Connecticut Audubon Society
Coastal Center at Milford Point


1 Milford Point Road
Milford, CT 06460
Phone: 203-878-7440

Fax: 203-876-2813

Center Visitor Hours

Our Nature Center is open:
Tues.-Sat.: 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Sunday: noon-4 p.m.
Closed Monday.
Admission: By Donation.
Click here for Directions

Our adjoining 8-acre Smith-Hubbell Wildlife Refuge
& Bird Sanctuary is open dawn to dusk year-round.

Above: Coastal Center photo by Frank Gallo.

General Information
Connecticut Audubon Society’s Coastal Center at Milford Point provides unique hands-on environmental education and outdoor adventures for area youth and adults.
Opened in 1995, the Coastal Center is located on an 8.4-acre barrier beach known as the Smith-Hubbell Wildlife Refuge and Bird Sanctuary, and is situated next to the 840-acre Charles Wheeler Salt Marsh and Wildlife Management Area at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The Coastal Center also provides unique, easy access to Long Island Sound and its many habitats: tidal salt marshes, barrier beaches, tide pools and coastal dunes. Teacher-naturalist Amy Zvonar uses one of the Coastal Center's spotting scopes; photo by Frank Gallo.

These diverse and interactive environments of salt water, tidal marsh and fresh water create rich habitats that support an enormous variety of bird, plant and animal communities that are ideal for observation and study. A variety of educational exhibits, live animals and program space for crafts, games and other activities can be found inside the Coastal Center.

Bird-watcher's Paradise
The Coastal Center is one of the best spots on the East Coast for bird-watching: 315 different species, including many rarities have been seen here. Photo: Immature Yellow-crowned Night Heron by Tricia Kevalis.

Focus: To promote awareness of Long Island Sound's ecosystem, the birds and habitats it supports and to foster their preservation. Against a backdrop of a picturesque beachfront and thriving wildlife habitats, Connecticut Audubon's Coastal Center at Milford Point offers a special window onto one of CT's most precious natural resources -- Long Island Sound.

Center Features

• Educational exhibits
• Tide pool demonstration tank
• Salt-marsh laboratory funded by the office of Long Island Sound License Plate Fund
• Program and meeting rooms

On The Grounds

• 8-acre Smith-Hubbell Wildlife Refuge and Bird Sanctuary
• Boardwalk & observation platform with interpretive signage
• 70 ft. covered observation tower for panoramic vistas

Environmental Activities

• Classes, lectures and workshops related to environmental topics for beginning and experienced naturalists of all ages.
• Programs for school groups, Scout & Explorer troops and other community organizations (program brochure is available).
• Youth programs held after-school and weekends including week-long summer day camps and classes. Pre-school programs available.
• Birthday Parties that are both fun and educational.
• Adult Lecture Series on various ecological aspects of Milford Point.
• Interpretive Bird & Nature Walks led by naturalists.

Volunteer Opportunities

• Sanctuary Rangers and Docents: For adults eager to share their love and knowledge of nature with others. Seasonal instruction in nature studies and teaching methods given to volunteers.
• Nature Store: A variety of nature-related toys, books, gifts.

2009 Summer Day Camp

For 14 years, the Connecticut Audubon Society Coastal Center’s Summer Day Camp has provided unique and hands-on environmental education and outdoor adventure experiences for area youth. Click here for a Registration Form.

Beach Bums for ages 3-5.
Tue.-Thur., 9 am-noon.

Here’s where younger campers get to interact with nature! Meet live creatures, explore our beaches, and enjoy hands-on activities and games. Weekly (3-day) fee: $130/child CAS Members; $185/child Non-members (includes a free 1-year CAS Family Membership.)
Beach Bums Schedule:
-- Pre-Camp: June 16-18.
-- Week 1: June 23-25.
-- Week 2: June 30-July 2.

-- Week 3: July 7-9.

-- Week 4: July 14-16.
-- Week 5: July 21-23.
-- Week 6: July 28-30.
-- Week 7: Aug. 4-6.
-- Week 8: Aug. 11-13.

-- Post-Camp: Aug. 18-20. 
Both photos by Deanna Sojka.

Eco-Explorers for ages 4-6.
Tue.-Thur., 1-4 p.m.

Explore our natural environment using your senses, and enjoy fun games and crafts! It’s our afternoon version of Beach Bums! Weekly (3-day) fee: $130/child CAS Members; $185/child Non-members (includes a free 1-year CAS Family Membership.)
Eco-Explorers Schedule:
-- Week 1: June 23-25.

-- Week 2: June 30-July 2.

