Connecticut Habitats Trips

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Copyright © Perry Heights Press, 2004

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Great Island Wildlife Management Area, Old Lyme

Great Island is one of the state's largest and most beautiful tidal marshes, and one easily explored by canoe or kayak.

If you really want to do this trip right, plan to arrive so you can put the boat in the water before the sun comes up, and pack a thermos of coffee and a bit of breakfast to take along with you.

Paddle out into the marsh as it awakens with the rising sun, and peacefully drift along with a hot cup of joe and a bite of breakfast. A great way to see shore birds and perhaps add a few hard to find species to your life list.

Penwood State Park, Bloomfield

We don't think of Connecticut as a place where volcanic activity once spilled molten rock, but that's exactly what occurred here 200 million years ago.

Today, the traprock ridges of the central valley stand as reminders of that time in the state's geologic history. The volcanic rocks known as basalts today support some truly unique habitats.

Travel to Penwood State Forest in Bloomfield and learn how differences in the environments beneath the ridges and those near the top support distinct types of plants and animals.

Sheffield Island, Norwalk

Several groups of offshore islands are found in Long Island Sound off Connecticut's shore. Sheffield Island is one easily accessed by ferry service from Norwalk.

The state's offshore islands play a vital role for shore bird populations, providing refuge from predation pressures especially during breeding seasons.

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