Connecticut Audbon Society
Center at Fairfield

Coastal Center at Milford Point

News & Visitor Information at the Coastal Center at Milford Point

What to do with “abandoned” or “orphaned” birds

The best advice is to leave baby birds, like this Purple Martin, when you found them. Photo by Stephanie Galea/The Connecticut Audubon Society

The CT DEEP has excellent advice for what to do if you find an “orphaned” bird. Click this link. Photo by Stephanie Galea/The Connecticut Audubon Society

Have you found an abandoned bird?

Birds and other wildlife that seem to be abandoned or orphaned at this time of year often are not actually abandoned or orphaned.

The Connecticut DEEP has advice about what to do if you find a bird that you think is abandoned. There are several alternatives.

Click here to learn about them.

Please do not bring injured or orphaned animals to any Connecticut Audubon Society facility. Connecticut Audubon is not authorized to accept injured or abandoned animals.

But if it is obviously injured, it may need help. The CT DEEP has more information here about dealing with distressed wildlife.


 

Monitoring air quality at the Coastal Center

We’ve installed a PurpleAir monitor at the Coastal Center as part of our ongoing commitment to environmental conservation. The monitor allows us to track local air quality and add to a community database, which can be used by weather tracking organizations, climate scientists, and the general public to learn more about the air around them. 

PurpleAir monitors measure the concentration of air pollutants, providing real-time data on air quality conditions. By placing these monitors at our centers, we aim to educate about pollution and its impact on both human health and the environment. 

Air quality is a critical component of environmental health, as poor air causes respiratory issues to people and wildlife. Birds are especially susceptible to poor air quality, but natural spaces like wildlife sanctuaries provide a pollution buffer and improve the overall health of the area. These monitors will allow us to better understand local air pollution levels and how green spaces impact them. 

You can see the real-time data in the box below. There’s more on the PurpleAir website. We hope it helps people see where concentrations of pollution are, to make informed decisions regarding their health and the environment. 

We thank CT DEEP and PurpleAir for donating these monitors to our centers.  

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Beginner Adult Avian and Marine Animal Watercolor Series

Sundays: All classes 1:30-3:00 p.m.
Milford Point Coastal Center
1 Milford Point Road, Milford CT

February 25
March 3, 10, 17, 24 
April 7, 14, 21
2024

In our past classes we have focused on Avian species and their habitats, however the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center offers the opportunity to view and study a diverse array of species, whereby some of the species are living in symbiotic relationships with each other. This can be witnessed on both the shoreline, and in the wetlands.

Therefore, adding some NEW content, Marine Animals, to our studies, along with continuing to study the Avian species, seemed like a great fit.

For now, we will focus on studying the marine animals and avian species that we may actually have a chance to see in Connecticut this year.

This series of adult watercolor classes is still designed for the pure beginner. The student will learn about watercolor tools, uses, products and techniques, as well as composition skills, simple perspective, and how and why to use your light and dark colors to achieve dimension in your work, a highly sought after skill by many artists. Students will have drawing and painting exercises as well, in order to relax and experiment with watercolors. Many students have found this to be a very meditative process, as well as reporting that it was exciting to watch the ever-changing painting results from person to person.

This will all be accomplished step by step, class by class, with your Art Education teacher Jeanne Board-Fayumi. This series is sequential and cumulative.

This series is appropriate for those 18 years of age and above. The class fee includes the use of all drawing and watercolor materials. You may want to bring an old shirt or smock. Class is limited to 12 adults. Minimum enrollment of 6 for the class to run.

Please bring a mask too.

Members $130.
Non-members $170.

Register Here

Mobile App

Explore our centers and sanctuaries on your mobile device

Soar through our centers and sanctuaries with this free app, which highlights unique and interesting features at each stop. Take one of our tours while you’re onsite or plan ahead with detailed directions and maps to your nearest Connecticut Audubon location.

Features include:

  • Tours of our Centers and Sanctuaries
  • Bird IDs with photos and descriptions
  • Tips on how to create a native garden for birds and pollinators
  • Interactive maps

 

 

For Android and other non-Apple devices, visit the web-based app. Software platform © Cuseum, Inc.

This App was made possible by Planet Fuel Charitable Fund.


 

Volunteer for habitat improvement work at Milford Point

Northern Mockingbird, photographed by George Amato near the Coastal Center’s recirculating waterfall, is one of the native bird species that benefit from habitat improvements.

The last several years have seen great improvements at the Milford Point Coastal Center. But there’s more to be done — and you can help.

We are recruiting volunteers to help remove invasive plants and replace them with native plants, which have much higher conservation value.

It is the kind of hands-on work that makes an immediate difference not just for birds but for pollinators, small mammals, and other wildlife as well.

Our goal is to establish a corps of volunteers to help on an ongoing basis. The crew will work at the direction of habitat steward Stefan Martin, who is overseeing improvement projects at several Connecticut Audubon sanctuaries.

If you can help or you’re interested in learning more, please email our volunteer coordinator, Erika Pollock, epollock@ctaudubon.org.

Coastal Center Sanctuary Rules

Please be sure to familiarize yourself with the rules of our grounds before your visit:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you have any questions, please contact the center.

 

 

General Information

The boardwalk leading to the Sound. Photo courtesy of Anthony Donofrio.

Connecticut Audubon Society’s Coastal Center at Milford Point is located on an 8.4-acre barrier beach, next to the 840-acre Charles Wheeler Salt Marsh and Wildlife Management Area at the mouth of the Housatonic River.

The Coastal Center promotes the awareness and preservation of Long Island Sound’s ecosystem, and the birds and habitats it supports. Visitors to the center have access to the Sound and to tidal salt marshes, barrier beaches, tide pools, and coastal dunes.

The Coastal Center is a bird-watcher’s paradise – 315 species have been seen here, including many rarities.

We offer a full range of educational programs and events for families, children, and adults.

The Coastal Center provides educational exhibits, a tide pool demonstration tank, a salt-marsh laboratory, and program and meeting rooms.

The Coastal Center’s grounds encompass the 8-acre Smith-Hubbell Wildlife Refuge and Bird Sanctuary, a boardwalk and three other observation platforms, including a 70-foot covered  tower for panoramic vistas.

Viewers from around the world watch the Center’s seasonal Osprey Cam, operated from our 18-foot tall nesting platform.

Directions

 

 

 

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