Best Bird Watching Area Stamford Near Me

4worldlovers:
Habitats: 10% deciduous forest, 10% shrub, 5% field, 10% grassland, 5% non-tidal freshwater marsh, 10% salt marsh, 20% pond/lake, 30% estuary

Site Description: The 83-acre park is owned by the City of Stamford. The park offers swimming, boating, walking, biking, roller-blading, picnicking, ice skating, birding, photography, and fishing. The remarkable thing about Cove Island Park is the diversity of habitats within the park. These include, sandy and rocky beaches, salt marsh, mud flats, estuary, a large pond (Holly Pond), the last undeveloped sand dune in Stamford, woods, cut lawn, fresh water wetlands, meadows, brushy areas, and a planned butterfly garden (29 species of butterflies have been identified here).

IBA Criteria: Rare, Unique, or Representative Habitat; Exceptional Concentrations of Migratory Landbirds.

Birds: The Park is not only unique in its number of habitats, but also its rareness in the Stamford area. There are no similar local habitats. Similar but not as diverse habitat may be found at Greenwich Point Park (5 miles to the southwest), Sherwood Island in Westport (20 miles to the northeast) and Pelham Bay, New York (30 miles to the south). These long distances are critical after a night of migration for migratory songbirds. Flying longer distances could mean death for numerous birds. Many species return year after year during the spring and fall migrations since the park is situated on the coastal migration paths. This is readily evident looking at the checklist, which lists 287 species documented over the last 15 years. Holly Pond provides foraging habitat for wading birds in the nesting, and post-nesting seasons, it also provides habitat for many waterfowl and gulls in the winter and migration seasons.

Non-avian Resources: Over 50 species of butterflies have been recorded in the park. The park is an important recreational resource for Stamford and southwestern Connecticut. There is a nonprofit environmental education center in the park operated by SoundWaters.

Existing Conservation Measures: A 10-acre undeveloped area of the park is being proposed to the City of Stamford as a bird or nature sanctuary. Audubon has teamed up with GE Elfun Volunteers for several conservation and education projects in the park.

4worldlovers: Join Friends for our monthly hikes. Our hikes are on the first Monday of every month. We call these hikes Plikes as we borrow the term from the Swedes who combine jogging and plocka upp (to pick up) to obtain plogging. Thus Hiking plus plocka upp, gets us Pliking.

Our Plikes run about 2 hours and are to the less used areas of the park. This allows us the opportunity to explore, check on the status of less used trails, and tidy up as we go.

We meet at 9:00 am at the bridge on Merribrooke Lane in Stamford. Please bring gloves and a small trash bag. We hope that you can join us.

Bald eagles continue to do well on the Mianus River. Keep an eye for their epic nests.

The below link has more information plus a great chart about their breeding timeline.

Https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Wildlife/Learn-About-Wildlife/Bald-Eagles-in-Connecticut?fbclid=IwAR2HTF-TShA_9lR-r4LNdzhiE20RWmMYPIvFW4f7Kr-Qen0bu9qyjBDKAOc

Scroll down the page to see recent photos taken of the eagles about a mile down the river from the park.

As an affiliate of Classy Groudcovers, Friends earns a percentage of every purchase made using the link below. The website is comprehensive and provides the necessary detail to ensure you select the correct plants for your yard. To assist new gardeners, they have also provided a Garden Guide written by Sarah Oliver.

Use the below link to access the Classy Groundcover website and ensure that Friend is properly credited: https://classygroundcovers.com/?affl=Mianus.

4worldlovers: As part of Audubon Connecticut (a state office of the National Audubon Society) and the Atlantic Flyway, Greenwich Audubon Center's mission is to protect birds and the places they need, today and tomorrow. We steward seven nature sanctuaries, totaling 686 acres of diverse habitat in Greenwich, Connecticut. We serve our community as a vibrant education center and the hub for Audubon’s Bird-Friendly Communities work in Connecticut.

Our center building has resumed being OPEN Thursday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and CLOSED Monday through Wednesday.

Our trail system is open year-round, seven days a week from sun-up to sunset. While using the trails, please adhere to the following rules:

No dogs or pets are permitted on the property. Violators will be subjected to fines.

Trails are for foot traffic only - no bikes, off-road vehicles, horses, or skis.

Harassment of birds and wildlife, including the use of audio lures, is strictly prohibited.

Hiking can be a strenuous activity: hike at your own risk.

4worldlovers: Join Advanced Master Gardener, Dawn Fiss, for a walk to explore the Bartlett's collection of rare and Champion Trees as they begin their seasonal transition.

This month, many migratory birds are preparing for the journey south to their winter homes in the southern US, and Central and South America.

Join us for an unveiling and opening reception for a new semi-permanent art installation on the grounds of the Bartlett. Japanese artist Akiko Geirin-san and local artists, Laura R. Lavin (Westchester County), and Mark Andreas (Stamford) will be on hand to discuss their work and its journey from inception to the Bartlett.

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Become a part of our community with exclusive events and discounts. Join today and help one of Stamford’s treasured, natural resources flourish.


Have fun and meet others who share your love of nature and the outdoors. Volunteers of all ages, interests and skill levels are welcome.

4worldlovers:
July 21, 2016 – You may have noticed changes recently at the H. Smith Richardson Wildlife Preserve, on Sasco Creek Road in Westport, with more on the way.

We’re collaborating with a group of enthusiastic neighbors to make big improvements to the preserve, for the birds and other wildlife that rely on it now, and for the many more that will.

A meadow restoration on the 12-acre north parcel is all-but-complete. We’re happy to report that Eastern Bluebirds, Tree Swallows and Eastern Kingbirds are already nesting there. During migration, a pair of Bobolinks – one of the state’s rarest grassland birds – stopped by for several days.

These birds are habitat specialists. The won’t nest just anywhere. They need meadows or open areas with only a few trees. And the work at Smith Richardson has provided them with exactly what they need.

As recently as six or seven years ago, that parcel was choked with invasive vegetation. Asiatic bittersweet. Multifora rose. Mile-a-minute weed. Barberry. Over several years, we removed them and planted a mix of cool-season grasses.

Some small trees and shrubs still must be removed, and we’ll be mowing again later this summer. But the change has been remarkable enough to allow the bluebirds, kingbirds, swallows and Bobolinks to use the preserve.

The south parcel is even more choked with invasives than the north. Our plan is to remove, replant, and restore.

The work started with two community cleanup days organized by the Friends of Smith Richardson neighborhood group.

Next, we will create a meadow of native wildflowers chosen to attract pollinators. Conifers and native hollies will be planted in clusters, to provide cover for the Saw-whet, Barred and Great Horned Owls the sanctuary is known for. The sanctuary’s soils even show that we might be able to create an Atlantic White Cedar Swamp, one of the region’s rarest habitats.

It’s not a quick project. We expect the work to take several years. But it will transform the sanctuary and, we believe, improve the local environment.

4worldlovers: Cummings Park is a beautiful, 79-acre park on Long Island Sound. Visitors can enjoy the beach, pavilions, snack bar, boardwalk and fishing pier. While there is a small neighborhood between them, Cummings Park and West Beach are connected by Cummings Marina. Together, the two parks include two beaches, a pond, six ball fields, two side-by-side soccer fields, six tennis courts, a basketball court, a restroom building next to the basketball court, a pavilion with restrooms, beach volleyball courts, food trucks in the Summer and open lawn space.