-- Week 3: July 7-9.

-- Week 4: July 14-16.

-- Week 5: July 21-23.

-- Week 6: July 28-30.

-- Week 7: Aug. 4-6.

-- Week 8: Aug. 11-13.

Junior Naturalists for ages 5-7 and 7-9.
Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m-noon.

These exciting half-day programs provide your child with hours of hands-on exploration, games, and crafts! Weekly fee: $155/child CAS Members; $210/child Non-members (includes free 1-year CAS Family Membership).
Junior Naturalists Schedule:
-- June 22-26: To the Beach! For ages 5-7.

-- June 29-July 3: Spineless Wonders, for ages 7-9.

-- July 6-10, Sea Stars! For ages 5-7.

-- July 13-17: To the Beach! For ages 7-9.

-- July 20-24: Motion in the Ocean, for ages 5-7.

-- July 27-31, Motion in the Ocean, for ages 7-9.

-- Aug. 3-7, Spineless Wonders, for ages 5-7.

-- Aug. 10-14, Sea Stars! For ages 7-9.

Discovery Squad for ages 7-9.
Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Campers explore different topics each week and explore nature in a stimulating setting. Weekly fee: $295/child CAS Members; $350/child Non-members (includes free 1-year CAS Family Membership).

Discovery Squad Schedule:
-- June 22-26: To the Beach! It’s a week at the beach that can’t be beat! Meet creatures that jiggle like jellyfish or scuttle like crabs!

-- July 13-17: Sea Stars! Find those stars in sea and shore . . . crabs, oysters, mussels and more! 

-- Aug. 3-7: Spineless Wonders! Butterflies and barnacles are just a few of the incredible, spineless creatures we’ll meet!

Aqua Quest for ages 9-12.
Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

These full-day programs give children in-depth opportunities to experience and enjoy nature. Weekly fee: $310/child CAS Members; $365/child Non-members (includes free 1-year CAS Family Membership).

Aqua Quest Schedule:

--July 6-10: Wackiest Seashore Science! Enjoy a wacky week of beachside experiments, activities and games. Create silly goo, make paper rockets, or enter the annual egg drop contest.

--July 27-31: Endangered! Don’t be a Dodo! Help prevent extinction. Aid scientists by studying Horseshoe Crabs and shorebirds. Organize a beach clean-up, protect Piping Plovers and more!

Audubon Expeditions for ages 10-16.
Mon.-Fri., 9 a.m.-4 p.m.

Enjoy five unique days of travel and exploration! Visit new sites daily in search of Connecticut’s natural wonders & wildlife! 
Audubon Expeditions Schedule & Fees:
-- June 29-July 3: Bioblitz II, for ages 12-16. Young naturalists will comb Connecticut’s beaches, streams, fields and forests in search of our state’s hidden wildlife! Weekly fee: $355/child CAS Members; $410/child Non-members (includes free 1-year CAS Family Membership).
-- July 20-24: Surf & Turf (one overnight) for ages 10-14. Enjoy adventures to wildlife-rich destinations. Take a canoe tour, visit Yale’s Peabody Museum, go for a ferry ride to a heron rookery, and enjoy a Thursday overnight at the Coastal Center! Weekly fee: $370/child CAS Members; $425/child Non-members (includes free 1-year CAS Family Membership).
-- Aug. 10-14: Super Seashore C.S.I., for ages 10-14. Solve amazing seaside mysteries, visit the Pequot Indian Museum or Dinosaur State Park and more! Weekly fee: $355/child CAS Members; $410/child Non-members (includes free 1-year CAS Family Membership).

Family Canoe Programs through the Wheeler Salt Marsh
Join us on a guided canoe tour of the 840-acre Charles Wheeler Salt Marsh. Steeped in local history, the Marsh offers an abundance of birds and other wildlife, beautiful vistas and a chance to paddle and relax. Bring water and sunscreen and wear shoes that can get wet. Contact the Coastal Center for more information. Trip routes are subject to change due to weather, and wind can cause trips to be canceled, even on sunny days, so please call 90 minutes in advance for trip status. Advance registration required. Sign up early for these popular tours, and inquire about tour dates in August, September and October.
Schedule:
Sat., June 6, 9:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m. 

Sat., June 13, 2:30-5 p.m. 

Sat., June 27, 2:30-5 p.m.

Sat., July 11, 1:15-3:45 p.m.

Sat., July 25, 1:15-3:45 p.m.

Sun., July 26, 2-4:30 p.m.

Sat., Aug. 8, noon-2:30 p.m.

