According to the National Wildlife Federation, roughly 6.5 million turkeys inhabit 49 states and six Canadian provinces. According to Connecticut’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, there are between 35,000 to 40,000 such birds in this state alone. And, though Connecticut’s gobbler contingent has hit peaks and valleys over the past decade, experts said the

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Armed with drills, hammers and scissors, Connecticut College students recently spent an entire Saturday helping cadets from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, officials from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and members of Audubon Connecticut build 200 nesting boxes for endangered roseate terns. The boxes will replace those that were destroyed during Tropical Storm Irene

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As part of a national-level program to reduce the massive and growing number of bird deaths resulting from building collisions in the United States, American Bird Conservancy (ABC), the nation’s leading bird conservation organization, today announced the availability of a new, national publication, American Bird Conservancy’s Bird-Friendly Building Designs.

The Connecticut DEEP announced the results from the 2011 piping plover and least tern nesting season. Fifty-two pairs of piping plovers nested along the Connecticut coastline during the 2011 breeding season; nine more than last year. The number of young that fledged (reached flying stage) was 71; 11 less than the 82 plovers that fledged in 2010.

Described on the cover as “a comprehensive guide to all the rivers and streams in your own backyard,” Yates’ new book takes a detailed look at the 20 Fairfield County trout streams and rivers listed in the 2011 Connecticut Angler’s Guide.

On Saturday, about 60 people – Coast Guard cadets and staff, students from Connecticut College and the New London Science and Technology Magnet School and volunteers with Audubon Connecticut – built 200 new nesting boxes during a daylong project at the Coast Guard Academy. For more on this story, visit: The Day – Volunteers build

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Since a mysterious disease was first found in upstate New York in 2006, more than a million bats have died. In some caves, more than 90 percent of bats have been lost. Bats are a favorite scary symbol of Halloween, but really, we should be frightened for the bats that are so important to our environment.

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Wildlife Division is once again offering 50 bundles of rough-cut lumber to groups, free-of-charge, for building bluebird nest boxes. Although lumber is only available for groups, individuals interested in aiding Connecticut’s bluebird population may obtain an eastern bluebird fact sheet by visiting the Wildlife Publications section of the DEEP Web site (www.ct.gov/deep/wildlife).

Ordinarily, you would rarely see a black tern in Connecticut and only along the shoreline. A Leach’s storm-petrel is a seabird that stays out in the Atlantic entirely. It does not frequent Litchfield County lakes. But after Irene, there were dozens of black terns in the state. Read more here: EARTH MATTERS: Robert Miller Ill

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Newington police are giving residents a heads-up to be on the lookout for bobcats. Read more here: Bobcat alert for Newington | WTNH.com Connecticut.

Sometimes it rains like cats and dogs. But Hurricane Irene brought us a new kind of animal precipitation: it rained baby squirrels, as thousands were blown from their nests. “There’s been a flood of calls about squirrels dropping out of trees everywhere,” said Laura Simon, field director, Urban Wildlife Program of the Humane Society of

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In a little corner of Milford nature bursts into full view. A meeting of three diverse ecosystems where freshwater from the Housatonic River merges with an 840-acre salt marsh, and Long Island Sound is just a few hundred yards away. Read more here: A sanctuary for wildlife, plants in Milford | On the Green with

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Freshwater species such as the bog turtle, which is endangered in Connecticut and only found in the western part of the state, and the Eastern box and wood turtles, which bear the “special concern” label, are in decline due mainly to loss of habitat. Habitat fragmentation – when natural areas and turtle populations become isolated from one another by roads and development – is also blamed.

The state’s Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has launched a new initiative that relies on local volunteers to help combat the spread of invasive plants and animal species in Connecticut’s lakes. The Invasive Investigators program trains volunteers to examine boats arriving at lakes for signs of invasive species. The volunteers also educate boaters in

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On a late June morning, just minutes after walking their dog, Rufus, this North Guilford couple had an uninvited guest drop in. Ken and Mary Norris reported seeing a black bear foraging on their property, off Route 77, about 1 mile past Lake Quonnipaug, around 7:30 a.m., June 24. Presumably a male, the bear was

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released a final revised recovery plan for the threatened northern spotted owl, stepping up actions that so far have helped stem but not reverse the old-growth forest raptor’s decline. The revised plan identifies three main priorities for achieving spotted owl recovery.

The Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is asking for the public’s help in protecting birds that nest in coastal areas, especially during the very busy summer beach season. Piping plovers, least terns, herons, and egrets, whether on nests or in feeding areas, are all especially vulnerable to disturbance from kites, fireworks, and unattended cats and dogs.

A mountain lion that had a fatal fandango with an SUV on the Wilbur Cross Parkway in Milford is getting the kind of necropsy no other big cat ever gets in Connecticut — for one reason. Read more here: MariAn Gail Brown: DEP’s stance on mountain lions disquieting – Connecticut Post.

The CT DEP Wildlife Division and the Friends of Sessions Woods are sponsoring a special day to celebrate turtles — Turtle Day takes place from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, June 26, at the Sessions Woods Wildlife Management Area, in Burlington. During Turtle Day, awards will be presented to the winners of the Turtle Art Contest, which was open to children in kindergarten through fifth grade.

More than 19,000 species of animal and plant are in danger of extinction, up from just over 11,000 in 2000, according to the latest “Red List of Threatened Species” from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Of those evaluated, nearly one-third are considered “threatened” (critically endangered, endangered or vulnerable). Between 2000 and 2011 the number of species assessed by the IUCN grew by over 60%.