Guilford in South Central Region, Connecticut — The American Northeast (New England)
The Return of Bluebirds and Ospreys
The Scourge of DDT
Photographed by Conrad Ward, March 29, 2024
1. The Return of Bluebirds and Ospreys Marker
Banned nationwide in 1972, the pesticide DDT was used in this country to control insect pests. With many fewer insects to feed on, Eastern Bluebird and other songbird populations suffered significant population declines. Bluebirds also died from eating insects contaminated by other pesticides used after the banning of DDT.
DDT was carried by runoff from the field to the marsh or was sprayed directly on the marsh. Many successive steps in the aquatic food chain concentrated DDT in the tissues of top predators such as Ospreys. Affected Ospreys layed eggs with thin shells likely to break during incubation.
Text and Illustration by Edward Henrey
Erected by Audubon Connecticut.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Animals • Environment. A significant historical year for this entry is 1972.
Location. 41° 17.879′ N, 72° 39.121′ W. Marker is in Guilford in South Central Region, Connecticut. It can be reached from Meadowlands east of Clapboard Hill Road, on the right when traveling east. Located on the Anne Conover Nature Education Trail in Guilford Salt Meadows Audubon Sanctuary. Touch for map.
this page online
Regionally, this marker is in the Connecticut River Valley, on the Connecticut Shoreline, and in Greater New Haven. It is also in the American Northeast, in New England, and on the Eastern Seaboard. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Haven County and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Four Centuries of Harvesting and Protecting the Salt Meadows (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); The East River Watershed and Tidal Marsh (about 500 feet away); Anne Conover Nature Education Trail Dedication (approx. 0.2 miles away); Salt Haying (approx. ¼ mile away); Guilford Gun (approx. 1.1 miles away); Pompey (approx. 1.2 miles away); Candace (approx. 1.7 miles away); Richard and Nancy Holmes House (approx. 1.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers
Photographed by Conrad Ward, March 29, 2024
2. Marker at Guilford Salt Meadows
Also see . . . Connecticut Audubon Society. (Submitted on June 25, 2024, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut.)
Additional keywords. dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane
Credits. This page was last revised on May 19, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 16, 2024, by Conrad Ward of Guilford, Connecticut. This page has been viewed 122 times since then and 11 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 16, 2024, by Conrad Ward of Guilford, Connecticut. • Michael Herrick was the editor who published this page.
