Table of Contents

Foreword Acknowledgments Introduction THE SOUTHWEST COAST GRASS ISLAND, GREENWICH Grass Island Grass Island Natural Area Greenwich Harbor TOD’S POINT (GREENWICH POINT), GREENWICH AUDUBON CENTER, GREENWICH Audubon Center Fairchild Wildflower Sanctuary COVE ISLAND AREA, STAMFORD Cove Island Park Holly Pond Shippan Point ALLEN’S MEADOWS, WILTON FOURTEEN ACRE POND, NORWALK Fourteen Acre Pond Woods Pond WESTPORT COAST Sherwood Island State Park Nyala Farm Burying Hill Beach Southport Beach H. Smith Richardson Wildlife Preserve and Christmas Tree Farm Longshore Golf Club Compo Beach The Mill Pond Grace K. Salmon Park TROUT BROOK VALLEY, WESTON AND EASTON Trout Brook Valley Preserve Crow Hill Preserve Jump Hill Preserve Saugatuck Reservoir Aspetuck Reservoir BRIDGEPORT-FAIRFIELD COAST Seaside Park Captain’s Cove Saint Mary’s by the Sea Park Ash Creek Open Space Penfield Reef and Sunken Island LORDSHIP TOUR, STRATFORD Railroad Trail and Warehouse Fields Warehouse Pond Sikorsky Airport Long Beach Stratford Seawall Stratford Point Short Beach Frash Pond Access Road Ponds Birdseye Street Boat Ramp Shelby Pond, Shakespeare Theatre Broad Street Pilings THE NORTHWEST HIGHLANDS WIMISINK PRESERVE, SHERMAN KENT Kent School Bridge Skiff Mountain Road River Road Schaghticoke Road MOHAWK MOUNTAIN AREA, CORNWALL Mohawk Mountain State Park Route 4 Swamp Route 43 Swamp Coltsfoot Valley and Great Hollow Road Housatonic Meadows State Park Rattlesnake Road Swamp WINTER BIRDING TRAIL: GOSHEN TO NORFOLK Goshen Canaan Mountain Norfolk CONNECTICUT AUDUBON SOCIETY’S RICHARD G. CROFT MEMORIAL PRESERVE, GOSHEN WHITE MEMORIAL FOUNDATION AND CONSERVATION CENTER, LITCHFIELD SOUTHBURY AREA Mitchell Farm and Housatonic River Old Southbury Training School Farm Bent of the River Audubon Sanctuary THE CENTRAL COAST MILFORD TOUR Milford Point Jonathan Law High School Pond (Beaver Brook Ponds) Mondo Ponds Park Silver Sands State Park and Charles Island Wilcox Park COASTAL WEST HAVEN TOUR Sandy Point West Haven Boat Ramp Bradley Point Park South Street Beach Oyster River Merwin Point WESTERN NEW HAVEN PARKS Edgewood Park West Rock Playground West River Memorial Park KONOLD’S POND AND THE CHAIN LAKES, WOODBRIDGE Konold’s Pond Lakes Dawson and Watrous (The Chain Lakes) EAST ROCK PARK AREA, NEW HAVEN East Rock Park Regional Water Authority (RWA) Recreational Space Edgerton Park Lake Whitney LIGHTHOUSE POINT PARK AND EAST SHORE PARK, NEW HAVEN Lighthouse Point Park East Shore Park ECOLOGY PARK AND SHORELINE GREENWAY TRAIL, BRANFORD SHELL BEACH, GUILFORD WEST RIVER MARSH COMPLEX, GUILFORD Jared Eliot Preserve Chaffinch Island Chittenden Park Sachem’s Head Marsh Westwoods MADISON SHORELINE East Wharf Beach to West Wharf Beach Circle Beach East River State Boat Launch HAMMONASSET BEACH STATE PARK, MADISON THE CENTRAL INTERIOR WINTER GEESE AND DUCK TOUR, ENFIELD AND SOMERS Donald W. Barnes Boat Launch King’s Island Boat Launch Somersville Pond BROAD BROOK MILLPOND, EAST WINDSOR STATION 43, SOUTH WINDSOR THE HOPPERS—BIRGE POND NATURE PRESERVE, BRISTOL ROCKY HILL Rocky Hill–Glastonbury Ferry Parking Lot Rocky Hill Meadows WALLINGFORD-MERIDEN AREA North Farms Reservoir Bishop’s Pond DURHAM MEADOWS, DURHAM AND MIDDLEFIELD Greenbacker Farm Pond Skating Pond Durham Fair Grounds Durham Meadows Wildlife Management Area Lyman Orchards Pond and Cornfields MACKENZIE RESERVOIR AREA, WALLINGFORD MacKenzie Reservoir Whirlwind Hill Road Pistapaug Pond Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial Park THE SOUTHEAST COAST WINTER EAGLE AND RAPTOR TOUR, LOWER CONNECTICUT RIVER Eagle Landing State Park Parkers Point Boat Launch Chester Ferry Dock Deep River Depot Riverview Cemetery Essex Town Dock CORNFIELD POINT SCENIC VIEWING AREA, OLD SAYBROOK OLD LYME AREA Ferry Landing State Park Great Island Boat Launch WATERFORD AND NEW LONDON AREA Harkness Memorial State Park Camp Harkness Waterford Beach Park and Town Beach Ocean Beach Park Fort Trumbull State Park Miner Lane Pig Farm NEW LONDON–ORIENT POINT FERRY BLUFF POINT COASTAL RESERVE AND HALEY FARM, GROTON Bluff Point State Park and Coastal Reserve Haley Farm State Park STONINGTON POINT BARN ISLAND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AREA, STONINGTON THE NORTHEAST HIGHLANDS UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT STORRS CAMPUS AREA Lot W Mirror Lake Horsebarn Hill Loop Pumping Station Road BOSTON HOLLOW TOUR, ASHFORD POMFRET LOOP Connecticut Audubon Society’s Bafflin Sanctuary Wyndham Land Trust Preserve Duck Marsh Natchaug State Forest Cul-de-sac Lyon Preserve Meadow Ledge Mashamoquet Meadow Needles Eye Road Air Line Trail QUINEBAUG VALLEY FISH HATCHERY, PLAINFIELD Appendix A: Species Status Bar Graphs Appendix B: Annotated Species List Appendix C: Species by Habitat Appendix D: State Bird Checklist Appendix E: Connecticut Rare Species Review List Appendix F: Birding Resources Bibliography Index

