This Week’s Winter Bird Forecast

Last year, record numbers of Snowy Owls left the Arctic in search of warmer weather and more abundant hunting grounds down south. Here in Connecticut, we saw Snowy Owls in record numbers all over the state, including a rooftop in downtown Hartford!

This year, Snowy Owls are on the move again, but will we see them in the same numbers? If so, where will they be and what other fascinating winter visitors may be joining them?

These are some the questions that Audubon Connecticut’s Director of Bird Conservation, Patrick Comins, together with our Audubon Alliance partners at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute, will be answering each week on this Winter Bird Forecast page.  Stay tuned for regular updates and we’ll keep you updated on the Winter Bird Forecast.

You can HELP US TRACK Snowy Owls and other winter birds in our state by joining the 115th Christmas Bird Count (CBC). This annual event was established in 1900 as an alternative to the destructive Christmas Day Side Hunts popular at the time. And after the holidays, join other wintertime 'citizen science' projects like the Great Backyard Bird Count & Project FeederWatch.With whole species of birds threatened by overhunting, the CBC's original purpose was to raise awareness about the plight of birds, but more than 100 years of annual observations has also created an invaluable source of data about birds.

Today, Audubon scientists use CBC data to learn more about the status of bird populations and how factors such as climate change may affect them in the future. The CBC is now considered the longest continuously running citizen science effort in the world with more than 60,000 people participants surveying birds at more than 2,200 locations.  

Suggested links: 

 

# # #

AUDUBON CT PRESS CONTACT:

Patrick Comins: pcomins@audubon.org | Office: 203-405-9115