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Outdoor Adventures

Exploring the interests of sportsmen, naturalists, conservationists and outdoor enthusiasts.


	Crabbing: Low-tech family fun! "All kids love crabbing” says Lloyd Hummel, who drove an hour from his Oxford home with his two children, Samantha and Lloyd Jr., in hopes of catching a bushel of delicious blue crabs for their evening dinner. The Hummels made the trip to the Hammonasset River on the Madison/Clinton border as part of a summer tradition the family has enjoyed for the past five years. (read more)

	Finding the Clover While other 17 year-olds might be a nervous wreck, Kelsey Humble smiles confidently. It must be the clover inside her coming out. As the Coordinator of Agriculture, Humble is responsible for the welfare of the 250 cows, goats, sheep, llamas, dogs, cats, chickens and rabbits which fill the livestock barns at the Middlesex & New Haven County 4-H Fair in Durham. (read more)

	Flight of Fancy The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird is a feisty creature. A scant three inches tall, the birds’ diminutive stature belies its fierce nature. Hovering in midair, two birds battle to determine which has the right to drink from the hanging feeder. The combatants duel by mirroring the others’ flight pattern, bobbing up and down, and circling one another in an impressive display of aerial ballet. Highly territorial, a hummingbird will attempt to drive a rival off with a barrage of shrill chirping. (read more)

	The Nature of Things The crowd of about 20 kids and adults, many of whom are wearing bathing suits and flip-flops, wait expectantly in the education room of the Meigs Point Nature Center. Director Russ Miller starts with a question “Do you want to see the largest turtle in CT?” There’s a resounding “yes.” Miller reaches into a tank just out of view and comes up with a baby snapping turtle about four inches long. (read more)

	Monsters of the Sound A life and death struggle takes place 40 feet below the water’s surface. Fourteen ounces of lead weight keeps my bait, a foot and a half long Menhaden, or bunker, in the middle of a large school of striped bass. (read more)

	Strawberry Fields Forever After four hours of berry picking under the blazing morning sun, Toni Schiano has red stained fingertips, sore muscles, and a “strawberry tan” on the small of her back. This she wears as a badge of honor. And she should. One hundred quarts of deliciously sweet and shiny red strawberries fill the back of her John Deere Gator. (read more)

	Catching the Buzz The proud mama of 10,000 adopted buzzing babies vividly recalls “You drive very carefully when you have a package of bees in the back of your car and you can hear them humming.” (read more)

	A Boater's Paradise - Pilots Point Marina Sprawling beside the Patchogue and Menunketesuck Rivers, Westbrook’s Pilots Point Marina is a boater’s paradise. A pair of swimming pools, a putting green, and a restaurant accentuates the lush amenities that are offered on the impeccable grounds of this full service family oriented marina. (read more)

	Under a Spring Moon There's romance under the full moon. Below the water's surface, a few feet from the beach, horseshoe crabs are in the mood for love. And that's just dandy for biology professor Dr. Sean Grace and his research student Miguel Reyes, who are prowling the dark waters at Clinton’s Town Beach in search of a pre-historic looking arthropod that has roamed coastal seas for 300 million years. (read more)

	CT Trails Day 2007 The surface of Coan Pond in Madison’s Rockland Preserve is dotted with white flowers from blooming water lilies. Along its bank, Green Frogs bellow to one another. Their low bass tones rumble across the marshland like thunder from a distant storm. Under the dense forest canopy, the air is cooler and the strong morning sunlight is obscured. The rustling from squirrels and birds searching for nuts and berries in the thick underbrush elicits a quick glance, but the animals are difficult to find. (read more)

	Kayaking the Marsh Perched high on a marsh reed, a Red-winged Blackbird spies our approach. The sentinel announces our presence through song to all the other birds in the area. Barely making a ripple as our wake, we silently paddle through a backwater slough on the Connecticut River. The colorful hulls of the kayaks leave a distorted reflection on the glossy water. A pair of Canada Geese tends to their nest which is well hidden in low-lying clumps of green and brown grass. In a few days, the tufted yellow goslings will hatch and create havoc throughout the marshland as they curiously begin to explore their new world. (read more)

	Returning Home Even a hundred years of failure cannot suppress the natural instinct to survive, and as futile as the attempt may prove, thousands of foot-long silver-sided river herring will once again embark on a spring migration. Called from the salty water of Long Island Sound by internal biological forces, alewives and blueback herring begin a journey that takes them from the sea, upstream into the cool freshwater of Queach Brook, a tributary of the Branford River, on their way to find suitable spawning grounds. (read more)

