How Climate Change Will Affect Birds in Connecticut
Vulnerable Birds in Connecticut
Highly and moderately vulnerable birds may lose more than half of their current range—the geographic area where they live—as they are forced to search for suitable habitat and climate conditions elsewhere.
Connecticut
| Flyway | Atlantic Flyway |
| State Brief | Download [PDF] |
| Website | http://ct.audubon.org |
Below, find out which of the birds that nest or spend the winter in your area are most vulnerable across their entire range. Some birds may lose range outside of your state, making the protection of their current habitat in your area even more important.
How will the Ovenbird's range be affected in Connecticut?
Rising temperatures and shifting weather patterns affect birds' ability to find food and reproduce, which over time impacts local populations, and ultimately continent-wide populations, too. Some species may even go extinct in your state if they cannot find the conditions they need to survive and raise their young.
Select a warming scenario to see how this species’ range will change under increased global temperatures.
Reducing warming makes many types of birds found in Connecticut less vulnerable.
In order to hold warming steady, we must act now to reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere and limit warming to 1.5 degrees. We must reduce our carbon emissions and also absorb what is produced through natural solutions like reforestation or with technology that removes carbon from the air.
Click the three different warming scenarios to explore how increased warming puts more species in Connecticut at risk.
Connecticut's Birds and Habitats
The tidal wetlands that form the heart of Guilford Salt Meadows Sanctuary provide vital habitat for thousands of migratory birds. The deciduous forests and swamps of the Audubon Center at Greenwich host nesting Ovenbirds and Blue-winged Warblers. At Bent of the River, 700 acres of wetlands, meadow, shrubland, and mixed forest are home to Prairie Warblers and Indigo Buntings. And the distinctive calls of Black-throated Blue Warblerssand Eastern Wood-Pewees ring through Sharon Audubon Center’s coniferous and deciduous woodlands.
Climate Policy in Connecticut
RENEWABLE
1 % Hydro
.1 % Solar
NUCLEAR
FOSSIL FUEL
.6 % Coal
.5 % Petroleum
OTHER
BELOW 2001
BELOW 2001
BY 2030
Climate Alliance?
(Data: U.S. EIA)
The state’s 2015 Global Warming Solutions Act set mandatory targets to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions; these have been updated with higher targets, renewable standards, and electric vehicle considerations. As a member of the Commission of Environmental Standards, Audubon Connecticut advocated for a bill to procure 2,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2030. In 2019, Connecticut enacted An Act Concerning a Green Economy and Environmental Protection Law, which promotes energy efficiency and energy storage.
Connecticut is a participant in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a cap-and-trade program in the northeastern and mid-Atlantic United States that aims to reduce carbon emissions from power plants.
Climate Threats Facing Birds and People in Connecticut
Sea levels along the Connecticut coast have risen five inches since 1954 and are projected to rise another six inches in the next 15 years, threatening coastal communities, eroding beaches and wetlands, and increasing damage from coastal storms. In the coming decades, Connecticut could also experience disrupted agriculture and ecosystems.
The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk harm people, too. Hover over or tap an area on the map to see specific threats that will affect that area as warming increases.