December 6, 2016 – The Connecticut Audubon Society has called on Bridgeport officials to halt the mowing of a small plot of city-owned land, to prevent protected birds from being disturbed while on their nest.

For several years, a Bridgeport resident voluntarily mowed a plot of city land on Arthur Street that also contained an Osprey platform and active nest, during the March-to-August breeding season.

The mowing stopped in 2015 but resumed last summer. The nest is one of more than 600 Osprey nests in the state that have been mapped by a team of 200-plus volunteer stewards organized by the Connecticut Audubon Society under the auspices of its Osprey Nation program.

Bridgeport resident Madeline Raleigh, who monitors the Arthur Street nest for Osprey Nation, wrote last week: "When the noisy mowing is occurring, the parent birds are greatly agitated, and feeling threatened, they fly off the nest, leaving the eggs and fledgling chicks exposed and vulnerable."

Bridgeportintheknow.com recently wrote: "In 2009, Arthur Street neighbor Madeline Raleigh decided to build and install a wooden osprey nesting platform on top of an unused telephone pole in a small city-owned field by the waters of Burr Creek. Madeline worked with neighbors to raise funds and obtain permissions from UI and the city of Bridgeport. Students at the Bridgeport Regional Vocational Aquaculture School were recruited to build the 40-inch wooden platform which Bartlett Tree service installed atop the 35 ft. pole with their bucket truck. For the next 4 years, osprey began to acclimate to the new nesting platform."

Ospreys have nested successfully in each of the last three years, although, as Raleigh noted, the mowing causes the adults to leave the nest at a time when they need their energy to raise the young, and when the young are most vulnerable.

Raleigh requested that city officials prevent the regular mowing, and also brought the situation to the attention of Connecticut Audubon. The organization had written to city officials in support of her request two years ago, and sent a second letter today, to Mayor Joseph P. Ganim, Public Facilities Director John Ricci, City Attorney Christopher Meyer, and City Councilman Scott Burns.

In the letter, Milan Bull, Connecticut Audubon's senior director of science and conservation, wrote:

"We wish to request that you please prohibit mowing of this site from March through August when the birds are in residence.

"Besides an unnecessary and inadvertent disturbance, I might also mention that state and Federal law prohibit this kind of disturbance to nesting migratory birds, something no one wants to do on purpose in the first place."

Osprey, which eat only fish, were driven to the brink of extinction in the middle part of the 20th century because of the pesticide DDT. The banning of DDT, and a subsequent effort to erect nest platforms for the birds, has led to their resurgence.

Here is the text of the Connecticut Audubon Society's recent correspondence to Bridgeport officials:

December 2, 2016

City Administrators:

The great City of Bridgeport is blessed with both cultural and biological diversity. Many of the residents enjoy some really spectacular open spaces along Long Island Sound, and the city is to be commended on its well-maintained parks and beaches.

Among the best of the resources, and one that is enjoyed by many of the residents, are the recently-recovered Ospreys, spectacular fish-eating raptors that are nesting along the Bridgeport waterfront and providing much enjoyment to residents and Connecticut Audubon Society members alike.

The CT DEEP has tasked Connecticut Audubon with tracking and monitoring the Osprey population, as it is directly linked to water quality in Long Island Sound.

Several of our volunteer Osprey monitors have noticed that the Osprey nest on Arthur St. is being impacted by weekly mowing of the grass in the spring and summer months on the city-owned property where the birds are nesting. Unfortunately, the mowing close to the nest is forcing the adults to abandon the nest during the critical development stage of the nestlings. Of course this is unintentional disturbance by a well-meaning citizen, but we wish to request that you please prohibit mowing of this site from March through August when the birds are in residence.

Besides an unnecessary and inadvertent disturbance, I might also mention that state and Federal law prohibit this kind of disturbance to nesting migratory birds, something no one wants to do on purpose in the first place.

Thank you for your attention and your support. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me anytime.

High regards,

Milan Bull
Senior Director of Science and Conservation
Connecticut Audubon Society
314 Unquowa Rd.
Fairfield, CT