	Wallow in the Hollow - Going Vertical Brien Roscetti yells “rope” immediately before tossing a coil of blue dynamic climbing rope over the edge of a sixty-foot high rock face in Chatfield Hollow State Park. Oblivious to the climbers, a red-tailed hawk soars just above the trees, nearly at eye level, and a warm stiff breeze stirs the forest which is ready to explode with buds. The unwieldy package lands with a thud and tightens the non-stretch static anchor lines to which it is attached. Roscetti, a fifteen year climbing veteran from Clinton, is preparing to tackle Wallow in the Hollow, an ascent that is rated at 5.12d on a scale that maxes out at 5.15. (read more)

	A Big Night For Migrating Amphibians A “Big Night” out for most people involves getting dressed to the nines and indulging in an elaborate dinner, but for some adventurous environmentally conscious individuals, donning a reflective rain slicker and scanning the pavement along the roadside with a flashlight in hopes of finding migrating amphibians, can be equally satisfying.(read more)

	Opening Day Sleep will not come easy for Matt on the eve of opening day. Lying in his bed, his mind will torture him by forcing him to imagine every possible scenario on how the morning might unfold. What if it rains and the water is muddy? Could an insect hatch be underway, and will he have the right fly pattern to mimic it? Maybe the conditions will be perfect, but another angler has already laid claim to his best spot. So many variables! (read more)

	The Great Park Pursuit The Great Park Pursuit is back and that means - no child should be left inside this spring! Unplug your kids from their virtual worlds on the Internet, the television, and their XBOX game consoles, and take them on a hands-on outdoor adventure across Connecticut’s State Parks and Forests. (read more)

	Spring Escapes Swaying in the gentle morning breeze, the tufted tips of the golden phragmite stalks wave good morning to their long time friend Judy Weber. The walking trail through West Point Park that connects Stony Creek to Pine Orchard has tried unsuccessfully to wear out the soles of her shoes for the past 25 years. (read more)

	Equinox Celebrates Earth's Yin, Yang Dressed in the traditional ceremonial garb of ancient Englanders, the dancers leap and spin through the air in displays of acrobatic prowess. With every move they make, the colorful ribbons on their arms flutter like leaves on a windy autumn day, and the bells strapped to their legs ring out a welcome greeting for spring.(read more)

	The Sweet Season Every March, the trees conduct a symphony for anyone who takes the time to listen, and if sweetness had a sound, it would be the rhythmic plinking of maple sap dripping into metal pails. Along country roads and fields, galvanized grey buckets now hang from the sugar maples. These seasonal timepieces are counting down the days until spring-like weather returns, for sap only runs when nighttime temperatures dip below freezing and daytime highs rise above that mark. (read more)

	Eagle Cruisin’ On the CT River Broken apart by a Coast Guard vessel, the ice which once stretched across the Connecticut River, now collects in boulder size chunks along the banks. The vibrant whites of the frozen rubble are a stark contrast to the deep blue hue of the open water. The RiverQuest, a 55 foot twin-hull excursion vessel, is traveling northward, but will soon reverse its course at navigation marker number 29, because free floating ice obstructs the channel. (read more)

	An Eagle Celebration Join the celebration and commemorate the triumph of the bald eagle at the 2007 Eagle Festival in Essex , CT. On February 17 & 18, the Connecticut Audubon Society will transform Main Street into a giant exposition that promises to bring thousands of families to this quaint community recognized as the number one small town in America. (read more)

	Going Nuts - Deer A smattering of dried brown leaves cling to the branches of a sixty foot white oak, while an Eastern Gray Squirrel jumps frantically through its barren canopy. Scaly ash-gray bark, nearly two inches thick, forms the riddled exterior of this noble native tree. Littering the forest’s floor, the tree’s fruit is abundant. Its leathery shelled acorns are a popular food source for the white-tail deer population, but an omen to hunters that this may be a difficult hunting season. (read more)

	Seals along the shoreline Fighting to reclaim their place in the coastal ecosystem, it is estimated that 90,000 Western Atlantic harbor seals currently swim in the cool water off the New England coast. Once viewed as a threat to commercial fisheries, this stocky marine mammal was nearly wiped out by bounty hunting in Maine and Massachusetts. (read more)

	Preserving the Call of the Wild Just inches from the crowd, Atka, a four and half year old Arctic gray wolf, is led up and down the aisles. A myriad of flashes pop in his face, but he is unfazed by the cameras. He looks and acts like a well trained dog with thick creamy white fur and gray and buff markings, but the audience is requested to not reach out to pet him.(read more)

	Invasive Crabs Exposed and vulnerable, half a dozen dime size crabs dart for cover. Their tan and black striped legs shuffle them sideways across the moist sand. Franticly, they search for a place to hide. Some crabs disappear into crevices among nearby rocks, while others attempt to conceal themselves by burrowing into the beach. (read more)

