Enjoying the Last Days of 2012: Our Staff’s Favorite Places For Getting Outdoors In Late December
Photo courtesy of Anthony Donofrio.
December 2012 – The short days of late December are among the most beautiful of the year for getting outdoors. The light is sharp, the air is crisp (or not), and if we’re lucky there might be an inch or two of snow for contour and relief. Nature is a respite, an inspiration, a solace, and who in Connecticut doesn’t need some of that in 2012?
Our staff members spend a lot of time outdoors on the job, and many of them take a busman’s holiday on days off, heading to the state’s and region’s most beautiful spots to hike and bird, sometimes with their family and their dogs, sometimes alone.
Where will they be over the Holidays? On the shore of Long Island Sound. In the woods of Litchfield County. In state parks. In wildlife refuges. In as many different places as there are staff members. You might want to get out to some of those places yourself. Or click the Locations tab above to find details about Connecticut Audubon Society’s sanctuaries.
Here’s what they told us about their plans for enjoying the last days of 2012:
Nelson North, director of Fairfield operations
“If the snow cover is light, I like to get out with my English Field Spaniel, Ben, and scout new covers in Connecticut and New York for Ruffed Grouse. I am particularly fond of Ruffed Grouse, Bonasa umbellus, as it is a truly wild bird, a native, and very dependent on proper habitat for its survival. This is the bird that many years ago first got me interested in conservation and it holds my fascination to this day.”
Photo courtesy of Anthony Donofrio.
Andy Griswold, EcoTravel director
“Believe it or not, when I am not working I like to bird watch in my yard. My yard list of birds is substantial at 133 species, most recently adding Orange-crowned Warbler just a week ago. Best yard bird: Swainson’s Hawk! Just at the edge of my property in Ivoryton are the more than seven miles of trails on the 650-acre natural preserve known as Incarnation Camp, owned by the Episcopal Church of New York.
“If not in my yard, I head for the coast and spend most of my time along the shores of Old Lyme and Old Saybrook. During Hurricanes Irene and Sandy, it was the place to be with great birds like Sooty Tern, Manx Shearwater, Cory’s Shearwater, Great Shearwater, Red Phalarope, Parasitic Jaeger, Leach’s Storm-Petrel, and more.”
Priscilla Wood, EcoTravel assistant
“My favorite place to ‘get away from it all’ is down at Saybrook Point. I love to walk along the causeway and around the borough of Fenwick. I grew up in the area and am so grateful to live by the water. It’s a very peaceful place to be.”
Scott Kruitbosch, conservation technician (Scott worked for a year on a survey and management plan that we completed for Aspetuck Land Trust’s 1009-acre Trout Brook Valley Preserve. What he saw on his work visits was worth going back to see on his free time):
“It turned out to be a tremendous site for conservation but it’s also a wonderful birding spot that holds some uncommon and potentially rare species in every season. I’d like to see if a couple more wintering species we did not find during the survey period are actually there utilizing some of the great habitat.”
Colleen Noyes, teacher-naturalist, CANE coordinator
“Our family (mostly me) are avid hikers and there are two places we love to go nearby. One is Osborndale State Park in Derby. It is close to where we live in Milford and we can do a wonderful hike in just one or two hours, plus we like to bring our dogs and watch them run free with reckless abandon!!
Photo courtesy of Anthony Donofrio.
“The second spot we like to go to is Bear Mountain, in Salisbury, another great place to take my daughters and the dogs, plus it is the highest peak in the state. We will make a day out of this trip and have a nice lunch afterward at one of the local restaurants.”
Anthony Zemba, director of conservation services
“Every year, we spend Christmas eve with my folks in Connecticut, then Christmas day with my wife’s parents in Rhode Island. They live in Narragansett. Since she has the week off, I usually take a few days myself to join her and the kids there. It is my tradition to make my annual pilgrimage to Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge (one of five refuges in the Rhode Island Wildlife Refuge Complex). I make this trip each year to see Harlequin Ducks, as this site has the largest wintering population in New England. Other rarities are often present too, such as Short-eared Owls, Snowy Owls, alcids, and various sea ducks. Depending on the time, I also may visit Beavertail State Park in Jamestown, R.I., to look for Snow Buntings and Barrow’s Goldeneyes, and perhaps Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge in Charlestown for a host of other winter rarities.”
Milan Bull, senior director of science and conservation
“I like to hike and bird on Penfield Reef in Fairfield at low tide. The winter waterfowl and late-season shorebirds can provide quite a spectacle. Recent years have uncovered Snowy Owl, Purple Sandpiper, Harlequin Duck and scores of Greater Scaup, American Goldeneyes and Long-tailed Ducks at surprisingly close range!”
Caitlin Holmberg, teacher-naturalist
“My boyfriend and I like to take the dog hiking at Sleeping Giant State Park. There are tons of trails (other than the obvious road straight to the top). We have also gone to Webb Mountain Park, in Monroe. It is close but it still has that very remote feeling. We are hopefully going to make a trip up to Bigelow Hollow State Park near Woodstock, Ct. This is a huge state park with tons of trails in a very remote part of the state. We like to go to these places because we are allowed to bring the dog with us and they are remote enough where we can really feel like we are connected with the outdoors without too much intrusion from modern society.”
Cindy Bartholomew, director of the Center at Glastonbury
“I will spend a few hours looking at the stars on whatever nights are not cloudy. I like to pull out the chaise lounge, bring a blanket, and go to the closest non-light-polluted area and look at the sky. Sometimes I see colored planets, sometimes shooting stars and always at this time of year the brightest star in the East thrills and humbles me.”
