Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Wildlife Division and the University of Connecticut
A new guest post from Greg Hanisek (lightly edited):
During the 1982-86 Connecticut Breeding Bird Atlas, the nesting range of Yellow-bellied Sapsucker was limited essentially to the northern part of Litchfield County (see map below). When I moved to Connecticut in 1992, one had to visit places at or above the latitude of the town of Litchfield to find them during the breeding season. Continue reading “Where are sapsuckers now?”
Yesterday, I pointed out that evidence for confirmed breeding by any species should be submitted to the atlas, even if we are not yet within that species’ “safe dates”. In light of that recommendation, I thought it would be worthwhile to list the species for which we have already received confirmed records. This list is growing every day – just this weekend I noticed a pair of chickadees excavating a nest hole in a dead tree stump in my backyard (see video here). Continue reading “Which species have been confirmed?”
Over the past week or two, we have received a number of questions about when people should start recording species for the atlas. Continue reading “Making safe dates simpler”
Birders often debate the pros and cons of reporting rare species. Putting the word out allows people to see something new, and gains attention for the value of birds and birding. But, there is always a risk that the attention will create disturbance and maybe even harm. This dilemma is particularly acute when it comes to nesting species. Continue reading “Reporting sensitive species”
Several questions about the atlas have recently appeared in my in-box, or on the CTBirds list. Since the same questions are starting to repeat, I plan to use the blog to give some answers over the next few days, so that the information is available for everyone. We are also working on an FAQ page for the web site. Continue reading “What species should you report?”
Safe dates are designed to provide guidance on when it is safe to assume that a species is nesting in an area. They are necessary because many migratory species will engage in breeding behaviors before reaching their nesting sites. Consequently, you might see ducks courting or hear warblers singing when they are still hundreds of miles from where they breed. The atlas project aims to identify which species actually nest within each block, however, so including all these migratory species could be very misleading. Continue reading “What are safe dates? Why do they matter?”