	Drawn To Wildlife Art instructor and naturalist, Erin O’Hare, holds an oversized hardcover book in her hands. As she walks around the classroom, she points to the illustration on the right hand page, and asks her students if anyone can identify the type of animal in the drawing. Immediately, several hands rise into the air, but one student can’t contain her enthusiasm and blurts out “It’s a buffalo!” (read more)

	Into the Surf The outgoing tide and lack of wind make the ocean appear weak. The surf rolls lazily onto the beach and golden waves ripple across the ocean, reflecting the glow of the setting sun. Before the sky darkens and nighttime descends, Mike Mulligan walks into the surf. (read more)

	Fall Migration - Taking Flight Deep within a salt marsh beyond Meigs Point at Hammonasset Park, a Merlin sits atop a decaying wooden post. This regal, slate-brown falcon is well known for spectacular aerobatics as it seizes prey, birds and insects, in midair assaults. The tide retreats, and rivulets of sea water flow around the clumps of green and brown marsh grass, and eventually settle back into the Sound. Along the marsh’s fringe, a Snowy Egret wades through the viscous black muck. Frenetically searching for food, the white bird’s long beak roots through the mud and water dislodging fish and amphibians.(read more)

	Flying Flowers The golden-yellow petals of the Black-eyed Susan glimmer in the morning sunlight. A gentle breeze carries the potpourri of scents from the brightly colored flowers growing tall in the garden, and fills the air with summer freshness. From a distance, the garden appears peaceful, but upon closer inspection, it is awash in a flurry of activity. (read more)

	The Sky's the Limit A gentle breeze disturbs the canopy lying on the grass, and then suddenly the multi-colored chute fills with air and pops into the sky. The control lines tighten, and the pilot begins to walk forward. Three quick steps, a slight hop, and then he is airborne. Suspended just a few feet above the ground, the pilot revs the throttle on the gasoline engine, and the fifty inch propeller, strapped to the harness on his back, races. (read more)

	Ducks in the Mail? A dozen, yellow, peeping puff balls huddle in the corner of the plywood hutch. Seven year old Jonathan Bartlett climbs into their cage, and then starts handing out the baby ducks as if he was giving candy to trick-or-treaters on Halloween. (read more)

	Geocaching - Techno Treasure Hunting The arrow on the handheld GPS unit points to the left and four year old Aidan Fiala yells out “The treasure is this way.” The young adventurer has already walked through a field, went through a tunnel, crossed a river, and now he stands in the middle of a salt marsh surrounded by beautiful views of Long Island Sound. The path he is following splits in three, and only one leads to the buried loot. (read more)

	Pirates of the Marsh: Great Horned Owl The pirate of the salt marsh sits confidently in her nest, a nest that last year belonged to a pair of osprey. Atop the manmade nesting box, the Great Horned Owl nestles beside her fledgling. From her elevated vantage, she can over-see her territory and defend it from marauders.(read more)

	Mountain Kings After a quick check to make sure the landing area was clear, the rider picked his line and began pedaling. Looking up from a vantage point nearly a dozen feet below the rock outcrop, you could hear the 26 inch knobby tread tires approaching, but the bike and rider remained unseen. For a fraction of a second, there was silence as the bike became air-borne, and the rider came into full view. (read more)

	Here Come the Trout! Trout fall from the net, like candy dropping from a piñata. Momentarily stunned, the fish collect en masse. A mixture of brook, brown and rainbow trout swim in circles at the spot of their release. Twelve inch long rainbows shimmer in the water, but look like bait fish swimming beside gigantic four and five pound brown trout. (read more)

	Flower Science An assortment of tweezers, razor blades, and other surgical implements were carefully positioned beside each dissection station. The six gray, dual-ocular, microscopes lining the sides of the table were reminiscent of a high school science class. At the center of the work table was a large vase filled with cut flower specimens.(read more)

	Eagle Hunter Without a sound, an adult eagle descends from the sky at a speed approaching 40 miles per hour. Its outstretched wings, measuring over six feet from tip to tip, slow the bird’s high altitude descent, so that its two inch long razor sharp yellow talons can snatch the fish from the cormorant, before the unsuspecting bird can mount a retreat.(read more)

	Sweet Rewards An assemblage of galvanized steel buckets hangs from the trees along the forest’s edge. Small specimens support a lone bucket, while mature trees bear the weight of two or three containers. Listen carefully and you can hear the sound of sweetness, as the trees play their seasonal song with the orchestrated drip of maple sap. (read more)

	Call of the Wild A cluster of tiny black dots streaks across the sky. The birds are too far away to see them clearly. If it wasn’t for their rapid movement and contrast against the bright sky, their presence might go undetected. The hunter grabs the duck call hanging from a lanyard around his neck, puts it to his lips, and blows softly. (read more)