BirdNote; Cove Island Sanctuary
- Transcript
BirdNote®
Cove Island Sanctuary
Written by Todd Peterson
This is BirdNote.
[Sound of heavy trucks dumping stumps, concrete and other debris. ]
For decades, this is what you would have heard at Cove Island in Stamford, Connecticut, on the shore of Long Island Sound.
Today…..
[Songs of Vesper Sparrow and Prothonotary Warbler]
Originally a salt marsh, Cove Island was diked and drained in the 1950s. It became a dumping ground for stumps and construction debris. Today, it’s a sanctuary for birds and other wildlife, a natural oasis for humans in a region where millions of people live.
[Bonaparte’s Gull]
How did this transformation occur? Mike Moccio and Patrick Dugan, two avid birders and naturalists living in Stamford, had a vision for a revitalized Cove Island. They gained the support of city staff, the mayor, and their state representative. Chapters of Audubon supported their cause. They worked for nine years. To date, 290 species of birds have been observed at Cove Island Wildlife Sanctuary.
The conclusion is inescapable: Committed individuals make the difference.
If you are thinking about restoring a natural environment on behalf of birds, Mike Moccio offers this advice:
Don’t give up. Make phone calls, print flyers, start a web site. Find out the right people to talk to in government. Don’t be aggressive or overstate your case; be honest. Back up your statements with facts, figures, and photographs. Treat your mission as an educational process and you will win over most reasonable people. Good Luck!
[Songs of Vesper Sparrow and Prothonotary Warbler]
[Alt. line: Learn more at BirdNote.org.]
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Bird audio provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Prothonotary Warbler song recorded by W.L. Hershberger. Bonaparte’s Gull call recorded by W.W.H. Gunn.
Vesper Sparrow song recorded and provided by Martyn Stewart, naturesound.org.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Chris Peterson
© 2010 Tune In to Nature.org
ID# coveisland-01-2008-10-16 coveisland-01b
- Series
- BirdNote
- Episode
- Cove Island Sanctuary
- Producing Organization
- BirdNote
- Contributing Organization
- BirdNote (Seattle, Washington)
- AAPB ID
- cpb-aacip-b359d1caae5
If you have more information about this item than what is given here, or if you have concerns about this record, we want to know! Contact us, indicating the AAPB ID (cpb-aacip-b359d1caae5).
- Description
- Episode Description
- For decades, Cove Island in Stamford, Connecticut, on the shore of Long Island Sound, was a dumping ground for construction debris. Today, it's Cove Island Wildlife Sanctuary, an oasis for birds (like this Bonaparte's Gull) and other wildlife, as well as for humans. Thanks go to Mike Moccio and Patrick Dugan, committed individuals who made a difference.
- Created Date
- 2010-10-01
- Asset type
- Episode
- Topics
- Science
- Subjects
- Birds
- Rights
- Sounds for BirdNote stories were provided by the Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Xeno-Canto, Martyn Stewart, Chris Peterson, John Kessler, and others. Where music was used, fair use was taken into consideration. Individual credits are found at the bottom of each transcript.
- Media type
- Sound
- Duration
- 00:02:00.215
- Credits
-
-
Producing Organization: BirdNote
Writer: Peterson, Todd
- AAPB Contributor Holdings
-
BirdNote
Identifier: cpb-aacip-ce4b113fbd8 (Filename)
Format: Hard Drive
Generation: Master
Duration: 00:01:45
If you have a copy of this asset and would like us to add it to our catalog, please contact us.
- Citations
- Chicago: “BirdNote; Cove Island Sanctuary,” 2010-10-01, BirdNote, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC, accessed June 7, 2025, http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-b359d1caae5.
- MLA: “BirdNote; Cove Island Sanctuary.” 2010-10-01. BirdNote, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Web. June 7, 2025. <http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-b359d1caae5>.
- APA: BirdNote; Cove Island Sanctuary. Boston, MA: BirdNote, American Archive of Public Broadcasting (GBH and the Library of Congress), Boston, MA and Washington, DC. Retrieved from http://americanarchive.org/catalog/cpb-aacip-b359d1caae5