July 2026

Wildlife Highlights is published by the Connecticut DEEP Wildlife Division. Please share the newsletter with others to help spread awareness about Connecticut's wildlife!

Celebrate Connecticut's bats and history at Old New-Gate Prison and Copper Mine in East Granby Saturday, September 19, 2026. 

Celebrate 10th Annual Bat Appreciation Day!

The DEEP Wildlife Division and the Department of Economic and Community Development (DECD) will hold their 10th annual celebration of bats on Saturday, September 19, 2026, from 10:00 AM until 3:00 PM, at the Old New-Gate Prison and Copper Mine in East Granby.

Bat Appreciation Day highlights the story of one of Connecticut’s most intriguing historical sites and its importance to the conservation of state-listed bats. This event will feature bat activities for the entire family and include exhibits about bats and bat conservation, bat story time, historical tales, bat crafts, and the unique opportunity to see the “bat cave".

Bats Count! Can’t wait until September 19 to celebrate bats?! The Wildlife Division and The White Memorial Foundation and Conservation Center in Litchfield established a live "Bat Cam" in a barn where female big brown bats give birth and raise their young. 

You can help staff with this long-term monitoring program by collecting data on the bats while viewing the bats on a livestream from your home. Participating is easy and fun. Simply review the user guide and enter your data into the datasheet while enjoying an up-close view of these remarkable mammals.

NEW: Staff from White Memorial, with contributions from the Wildlife Division, created Learning from Our Backyard Bats, a curriculum guide that focuses on Connecticut’s bat species and introduces students to the important role bats play in our ecosystems. This resource is intended to help educators bring Connecticut’s bats into the classroom and inspire students to better understand and appreciate bats as important members of our ecosystems.

More on Bat Appreciation Day . . .

 Respecting cordoned off shorebird nesting areas goes a long way to help ensure Connecticut's shorebirds successfully raise their young.

Beat the Heat, but Share the Shore

This summer, many Connecticut residents are looking to the shoreline to beat the heat. It is important to keep in mind that sandy beaches also serve as critical nesting habitat for the original beach bums: shorebirds.

Piping plovers, least terns, and American oystercatchers need space to successfully raise their young. Too much human disturbance may cause adult birds to abandon their nest or chicks.

You can help share the shore with these birds by following some simple guidelines, including respecting cordoned off nesting areas, keeping an eye out for small chicks, securing and carrying out all trash and food waste, and leaving pets at home.

DEEP has temporarily closed the Dr. William A. Niering Preserve embedded within Harkness Memorial State Park in Waterford, Charles Island in Milford, and Duck Island in Westbrook to prevent disturbances to several state-listed nesting birds.

Leave no trace: Human disturbance already puts immense pressure on adult shorebirds trying to raise their young, and while improperly discarded food waste may seem harmless, it often draws in unwanted beach visitors.
 
Crows, ravens, skunks, raccoons, and foxes are easily drawn to food waste. An influx in these species at the beach often results in a greater loss of shorebird chicks or eggs.

So, while visiting the beach this summer, carry out what you carry in -- a good principle to abide by to help benefit Connecticut’s wildlife.

More on sharing the shore . . .

Prevent conflicts with black bears by removing access to attractants, including greasy grills, birdseed, and garbage. 

Black Bears and BBQs, the Würst Combination

Black bear activity is normally high this time of year with the breeding season underway. Adult male bears are on the move in search of females, so it is not uncommon to see multiple bears passing through suburban neighborhoods. 

During the peak of the outdoor grilling season, it is important to ensure bears do not find human-related foods around your neighborhood. You can help prevent conflicts with bears by cleaning up greasy grills after use, securing garbage, and not leaving food scraps behind.

In areas with high bear activity, it is also good practice to close doors and ground floor windows when you are not home, even if you have screens in place. Screens are not a barrier to a curious bear that catches the scent of a kitchen waste bin. Incidents involving bears pushing through screens have been increasing over the last several years. In some instances, once a bear learns it can enter a home through a screen door, the behavior is repeated at other nearby homes, creating a clear public safety risk.

Black bear FAQs . . .

Frosted elfin is listed as a Species of Greatest Conservation Need in Connecticut's 2025-2035 Wildlife Action Plan. Photo courtesy of Charlotte Brennan, UConn.

In Search of a Rare Butterfly

In 2023, a population of frosted elfin was found in UConn’s Hillside Environmental Education Park (HEEP). The discovery of this rare, small butterfly brought together a team of researchers from the Department of Natural Resources and the Environment (NRE) in the College of Agriculture, Health and Natural Resources, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), and the UConn Office of Sustainability, who are collaborating on a project to learn more about the species, including what measures can be taken to help the population grow.

