Conservation Commission Past Events

Connecticut River Conservancy’s Ron Rhodes, Denise & Paul Pouliot of the Cowasuck Band of the Pennacook-Abenaki People, and Sandy Sonnichsen, retired Alaskan F & W biologist led an exploration into the history, ecology, and wildlife of the Connecticut River.

Conservation Commission Past Events

CREA (Cornish Recreation and Education Area)
On May 7 a group of 15 folks interested in learning more about resident, and newly arriving migrant birds, rambled through the diverse CREA habitats to find 23 different species. Highlights included watching 7 newly hatched goslings swim in the beaver pond with their protective parents, feeding Tree Swallows swooping among us and back over the water to catch insects, and an up-close view of a perched male Bluebird, several Tree Swallows and a brightly colored Yellow-rumped Warbler all in a row on shrubs at the water’s edge.

A few takeaways…

• Anyone can enjoy our resident winter birds by putting up a feeder or two during the winter months, and even participate in citizen science by joining Cornell’s Project FeederWatch and reporting your species at feederwatch.org
• Early morning is the best time to hear and see the spring/summer birds (it’s quiet and cool)
• Ruby-throated hummingbirds spend the summer with us, put up a feeder and enjoy the show!
• Acquire a field guide, and/or a birding app, binoculars, then invite a few friends to join in, and you are on the path to a fun new hobby!
• The CREA land has a nice diversity of birds because the habitat is so varied; it includes a mix of mature deciduous and pine trees (thrushes, warblers and vireos), scrub/thickets (catbirds, sparrows), stream/wetland/pond (geese, ducks, bitterns, red-winged blackbirds), open grassy fields (sparrows, bluebirds) and surrounding hills and ridges (hawks, ravens).
• The songbirds we enjoy from late March-August are mostly migrants flying into NE, and some push to points even further north to breed. Many fly significant distances under ever increasing peril.
• North America has lost ~3 billion birds since 1970, the leading reason is the loss of/or degradation of wintering and breeding grounds, as well as travel rest points on the migratory routes.

There are simple but powerful actions we can take to help:

• Support conservation of critical habitat, participate in Citizen Science
• Keep your cats inside (at least during the breeding season)
• Minimize bird/window collisions (use bird tape and decals)
• Increase bird friendly native plant species in your yard, manage invasives, reduce or eliminate pesticides and insecticides
• Leave dead trees whenever possible for use by cavity nesters and as an insect hotel /food source for the birds
• Support shade grown coffee product (bird-friendly)

Read more about the State of NH’s Birds, A Conservation Guide 2020, available on the web at www.nhaudubon.org

Conservation Commission Past Events

On April 28 a group of 17 vernal pool enthusiasts including guests from Cornish and Plainfield, speaker Matt Tarr, PhD, State Wildlife Specialist/UNH Extension Professor/NH Licensed Forester, and representatives from the CCC braved the wind to dive into the magic and wonder of vernal pools.

We highlight a few takeaways…

• Vernal pools can exist almost anywhere—they are wetlands with a seasonal cycle of flooding and drying.
• Life and survival within and dependent upon these pools is strange, fragile, surprising and deserve our attention and protection: there were “eggs and spermatozoa galore” (frogs and spotted salamanders). We all came away better educated and eager to go egg-spotting on our own.
• Trained and experienced wildlife specialist Matt Tarr brought us more than we thought: Matt stood in the cold CREA pools in his waders for an hour, gently netting samples of egg masses (wood frogs were already emerging as tiny tadpoles), and helped us understand how the pools and their temporary inhabitants fit into the surrounding woodland ecologies. To have Matt and so many others from the UNH Extension and surrounding organizations available to our communities is a great resource we should use to the fullest.
• CREA is a fabulous learning environment and an incredibly valuable community resource. A continuing debt of thankfulness is extended to all town volunteers, past and present, as well as donors and town officials who made and keep CREA a town resource for the enjoyment of all.

Learn more about Vernal Pools >