On May 8, 1909, John Sage of Portland gave a lecture on Connecticut birds at the Historical Society. Following the lecture, a group met and appointed a "Plan for Organization" committee. Three days later, on May 18, 1909, about 15 persons gathered to discuss further plans and appoint a committee to present a slate of officers and draw up bylaws. One week later, on May 18, 1909, the first permanent
meeting of the Hartford Bird Study Club was held in the lobby of the Athenaeum with "about sixty people present." Albert Morgan was elected president, and Arthur Powers secretary and treasurer. Arthur Powers became president in 1912 and again in 1917 and then served as treasurer for 40 years. CW Vibert was at the center of the club's birding from 1913 to 1938. Whenever he saw good birds at the meadow and swamp near his house on Main Street in South Windsor, he would use a newfangled phone to alert members. They would come from Hartford on the trolley, stop at Station 41, and use his house as a base. His beloved swamp and meadow in known as Station 43. The Christmas Bird Count, which provides data for the study of the long-term health and status of bird populations across North America, has been a Hartford Audubon fixture since the 1930's. The club was incorporated and became tax exempt in 1949. This enabled the club to receive land for five sanctuaries before land trusts became popular. The tax exempt status also led to our current endowment by making large gifts, such as the one by Mary French, possible. Alex Bergstrom began the tradition of overnight trips with visits to Maine, Massachusetts and Maryland in the 1950's. Walter Charsky started the ongoing annual overnight trip to Cape Ann and Plum Island in 1960. The club's name was changed from the Hartford Bird Study Club to the Hartford Audubon Society, Inc. in 1965. About the same time as the name change, there were serious discussions between the Hartford Audubon and National Audubon toward forging a tight link between the two organizations. This did not come to fruition. The first trip called the Beginners Walk at Station 43 was led by Dean Kelsey in 1964. The extremely popular four trips a year format that is used today began in 1991. Hawk watching in Connecticut became serious in the 1970's, first through the discoveries of migration patterns, and then with a series of Statewide Hawkwatch events, by Gerry Mersereau and Don Hopkins.