Sat., Aug. 22, 11:45 a.m.-2:15 p.m.

Sun., Aug. 23, 12:30-3 p.m.

Sat., Sept. 5, 11 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

Sat., Sept. 19, 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Sun., Sept. 20, 11: 30 a.m.-2 p.m.

Sun., Oct. 4, 10:30 a.m.-1 p.m.

Fee using Coastal Center Canoes:
CAS Members: $25/person, $65/canoe (up to 3 people).
Non-members: $35/person, $95/canoe (up to 3 people).
Fee using Private Canoe/Kayak:

$19/CAS Member, $29/Non-member.

Thanks to Everyone Who Supported
Connecticut Audubon's Raven Luna-Ticks Team During the May 24 “CT Big Day Birding Challenge”!

The Raven Luna-Ticks managed to have a pretty good "Connecticut Big Day Birding Challenge 2009" on May 24, despite a flat tire, a hazy hot afternoon, and the need to dodge tornados! Our total bird species count was 177, which is now the second highest Big Day total for Connecticut! (The 180s are now in our sights!)

We started at midnight in Dead Man’s swamp in Cromwell listening to Virginia Rails, a Black-billed Cuckoo and migrating Swainon’s Thrushes passing overhead. But the American Woodcock that called until 11:55 p.m. took the rest of the night off and went uncounted. Fortunately, we heard a few of his buddies later in the day. A quick dash upstate brought us to Rentschler Field in East Hartford where Grasshopper Sparrow, Spotted and Upland Sandpipers chimed in right on schedule. Station 43 did not produce Least Bittern or Sora but did have a screaming Great Horned Owl and Bobolinks. Dave's staked-out Horned Larks and Bank Swallows at the airport performed beautifully around 2:30 a.m.  We were in the northwest corner before first light, and picked up quite a few species, including Whip-poor-will and a singing Acadian Flycatcher at Rattlesnake Swamp.   

Highlights of our Northwest corner tour included Golden-winged, Hooded, Cerulean and about 22 other warbler species, Ruffed Grouse, Common Raven, Black Vulture, Cooper’s Hawk, Ruby-throated Hummingbird and Pileated Woodpecker. We left the north around 10:30 a.m., right on schedule and with 130 species -- minus Hairy Woodpecker. Our goal was to be to the coast by 11:30 a.m. for high tide. But just before we reached the coast we blew a back tire, setting us back an hour, throwing us off the tide and making it real work to find the afternoon’s targets.

We picked up Peregrine in Bridgeport and all the essential targets in Stratford, including Boat-tailed Grackle, Yellow-crowned Night-Heron, Common Loon, Piping Plover and the Glaucous Gull (thank you Nick!) at Long Beach. But the staked-out Stilt Sandpiper had left, as had the Red Knot and Red-breasted Merganser. Sadly, harriers did not breed along the railroad trail this year.  Milford Point produced Orchard Oriole, two Red-throated Loons and White-rumped Sandpiper. Things picked up as we headed east. Middle Beach in Madison produced two Purple Sandpipers that had been scouted earlier in the week, and Hammonesset Beach still had King Eider, Black and Surf Scoters, Seaside Sparrow and Little Blue Heron.

We reached the Essex Docks with plenty of light, but the thunderstorms caught us, and the Bald Eagles were not in the open. We headed to Griswold Point for sunset, and although it was a beautiful one, there were no new birds to be seen. After dark we tried for Least Bittern, Sora and King Rails at several places, and ended our day back at Dead Man's Swamp listening again to Virginia Rails, Black-billed Cuckoo and the quite active American Woodcock. Our last bird of the day was a Gray-cheeked Thrush calling overhead.

We learned a lot from this year’s Big Day, know where to make adjustments, and are ready to give it another try in 2010. Thanks again for your continued support -- we can’t do it without you!  

Environmental Education Programs
For Pre-K Thru Grade 6 Classes
Click here for our Spring 2009 1-page Flyer

We offer 11 different programs at the Coastal Center for Pre-K through Grade 6 students; many can be done in your school yard or classroom or come visit us at the Coastal Center!
Programs include:
»Life Between the Tides or Beach Scavenger Hunt;

»Scenes from a Salt Marsh;
»Native Americans;

»Schoolyard Nature Hike;
»Nails, Tails and Scales;
»Aquatic Animals;

»Got Ink? (4th grade and older);

»Amazing Mammals;

»Night Creatures: Owls & Bats;

»Animals Getting Ready for Winter; and

»Let's Go Buggy!

