On International Migratory Bird Day, May 10, bird conservation issues often focus on neotropical migratory birds and the problems faced by forest-dwelling birds like the cerulean warbler, as a result of habitat loss and forest fragmentation. Recently, biologists and concerned birders have also raised concerns about rapid declines in grassland bird species.

Grasshopper and vesper sparrow, upland sandpipers, and other grassland birds are considered endangered, threatened, or special concern species in many New England states. The Wildlife Division has recently undertaken several habitat restoration projects to help these species. One group of neotropical migrants that have largely been ignored are shrubland specialists. Breeding Bird Survey results and long-term banding records show that many shrubland species have declined since the 1960s. Shrubland birds depend on habitats, like old fields and thickets, that without continual disturbance, soon become forests. A recent Partners-in-Flight analysis of bird abundance indicated that a large percentage of the world's population of blue-winged warblers (13%) is found in Connecticut. Unfortunately, Connecticut's blue-winged population has been declining at 2.8% annually since the mid 1960s. This trend is of great concern given how important Connecticut's blue-winged warblers are to the status of the species as a whole.

In an effort to learn more about the habitat requirements of blue-winged warblers and other shrubland species, Dr. Robert Askins of Connecticut College is beginning a research project on these birds this month. With the assistance of the DEP Forestry and Wildlife Division and partial funding from the Endangered Species/Wildlife Income Tax Check-off Fund, this project will begin to answer questions about the decline in our blue-winged warblers and will help us develop management/conservation guidelines for shrubland bird species.