Connecticut Audubon Society Birdcraft Museum and Sanctuary

Last updated

Birdcraft Museum & Sanctuary
Connecticut Audubon Birdcraft Museum Exterior.jpg
USA Connecticut location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location314 Unquowa Rd.,
Fairfield, Connecticut
Area6.5 acres (2.6 ha)
Built1914
NRHP reference No. 82004371
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJune 23, 1982 [1]
Designated NHLDApril 19, 1993 [2]

The Connecticut Audubon Society Birdcraft Museum and Sanctuary, also known as Birdcraft Museum & Sanctuary or simply Birdcraft Sanctuary, in Fairfield, Connecticut is the oldest private songbird sanctuary in the United States. It was established in 1914 by Mabel Osgood Wright. [3]

Contents

The 6-acre (2.4 ha) site was originally planted as a refuge to attract, harbor and feed migratory and resident birds. The Connecticut Audubon Society has documented sightings of more than 120 species of birds at this site, [4] and the organization has operated a bird banding station here since 1979. [4] The natural history museum contains mounted preserved animals displayed in dioramas depicting Connecticut's wildlife as it existed at the end of the 20th century, as well as the Frederick T. Bedford Collection of African Animals. [4]

Structures at the sanctuary include a frame bungalow and a museum building, the former built as a caretaker's residence. Significant man-made or man-sculpted features of the sanctuary include a pond, gardens, and meadows, as well as a chimney constructed as a nesting spot for chimney swifts. Most of these structures were built in 1914, although the museum and bungalow have both been enlarged (substantially in the case of the museum) since then. [3]

The Birdcraft Museum and Sanctuary was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982, and was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993. Its establishment marked the revival of a bird conservation movement which had begun in the 1880s but languished and declined since then. [2] [3]

The property is one of six nature centers and 22 wildlife sanctuaries operated by Connecticut Audubon, which is not affiliated with the National Audubon Society.

Shore Diorama Connecticut Audubon Birdcraft Museum Shore Bird Diorama.jpg
Shore Diorama
Part of the African animal collection Connecticut Audubon Birdcraft Museum African animal heads.jpg
Part of the African animal collection

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairfield, Connecticut</span> Town in Connecticut, United States

Fairfield is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It borders the city of Bridgeport and towns of Trumbull, Easton, Weston, and Westport along the Gold Coast of Connecticut. As of 2020, the town had a population of 61,512. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region.

The National Audubon Society is an American non-profit environmental organization dedicated to conservation of birds and their habitats. Located in the United States and incorporated in 1905, Audubon is one of the oldest of such organizations in the world. There are completely independent Audubon Societies in the United States, which were founded several years earlier such as the Massachusetts Audubon Society, Indiana Audubon Society, and Connecticut Audubon Society.

The Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge is a 950-acre (384.5 ha) National Wildlife Refuge in ten units across the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in the Atlantic Flyway, the refuge spans 70 miles (110 km) of Connecticut coastline and provides important resting, feeding, and nesting habitat for many species of wading birds, shorebirds, songbirds and terns, including the endangered roseate tern. Adjacent waters serve as wintering habitat for brant, scoters, American black duck, and other waterfowl. Overall, the refuge encompasses over 900 acres (364.2 ha) of barrier beach, intertidal wetland and fragile island habitats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whitefish Point Light</span> Lighthouse on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, United States

The Whitefish Point Light is a lighthouse located in Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located on the southeastern shores of Lake Superior, it sits at the edge of Whitefish Point leading to Whitefish Bay. Constructed in 1849, it is the oldest operating lighthouse in the Upper Peninsula. All vessels entering or exiting Lake Superior pass near Whitefish Point. The area is infamously known as the "Graveyard of the Great Lakes" due to the high number of shipwrecks in the area, most famously the SS Edmund Fitzgerald.

Wing Haven Gardens and Bird Sanctuary is a garden and habitat for birds and wildlife located in Charlotte, North Carolina. It includes the Elizabeth Lawrence House & Garden, which is the site of a garden writer’s living laboratory. The site also includes the SEED Wildlife & Children’s Gardens, which provides hands-on exploratory learning and a natural habitat for local wildlife.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boothe Memorial Park and Museum</span> United States historic place

Boothe Memorial Park and Museum sits on a 32-acre (130,000 m2) site in the Putney section of Stratford, Connecticut. Built about 1840 and remodeled in 1914, it is said to be "The Oldest Homestead in America," since it sits on the foundations of a 1663 house, and has been continuously occupied. Circa 1914 two brothers, David Beach Boothe and Stephen Nichols Boothe, created the Boothe Memorial Museum which maintains a collection of twenty architecturally unique buildings. Some of the structures include a carriage house, Americana Museum, miniature lighthouse, windmill, a clock tower museum, trolley station, chapel, and a blacksmith shop. The property became a public park owned by the town of Stratford in 1949.

