variety of landowners, including the Town of Guilford, the

Guilford Land Trust, the Connecticut DEP, and numerous private landowners, and supports significant nesting populations of Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow and other marsh-nesting birds.

Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison and Clinton is owned by the Connecticut DEP. The diverse habitats of the park make it an important migratory stopover and wintering area for hundreds of species of birds while also supporting significant nesting populations of Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow and other marsh-nesting birds.

Quinnipiac River Tidal Marsh Wildlife Management Area in North Haven, New Haven, and Hamden is owned and managed by the Connecticut DEP and provides nesting habitat for many species of state-listed marsh birds.

The East and West River Marsh Complex and Hammonasset Beach State Park are considered to be of Global Significance to birds, primarily because of nesting populations of Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrow, a species of global conservation concern that has significant populations in Connecticut. This small and secretive brown bird has been classified as globally "Vulnerable" by BirdLife International, the global conservation organization charged with identification, monitoring and protection of globally threatened bird species. Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows are "Vulnerable" because of their limited nesting range and exacting habitat requirements. The entire global nesting range of this species is found only in a thin strip of tidal marsh along the eastern seaboard from Maine to Virginia. This sparrow requires tidal marshes dominated by a specific type of marsh grass to successfully nest and raise offspring. This habitat is sufficiently rare that the entire world range for this species is smaller than the entire land area of Connecticut. Connecticut lies in the heart of the nesting range for this species and because of this, some of our marshes contain very high densities of this species in nesting season, as documented by research conducted by the University of Connecticut.

Also named as IBAs were:

Menunketesuck and Duck Islands and surrounding tidal flats in Westbrook are owned by the Connecticut DEP and a private landowner and are a key foraging area for migratory shorebirds and terns; they also support nesting by several species of state-listed birds.

Charles Island, Silver Sands State Park, and Walnut Beach in Milford, owned by the Connecticut DEP and the City of Milford, these sites support significant populations of nesting herons and egrets and provide wintering habitat for several species of hawks and owls.

Milford Point/Wheeler Marsh/Mouth of the Housatonic River in Milford and Stratford is owned by 3 different entities. The Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge maintains Milford Point as one of its refuge units, the Connecticut DEP owns and manages the Wheeler Marsh Wildlife Management Area, and the Town of Stratford owns Short Beach, which is included within the boundary. Additionally, the Connecticut Audubon Society operates the Coastal Center at Milford Point, which provides information and educational programs. The area is perhaps the most important rest stop for migratory shorebirds in the state and supports nesting by the globally vulnerable Piping Plover.

For more information on the IBA Program, please see: <http://www.audubon.org/bird/iba/index.html>

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Last updated 18 September, 2004 .