About the Author

FRANK GALLO is a leading expert on where to find birds in Connecticut and has led birding expeditions all over the world. Frank is a tour leader for Sunrise Birding, LLC, an international birding tour company, is a member of the Connecticut Avian Rare Records Committee, and a federally licensed master bird bander. Frank is also the author of two children's nature books, Bird Calls and Night Sounds, and is a published freelance photographer.

Reviews

"A consummate environmental educator, Frank Gallo shares decades' worth of his hard-won, intimate knowledge of Connecticut places and birds he loves. This fantastic book now gives everyone a shot at front-row seats to the best birding locations the state has to offer!"--Twan Leenders, President, Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History

"A consummate environmental educator, Frank Gallo shares decades' worth of his hard-won, intimate knowledge of Connecticut places and birds he loves. This fantastic book now gives everyone a shot at front-row seats to the best birding locations the state has to offer!"--Twan Leenders, President, Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History

"This book is absolutely packed with useful details about all of Connecticut's best birding locations, as well as the most complete and up-to-date info on the status of Connecticut's birds, and will be an essential reference for any birder in the state."--David Sibley, author of The Sibley Guide to Birds

"Frank Gallo's book brims with insight and overflows with Gallo's trademark exuberance for his favorite subject. No northeastern birder's library is complete without this comprehensive guide."--Pete Dunne, NJ Audubon's Ambassador for Birding

"It would, in fact, be impossible to improve on what Gallo has pulled together in Birding in Connecticut. It is a one-stop shopping expedition for birders of all skill levels. It's also a definitive guide for lovers of the state's natural gifts, flora and fauna alike...."--Alan Bisbort, The Sunday Republican