The Connecticut Audubon Society Coastal Center at Milford Point is a nature center and bird sanctuary in Milford, Connecticut, established in 1995. Over 300 different species of bird have been observed at this location. The Coastal Center is located on an 8.4-acre (34,000 m2) barrier beach—the Smith-Hubbell Wildlife Refuge & Bird Sanctuary—and is situated next to the 840-acre (3.4 km2) Charles E. Wheeler Wildlife Management Area at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The Coastal Center provides easy access to Long Island Sound and its many habitats: tidal salt marshes, barrier beaches, tide pools and coastal dunes, and utilizes these habitats for environmental education for youth and adults. These various environments and habitats support a variety of bird, plant and animal communities for observation and study. The Coastal Center also contains educational exhibits and live animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John James Audubon State Park</span> United States historic place

John James Audubon State Park is located on U. S. Route 41 in Henderson, Kentucky, just south of the Ohio River. Its inspiration is John James Audubon, the ornithologist, naturalist, painter, and slaveowner who resided in Henderson from 1810 to 1819 when Henderson was a frontier village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Massachusetts Audubon Society</span> Nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of the nature of Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Audubon Society, commonly known as Mass Audubon, founded in 1896 by Harriet Hemenway and Minna B. Hall and headquartered in Lincoln, Massachusetts, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "protecting the nature of Massachusetts". Mass Audubon is independent of the National Audubon Society (NAS), and was founded earlier than the NAS. Mass Audubon protects more than 40,000 acres of land throughout Massachusetts, saving birds and other wildlife, and making nature accessible to all with its wildlife sanctuaries and 20 nature centers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mabel Osgood Wright</span> American novelist

Mabel Osgood Wright was an American writer. She was an early leader in the Audubon movement who wrote extensively about nature and birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mill Grove</span> Historic house in Pennsylvania, United States

Mill Grove is a historic house and estate on Pawlings Road in Audubon, Pennsylvania. Built in the 1760s, it is notable as the first home in America of painter and naturalist John James Audubon (1785-1851), for whom the community is named. The 130-acre (53 ha) estate is now maintained as a museum and wildlife sanctuary by Montgomery County, and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1989. The house serves as the educational center of the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Audubon Society, and is known as John James Audubon Center at Mill Grove.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buttolph–Williams House</span> Historic house in Connecticut, United States

The Buttolph–Williams House is a historic house museum at 249 Broad Street in Wethersfield, Connecticut. Built in 1711, it is one of the oldest surviving houses in the town. It is owned by Connecticut Landmarks, a historic preservation organization, and is open for regular tours between May and October. it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968 for its significance as an extremely well-preserved example of early colonial architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut Audubon Society Center at Fairfield</span>

The Connecticut Audubon Society Center at Fairfield is a nature center and wildlife sanctuary in the Greenfield Hill area of Fairfield, Connecticut. Constructed in 1971, the center features classrooms for environmental education programs, live animals on display, natural history exhibits, a nature library, a solar greenhouse and a gift shop. Outside there is a compound with non-releasable rescued birds of prey, including owls, hawks, peregrine falcons, a turkey vulture and other raptors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audubon Society of Portland</span> Environmental organization

The Audubon Society of Portland is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to wildlife conservancy in Portland, Oregon, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norman Bird Sanctuary</span> Nature preserve in Middletown, Rhode Island, US

Norman Bird Sanctuary is a 325-acre (1.32 km2) bird sanctuary, nature preserve, environmental education center, and museum at 583 Third Beach Road in Middletown, Rhode Island overlooking the Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Connecticut Audubon Society</span> American non-profit organization

The Connecticut Audubon Society, founded in 1898 and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "conserving Connecticut’s environment through science-based education and advocacy focused on the state’s bird populations and habitats." Connecticut Audubon Society is independent of the National Audubon Society (NAS), just as in the neighboring state of Massachusetts, where Massachusetts Audubon Society is independent of the NAS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audubon Sharon</span> Wildlife sanctuary in Sharon, Connecticut

Audubon Sharon, which consists of the Sharon Audubon Center and the Emily Winthrop Miles Wildlife Sanctuary, is a wildlife sanctuary of the National Audubon Society in Sharon, Connecticut. The 1,147 acres (464 ha) of the Sharon Audubon Center property is primarily forest land with two ponds with 11 miles (18 km) of trails for visitors to use. Its facilities include a raptor aviary, a herb garden, a garden to attract birds and butterflies, a sugar house, a memorial room to Hal Borland, a small museum and store. Sharon Audubon Center is located at 325 Cornwall Bridge Road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marshlands Conservancy</span> United States historic place

Marshlands Conservancy is a 147-acre nature preserve in the city of Rye, New York, that is fully owned and operated by Westchester County Parks. It has numerous wildlife habitats from ponds to creeks to a large meadow area, succession forest, freshwater wetlands and the only extensive salt marsh in Westchester. It borders Long Island Sound and can be entered via an easement on the historic Boston Post Road. It is one of 5 properties that together constitute the Boston Post Road Historic District. It has high archaeological sensitivity. The conservancy has also been designated an Important Bird Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles E. Wheeler Wildlife Management Area</span>

Charles E. Wheeler Wildlife Management Area is a 625-acre (253 ha) brackish tidal marsh, nature preserve and hunting area owned by the state of Connecticut located in Devon (village), Milford, New Haven County, Connecticut.

References

  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. 1 2 "Birdcraft Museum & Sanctuary". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on October 7, 2007. Retrieved September 27, 2007.
  3. 1 2 3 Jill S. Mesirow and Page Putnam Miller (July 1, 1992). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: Birdcraft Sanctuary" (pdf). National Park Service.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying 8 photos, exterior and interior, from 1992  (1.04 MB)
  4. 1 2 3 "Connecticut Audubon Society Birdcraft Museum at Fairfield". Connecticut Audubon Society. Archived from the original on March 13, 2008. Retrieved January 16, 2008.

41°08′39″N73°15′31″W / 41.1443°N 73.2587°W / 41.1443; -73.2587