The Song of a Wood Thrush is Good News for Landowners Who Love Birds

The flute-like song of a Wood Thrush is one of the signature sounds of summer forests in the Northeast. But that familiar song is becoming less common as forests become increasingly fragmented and habitat conditions change.

Many forest-dependent birds need a minimum of 200 acres of contiguous forest for suitable breeding habitat. This creates an opportunity for landowners large and small to make decisions that help sustain birds across the landscape.

That's the goal of Audubon's Wood Thrush Project: helping landowners and managers understand what the Wood Thrush needs to thrive, and how local forests that benefit this beloved songbird also benefit an entire community of forest-breeding birds.

At a recent day-long program, foresters, land managers, and conservation professionals came together to explore this goal. The training was held at Bent of the River Audubon Center in Southbury, Connecticut, a 700-acre sanctuary with ideal habitat conditions. 

“I took the training with a fellow member of the Hamden Land Conservation Trust here in Connecticut,” said attendee Craig Repasz. “We have small properties less than 12 acres. The idea of planting and maintaining different habitat types to create areas crucial to the Wood Thrush’s life cycle is something we will try to implement. Our small patch of shrubs could fit into a greater matrix.”

For Wendolyn Hill, Open Space Coordinator for the Town of Lyme, Connecticut, the opportunity was personal. Wood Thrush can still be heard in many of the preserves she manages, making the species' decline even more concerning.

"Learning from experts about the reasons to provide diversity of age class and structure in habitats for the Wood Thrush, which has had an alarming 60% decline since 1966, inspires me to apply these stewardship practices to the nature preserves under my management in Lyme," Hill said.

Throughout the day, participants explored how different forest conditions support birds at various stages of the breeding season.

Presentations covered habitat assessments, forest management strategies, and bird monitoring techniques, while afternoon field tours offered a chance to see those concepts applied on-the-ground.

Participants visited mature forest, young forest habitat, and riparian areas and discussed how different habitat types contribute to the needs of Wood Thrush and other forest birds.

Guilford Land Conservation Trust volunteer Steve Mayo observed, “If more volunteers understood the steps required to maintain healthy forests, then they could be inspired to take action.” Steve himself was inspired by the mowing techniques which brought over two dozen pairs of Prairie Warblers to nest at Bent of the River. “The results are very rewarding,” he acknowledged. 

Conservation efforts that benefit Wood Thrush can also help species including the Scarlet Tanager, Cerulean Warbler, Kentucky Warbler, American Woodcock, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Black-billed Cuckoo, Broad-winged Hawk, Prairie Warbler, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

The Wood Thrush Project is building a network of foresters, land managers, conservation organizations, and private landowners working to improve habitat for birds across Connecticut, New York, and beyond.