Housatonic Tunnels, Locks, & Dam

Trails volunteers and friends had a little fun today exploring the old tunnels and locks of the Housatonic River. See our photos and video. If you have a high-speed connection, select the 'higher resolution' option on the video.

We kayaked from the Derby boat launch under the Route 8 bridge to the Derby Dam. The industrial artifacts were the main attraction along this route. First there are the bridges, then there are tunnels, including this one located underneath the Birmingham. The tunnels were built under factories from the 1800's to capture power from water as it fell from the canal above to the river below. Each factory had it's own tunnel.

Image the amount of work, all of it by hand, that went into building the structures that allowed the rise of factories in Shelton - the canal, the dam, the tunnels, and of course the factories such as the Birmingham. Shelton is the only city in Connecticut that legally changed its name (from "Huntington"), choosing to honor Edward Shelton, the man most responsible for the industrial rise of downtown.

We continued up the river to the Shelton locks and then on to the Derby Dam, which wasn't letting out very much water at the time. If it were, we wouldn't have been able to get so close.

The trail volunteers then traveled up the Naugatuck River to Ansonia. I don't have any photos or video of that since I had to leave early.

Baby Possum Plays Dead

This half-grown (and still cute) possum was playing dead on the Rec Path near Wesley Drive. I nearly stepped on him and instantly thought, "Gross, a dead animal right on the trail." Followed by, "Wait a minute...that's a possum .."

It was dusk and there were lots of fireworks in the neighborhood - maybe that spooked him. Possums don't actually "play" dead - it's more like they go into shock easily. I nudged him with a stick and he "grinned", showing off his teeth. It seemed like he was maybe coming out of his 'coma'. When I touched a ticklish spot, his hind leg moved up to scratch his ear like a dog.

I used sticks to move him off the trail before I left so no bikers would run him over. About 20 minutes later I brought my daughter back to show her. By this time it was pretty dark, but the possum was right where I left him. See the YouTube video - He seemed a lot more "dead" in the video, I think because of our flashlight shining in his eyes.

Lion's Mane Jellyfish

My daughter and I stumbled upon this Lion's Mane or "Red" Jelly at Hammonassett State Park today. This species and the Portugese Man-o-war jelly reportedly have the most serious stings. In general, the brightly colored animals (especially red ones) are the more toxic ones, and I instinctly gave this one a wide berth. Update 7/3/2008: Short Beach in Stratford was just covered in small versions of this jellyfish today, from 1 inch to 5 inches in diameter. I was told a couple days ago, the water was filled with very large ones, over one foot in diameter (the one on the photo from Hammonassett was maybe 6 or 8 inches). I've never seen these at Short Beach before.

On a lighter note, the park was a step away from Watership Downs with over a dozen rabbits along the park road on the way out. This one was just stretched out and relaxin'.

Back to Pleasure Beach

The birds have really taken over Pleasure Beach in Bridgeport (see earlier post for more info about that beach). Last winter I saw a Kestrel, which looks rather like a dwarf Peregrine Falcon.

On a visit yesterday we followed the shoreline closely until we reached the old pier and bridge, then headed inland. Immediately a Willet harrassed us incessantly, circling overhead and chattering. Willets are brownish shore birds with long legs. I assume a nest was nearby. Then, a pair of magnificent Osprey circled over us. I think the nest in the photo is not their main nest -- I glimpsed a larger nest in the distance later on.


The vegetation was intense - especially ragweed and poison ivy. Oh for joy. Good thing for the old pavement. We did a quick walk past the carosel and other derelict buildings. Someone recently told me they saw turkeys living in one of the buildings.


On the way back, along Long Beach, some areas have been kindly roped off to protect nesting shorebirds. I was annoyed that someone had set up a beach chair and was playing music right next to one of the ropes. The beach is 3/4 mile long, for crying out loud, they had to set up their chair right next to the rope?




At any rate, at one of the enclosures a flock of Least Terns heckled anyone passing. They darted about so quickly it was hard to see what they looked like and even harder to get a picture. I finally succeeded to some extent, enough to identify the birds. Least Terns are considered a threatened species by the Connecticut DEP. Here are some fun facts: They weigh just one ounce and were pushed towards extinction in the early 1900's by the millinary trade. What the heck is the millinary trade? ....(looking it up)... OK, according to Websters that means, "Women's apparel for the head." Feathers for lady's hats, I guess. At one ounce, I'm sure they weren't being killed for the dinner plate.

Bambi Strikes Again

How cute is that? Bambi nursing as mom gives him a bath. This was just a few feet from Ripton Road near Huntington Center. There was another mom and baby nearby, too shy to leave the tree line (the fawn was bleating like a sheep at his pal out in the meadow). Sure, they spread disease, cause property damage, and are destroying the forest understory that other species depend on for survival, but when I see something like that I can't help but turn the car around a get a photo. They're cute!

We Are Being Watched...

Today I glimpsed a red fox on Birchbank Trail as it fled up and off the trail. When I reached the point where he had left the trail, I stopped for a few minutes and looked carefully at the hillside above me. Red fox are bright and curious, and I was convinced this one was watching me from ... somewhere. Couldn't find him. I walked up the trail a few more steps and looked again and there he was, about 150 ft up the hill, sitting there panting in a sunbeam like a golden retriever. The two of us watched each other for about five minutes (I MUST get myself a 35mm camera!). By the way, we call these moments "trail magic."

The alert hiker knows that he or she is being watched. As we walk down the trail, the deer, bobcat, coyote, and fox quietly monitor our passage, sometimes within pouncing distance. Last summer near Silent Waters I passed a deer frozen like a statue just 15 feet from the trail. Only her head moved slowly as I passed. There was hardly even any brush, and this was right across the street from the busy Middle School. The animals must sense how unobservant we humans usually are.

