Great Meadows Marsh Restoration, Black Bears, Fall Foliage, and MORE!

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$4M Great Meadows Marsh Restoration Project Launches

The Connecticut DEEP is excited to partner with Audubon Connecticut, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on a $4 million restoration of the Great Meadows Marsh in Stratford, part of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge and a Globally Important Bird Area. The project will not only create and improve habitat for the saltmarsh sparrow, a species of special concern, as well as other wildlife, but it will also reduce mosquito breeding grounds, improve community access to the marsh, and help with coastal resilience in the face of climate change. Construction began on November 1 to restore up to 33 acres of salt marsh and other important coastal habitat.

More on the Great Meadows Marsh Project . . .

Black Bears Are Busy Fattening Up this Fall

Much of Connecticut is suitable habitat for black bears, providing enough natural food, water, shelter, and space for the bear population to continue growing and expanding. This time of year, our forests are providing a bounty of hard mast, fruits, and seeds for bears, turkeys, deer, squirrels, and many other species in preparation for winter. For bears, acorns are especially important for packing on the pounds, providing about 2,000 calories per pound of acorns.

While there is plenty of natural foods like acorns around, bears will not hesitate to detour into your backyard for some fast food, like a feeder full of bird seed (10,000 calories), a suet cake (1,600 calories), a hummingbird feeder (3,200 calories), or your leftovers sitting in the trash bin. Making just one or two visits to backyards with bird feeders each day can provide as many calories as spending all day foraging for natural foods, even when these natural foods are abundant.

Unfortunately, these stops for quick and easy food from humans can lead to a progression of more and more dangerous behavior, including entering homes. For this reason, bear biologists across the country advise the same thing to reduce conflicts with bears: remove all human-related food attractants like trash and bird seed when bears are active.

More on the Belding field trips . . .

How Did Connecticut's Fall Foliage Measure Up this Year?

The answer is...it’s complicated! And there is no consensus. It may also depend on where you live.

Connecticut’s trees are still dealing with severe drought stress from 2020. At the same time, frequent rainfall in mid to late summer 2021 resulted in development of fungal diseases on foliage that caused premature browning and dulled colors in pockets of the state. Some of the northwest hills also saw severe gypsy moth defoliation in early summer, which meant no leaves to turn colors.

Sunny and bright fall days with chilly (but above-freezing) nights tend to be best for bringing out the brightest colors, which come from trapped sugars in the leaves, and that type of weather may have helped rescue some color.

Unlike most of northern New England, Connecticut really has two foliage peaks—the brightest color (with maples) is usually in the week following Columbus Day, while total change includes the later dropping oaks toward the end of the month. Some of our citizens have been pleasantly surprised at delayed color (from the normally earlier-dropping species) that is coinciding with the usual oak changing. The results? A beautiful first of November, proving that even in a “bad” foliage year, our autumns do not disappoint! They may just give us a surprise or two. . .

Watch Out for Deer and Other Wildlife in Roadways

Fall is a time when many animals are busier than usual, trying to prepare for winter, seeking food across larger areas, and crossing busy roadways more often. These crossings can put animals and motorists at increased risk of collisions. In 2020, it was estimated that 2,200 deer were killed in vehicle collisions in Connecticut. These collisions can lead to serious injury to drivers, in addition to thousands of dollars in vehicle damage.

The number of deer killed in vehicle collisions in southwestern Connecticut has been steadily declining since additional deer management tools have been in place, including replacement harvest tags and longer hunting seasons.

More on deer hunting in Connecticut . . .

Not Quite Time to Put Out that Bird Feeder

Temperatures may be dropping, but that doesn’t mean it is time to put out the bird feeders for our winter visitors just yet. The Wildlife Division advises against having bird feeders out until December 1st to reduce conflicts with bears and other wildlife stemming from bird feeding activity. Calorie dense bird seed and suet is extremely attractive to bears and other wildlife this time of year as they prepare for hibernation. Many native berries and seeds are still extremely abundant and provide an adequate, healthy, natural food source for birds for the next few weeks. Stay tuned for next month’s issue of Wildlife Highlights where we will highlight our new guide to winter bird feeding.

Species of the Month: Eastern Chipmunk

Now with fall in full swing, you may have noticed eastern chipmunks hastily preparing for the coming winter, their cheek pouches packed with large nuts and other food. Their underground burrows may reach 30 feet long and up to 3 feet deep! These burrow systems include nesting chambers and storage rooms for nuts and seeds that provide chipmunks with food throughout the winter. Beginning in late October, chipmunks sleep for long periods throughout the winter but are not true hibernators, as they occasionally wake to snack on stored nuts and seeds and may even come outside for brief periods of time on warm winter days.