Click here for our 1-page Spring 2009 Flyer; it includes program details, fees, contact and registration information. Or contact Louise Crocco at 203-878-7440 ext. 502 or lcrocco@ctaudubon.org.

We've just added 4 NEW programs
for Grades 1-6 Classes:
»Incredible Plankton (3rd Grade and older);

»Plant Parts Salad (2nd Grade and older);

»Mystery Minerals (3rd Grade and older); and
»Migrating Monarchs (1st Grade and older).
Click here for our 1-page New Programs Flyer.

Nature Babies Programs
Here, our teacher-naturalist and a group of young visitors examine the underside of a turtle. Check the listings for our Nature Babies program schedule.

Directions
From I-84 eastbound
Take Route 8 south to I-95 North or exit 27 to I-691 to Route 15 South (Wilbur Cross/Merritt Parkway) to exit 54 connector to I-95 South and follow below**

From I-84 westbound
Take I-91 South to I-95 South and follow from below**

or
Take I-91 South to Route 15 (Wilbur Cross/Merritt Pkwy.) South to exit 54 connector to I-95 South and follow from below**

From Route 15, Merritt Parkway
Take exit 54 connector to I-95 South and follow from below**

**From I-95 North and I-95 South
Take exit 34. Turn right at light where exit ramp meets Route 1. Go 1/2 mile to third light at Naugatuck Ave. Turn left on Naugatuck and go 0.8 miles to second light at Milford Point Rd. Turn right and follow Milford Point Road 1/2 mile, passing tennis courts on right and small wildlife sanctuary (at 1.1 miles.) to stop sign at Seaview Ave. Turn right, go .35 miles to Sanctuary. Road forks: take the right fork (left fork is private road) into parking area.

Volunteer Corner: Eagle Scout Projects

Coastal Center staff would like to thank Eagle Scout Rob Cummings and Scout Troop 721 for their work restoring our Wigwam and creating a replica of a small Native American village at the Coastal Center. As part of his Eagle Scout project, Rob rebuilt the Wigwam frame, covered it with reeds, and added a beautiful information kiosk, shell midden, fire pit and fish-drying rack to the site. We now have a wonderful education exhibit for school and public programs that will see much use in the coming years. Please come have a look. (Birthday Parties with a Native American theme are also now available.)

There’s always more work to be done! If your Cub Scout den or pack or your Scout troop is interested in a community service project, or if you are considering an Eagle Scout project at the Coastal Center at Milford Point, please contact Louise Crocco, Facilities Manager, at 203-878-7440 or lcrocco@ctaudubon.org.

Our 2007 "Big Sit" Bird-spotting Team Was a BIG Success! 101 Species Spotted in 14 Hours:
A New CT Record & 2nd Place U.S. Winner! 

On October 14, 2007, our "Big Sit" team of bird watchers spotted 101 different species between 4:45 am and 6:30 pm at CAS's Coastal Center at Milford Point – beating Connecticut’s previous State Daytime record of 93 species and earning 2nd place honors in the entire country!
The “Big Sit” is an international bird-spotting and fundraising event, this year involving bird spotters in 49 states and countries.  The goal is to spot as many different birds species as possible without leaving your seat/spot – which is a 17-foot circle. No “Big Sit” team in Connecticut has ever exceeded 100 species in the event’s 15-year history.

Our 2007 “Big Sit” team “perched” themselves on the platform at Milford Point, just a short walk down the beach from our Connecticut Audubon Society Coastal Center at Milford Point -- and arguably one of the best spots in Connecticut for birding.

Our record-breaking “Big Sit” team consisted of one Connecticut Audubon Society staffer and three members of the B.W. Surf Scopers.

Among the species spotted by “Big Sit” team members Frank Gallo (Connecticut Audubon’s Director of Coastal Education) and B.W. Surf Scopers Frank Mantlik and Patrick and Jim Dugan were: Great Cormorant, American Bittern (3), Yellow-crowned Night Heron (3), Snow Goose (6), 12 species of ducks including Northern Shoveler, Northern Pintail (3), Common Eider (1), Black Scoter, White-winged Scoter (3), 11 species of diurnal raptors including two Bald Eagles, 15 shorebirds including American Golden Plover, Whimbrel, Western Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Caspian Tern, Yellow-billed Cuckoo, Marsh Wren, Swainson's Thrush, American Pipit, plus 8 sparrow species including White-crowned, Salt marsh, Sharp-tailed, and Bobolink. 
Thanks to everyone who donated funds and who came out to Milford Point to cheer on our “Big Sit” team. All funds raised will help support Connecticut Audubon Society’s conservation, education and advocacy programs.