Far Mill and Means Brook Join

Not many people have seen where the Far Mill River and Means Brook join, which is too bad, because it's teaming with wildlife (or maybe that's good). The spot is difficult to get to for much of the year because of the marshy terrain, but if the water is low, and you're a little adventurous, you can get there from the Rec Path and Land Trust meadow.

At the southern end of the meadow, look for an unmarked path heading west towards the river. Go straight into the woods along the path, but when the path curves left, go straight ahead to a small rise occupied by a concrete pad and wellhead (this is, after all, the "Huntington Wellfield Open Space"). Cross the concrete and bear left a bit to a small clearing. In the distance, straight ahead, is the Far Mill River coming straight towards you. To the right is Means Brook, but you can't really see it if the water is low, because it's obsured by a low island. Follow the shoreline left a bit to a log that you can cross to reach the island. Wear mud shoes, and watch out for stinging nettles.

Cross the island to see where the two rivers meet. Then hang out for a bit to watch the wildlife, as I did today:

As soon as I reached the river I heard the plop of a turtle falling into the water. Yellow iris bloomed along the edge. I crossed the river and immediately heard great crashing on the opposite shore in the brush, followed by lengthy snorting by a deer. They don't usually do that around here since they are so used to people.

I headed toward a patch of woods on the island crowned by a specimen Swamp White Oak which towered over a thicket of dogwood shrubs just covered in white flowers. A garter snake slipped by. Back out in the open, I watched a pair of bluebirds attending their nest in a 'snag' (old dead tree) on the edge of the water. A trout darted as I approached the shore. A frog croaked. All kinds of birds swooped around me and sang. Red-winged blackbirds were the most notable.

Off the island and down the shore a bit I could see live freshwater mussels on the river bottom. Usually you only see them after an animal has lunched on them and deposited the shells onshore. Clumps of Blue Flag Iris were in bloom.

Back in the meadow, I finally spied the Baltimore Orioles I'd been looking for. It was a good ten minutes before I realized I was standing directly under their nest, which hangs from a black cherry tree in full bloom right over the Rec Path. It's about half way down the meadow, next to a tree that has a 'open space' marker on it. Under it are freshly dug tunnels by a woodchuck or fox.

This was one of those days that made me wish I had a 35 mm camera instead of a point-and-shoot. Even so, I didn't do too awfully bad - here are my photos from the day.

Coral-Phase Salamander

Mike VanValen sent me this photo of an unusual coral phase redback salamander he found along the Derby Greenway. Redback salamanders are common and normally look like this. This salamander was full of eggs and may pass on her beautiful pink-lavender coloration to another generation.

Very Hungry Deer

I took this photo at a recent vacation in Shenandoah National Park, Virginia. Every evening the roadside was filled with deer eating the new spring grass. We saw about 50 deer in twenty minutes. Amazing.

Check out the rib cages on that deer, visible even under the thick winter coat. Ever since the Disney movie "Bambi", doing anything about the deer population has been labeled cruel, as if starving all winter isn't cruel (note we saw the survivors only). Here in Shelton, hunting has only very recently ceased (I remember hearing hunting shots out my back door not too long ago and I still get calls about deer blinds in the open space), so the deer population is presumably rising. Unless our "mountain lion" keeps them under control ;-D.

While walking along some Shenandoah trails I noted how open the forest was - there was nothing for the deer to eat. This is what happens when there are too many deer - they eat every plant they possibly can, and pretty soon all that's left is mature trees and a few plant species they don't like, such as green brier and hayscented fern (a native species that is classified as invasive in areas of large deer populations). This can be catastrophic for forest ecology and the entire food web. When a tree falls over in a storm, there are no young trees to replace it, because the deer have eaten them all. Native insects cannot find the type of leaf they need to eat, and perish. The birds, amphibians, and mammals that survive by eating those insects find that they too are starving. If only there were some way to make the Bambi people care about ALL the species of the forest, not just the cute ones.

On Assateague Island the situation was even worse. They have two deer species (Sitka Elk, technically) as well as the famous wild ponies. The forest was nothing but white pines and greenbrier, and I do mean nothing -- greenbrier as far as the eye could see in every direction.

Several years ago I saw a deer exclusion zone at Bluff Point State Park, protected by fencing, and it was very dramatic. Most of the park looked just like Assateague does now - nothing but mature trees and greenbrier. But within the tiny plots protected from deer, a healthy forest flourished, filled with saplings, shrubs and wildflowers.

Hedgehogs at Sunnyside

Someone has been feeding what I assume are feral cats at the Sunnyside Boat Launch - there's a cat house and feeding station there. The problem with feeding dogs and cats outside is that wild animals such as raccoons, skunks, coyote, opposum, and even bobcat also eat the food. Populations of these species increase to unnaturally high levels and they lose their fear of humans, which increases the risk of bites.

A new threat is the expanding population of hedgehogs coming up the Housatonic River Valley (the photo is one at Sunnyside). Native to England, hedgehogs became pests in New Zealand after they were released to eat garden pests (although they look like a rodent, their diet actually consists mostly of insects, along with bird eggs and anything else they can scavenge - including pet food). Since their release in New Zealand, songbird populations have declined. Now they have appeared along the Housatonic River, where they apparently scavenge the shoreline.

Hedgehogs have quills, but these quills are not barbed and do not release into your skin like a porpupine. So we do not have that to worry about (up north dogs are forever getting a facefull of quills). In fact, hedgehogs are sometimes kept as pets, which may be how they were released into Connecticut.

Hedgehogs are not adapted to harsh winters, so they may not move much to the north, and a cold winter might even wipe out the entire population. Time will tell.

APRIL FOOLS!!!