Connecticut's invertebrate fauna is incredibly diverse. At least 20,000 species of invertebrates are present in the state, with many more likely to be present; however, very little information exists for the majority of them.

More on frosted elfin research . . .

The distinctive white adult plumage of the bald eagle is attained around four to five years of age.

Watchable Wildlife: Oh, the Places You Will Go

Last month, a local photographer in Falls Church, Viriginia, took some incredible photos of an adult bald eagle with a black band labeled “W3”. Members of the local birding community reached out with the hopes of learning more about this individual.

It turns out this eagle was banded as a chick by Wildlife Division staff in Kent, Connecticut, in 2015! Banding birds allows biologists to learn more about migration patterns, lifespan, survival rates, and population health. This work was largely accomplished through federal State and Tribal Wildlife Grant funding.

The bald eagle embodies one of Connecticut's best conservation success stories. Nesting bald eagles disappeared from our state in the 1950s. Today, through cooperative work between wildlife biologists and landowners, bald eagles are once again thriving, and Connecticut has seen a steady increase in the number of nesting bald eagle pairs.

Glad to see “W3” is doing well! Special thanks to John Balthis and John Clery for sharing their photos.

More on the bald eagle . . .

“Taking Off from Water” by Mansfield resident Megan Song (grade 8) will be featured on the 2027 Connecticut Migratory Bird Conservation Stamp.

Connecticut Migratory Bird Hunting Guide Now Available Online

The 2026-2027 Connecticut Migratory Bird Hunting Guide is now available on the DEEP website. Hardcopy versions will be printed and delivered to certain town halls and DEEP offices soon. The Guide contains season dates and other important information pertaining to upcoming hunting seasons for waterfowl (including Canada geese), woodcock, snipe, rails, and crows.

The only change in the migratory bird seasons from 2025-2026 is the increase in the bag limit of the AP goose season from 1 to 3. Hunter sentiment continues to be in favor of an early South Zone season.

Migratory bird hunters are reminded that the state law allowing Sunday hunting on private lands does not include migratory birds.

View the 2026-2027 Guide . . .

Participating in the Wild Turkey Brood Survey  is a great way to help the Wildlife Division monitor the state's wild turkey population.

Join the Flock! Report Your Wild Turkey Sightings

Whether you’ve recently seen a tom, jake, hen, jenny, or poult, the Wildlife Division would like to know. Each year, from June 1 to August 31, volunteers are asked to record their wild turkey sightings, with sightings of poults (young-of-the-year) being especially helpful.

The survey results are used to estimate the average number of turkey poults (young-of-the-year) per hen statewide and to assess annual fluctuations in the turkey population. Factors that can impact turkey nest success, hen survival, and poult survival during the breeding and brood-rearing seasons include weather, predation, and habitat conditions.

More on how to report wild turkey sightings . . .

Upcoming Events:
The Wildlife Division will be participating in the following events in the near future:

• Salt Marsh Days: Saturday, July 18, 2026, at Meigs Point Nature Center in Madison, Connecticut.
• Celebrate Rocky Neck State Park: Nature Day: Thursday, July 23, 2026 (rain date: July, 24) at Rocky Neck State Park in Niantic, Connecticut.
• Dinosaur State Park Day: Saturday, August 1, 2026, at Dinosaur State Park in Rocky Hill, Connecticut.
• Plant Science Day: Wednesday, August 5, 2026, at Lockwood Farm in Hamden, Connecticut.
• Salt Marsh Days: Saturday, August 15, 2026, at Meigs Point Nature Center in Madison, Connecticut.
• Bat Appreciation Day: Saturday, September 19, 2026, at Old New-Gate Prison and Copper Mine in East Granby, Connecticut.
• Durham Fair: Thursday, September 24 through Sunday, September 27, 2026 in Durham, Connecticut. Find the Wildlife Division tables in the T Barn.

Who We Are
The Wildlife Division is part of the Bureau of Natural Resources within the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP). The Bureau is charged with managing the state’s natural resources (particularly fish, wildlife, and forests) through a program of research, management, public education, and regulation. The Wildlife Division is comprised of several programs that work together to conserve and manage Connecticut's wildlife.

Contact Us
Email: deep.ctwildlife@ct.gov
Phone: 860-424-3011
Wildlife Website
Hunting Information
Office Directory

The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer that is committed to complying with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act. If you are seeking a communication aid or service, have limited proficiency in English, wish to file an ADA or Title VI discrimination complaint, or require some other accommodation, including equipment to facilitate virtual participation, please contact the DEEP Office of Diversity and Equity at 860-418-5910 or by email at deep.accommodations@ct.gov. Any person needing an accommodation for hearing impairment may call the State of Connecticut relay number - 711. In order to facilitate efforts to provide an accommodation, please request all accommodations as soon as possible following notice of any agency hearing, meeting, program or event.