Connecticut Habitats Trips

Selected excerpts from Great Day Trips to Connecticut's Critical Habitats, by Robert Craig, Ph.D.

Copyright © Perry Heights Press, 2004

This material may not be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage retrieval system, without written permission from the publisher Perry Heights Press.

Black Spruce bog, Mohawk State Forest, Goshen

Glacial ice sometimes worked to scoop out depressions in the Connecticut landscape, and these low areas have slowly been filling in with ground water, sediments and organic material such as plant remains ever since.

Where a vegetative mat actually grows out over a wetland, you have a bog. A fine example of a Black Spruce bog is easily accessed at the Mohawk State Forest in Goshen.

The combination of the lush understory of spaghnum and ferns, and the Black Spruce towering above make the bog a place unlike any other habitat in the state.

Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center, Milford

There may be no better way to relax than collecting shells on a beach, and a great place to learn about your collections is the Connecticut Audubon Coastal Center at Milford Point in Milford.

The Center is located between a wonderful beach to the east, and a beautiful tidal marsh to the east. Interpretive displays inside the Center make it easy to learn about the plants and animals that are seen in these habitats.

Biologists studying the marsh, for example, have found it is home to a large population of diamondback terrapins, our only native marine turtle. Plan to spend a few hours here. Bring binoculars and a hand lens.

Conifer-Northern Hardwood Forest, Ashford

Many of us wonder what Connecticut must have been like around the time the first European colonists arrived and began following the rivers inland.

One place that offers a glimpse of some of the old growth beech and hemlock forests that were once more widespread is Boston Hollow in Ashford.

Stands of massive Northern Red Oaks, Eastern White Pine, and Eastern Hemlock occur with enough frequency to resemble the old growth conditions that existed in the early 1600s, when Thomas Hooker first journeyed through the steep and rugged valley he referred to as Boston Hollow.

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