Sherwood Island State Park

Sherwood Island State Park

Sherwood Island, a Connecticut state park on Long Island Sound, has 234 acres of beaches, marshes, woods, fields, and tidal creeks. Located off Westport, next to a large tidal pond, it is the oldest state park in Connecticut and the only coastal state park in Fairfield County.

Sherwood Island is actually a peninsula, and its earliest known inhabitants were the Pequot Indians, not the Sherwoods, English settlers who arrived in Connecticut in 1643. Acquisition of the land that was to become Connecticut's first state park began in 1914.

Today, summer visitors crowd the park's mile-long East and West Beaches to swim and sunbathe. Other summer activities include volleyball, kite flying, baseball, roller-skating, and bicycling. One corner of the park is an airfield for model-airplane enthusiasts, while Sherwood Point is popular with anglers. Snowy winters bring cross-country skiers.

A promenade on the roof of the main pavilion offers fine views of Long Island Sound. On a clear day, New York City's Empire State Building, 50 miles away, is visible from Sherwood Point.

More than 280 species of birds have been recorded at Sherwood Island (see the park's bird checklist here), which lies within the Atlantic Flyway, a major route for migratory birds. In May of 1996, two birders tallied 114 species on a single day.

At this writing (1998), 45 species of birds on Connecticut's list of endangered, threatened, and special-concern species occur at Sherwood Island, many of them regularly. In the breeding season, herons and egrets, which nest on nearby islands, forage in the park's tidal wetlands, in numbers that few other coastal areas in the state can rival. Least terns, another island nester and a threatened species in Connecticut, visit the park in summer to fish Sherwood Mill Pond, the tidal creeks, and the beachside waters. Although rare and retiring, eight species of owls have been seen, usually in winter. The federally protected peregrine falcon and bald eagle are rare but regular migrants.

Eastern bluebirds have nested in the park's West Woods, a rare occurrence so close to the Connecticut coast. In 1998, a pair of ospreys built a nest on a platform in the west marsh, evidence of the remarkable comeback of this fish-eating raptor, which remains a species of special concern in Connecticut. The last documented evidence of ospreys nesting along the densely populated Fairfield County coast was in the 1890s, and only a few decades ago, the osprey was brought to the brink of extirpation throughout Connecticut and in many other states because of pesticide poisoning from DDT.

Other noteworthy birds that have nested at Sherwood Island in recent years include clapper rail, American woodcock, great horned owl, belted kingfisher, tree swallow, marsh wren, and saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow. Birders hope that a new purple martin house will attract this former nester.

"West Beach, Sherwood Island" by Robert Winkler

In summer, fiddler crabs are abundant in the marshes, and diamondback terrapins sun themselves on the muddy banks. Migrating monarch butterflies filter through the park in great numbers each fall. Mammals at the park include gray and red squirrels, cottontail rabbit, white-tailed deer, raccoon, woodchuck, and red fox; along the Sound in winter and early spring you might see a harbor seal or the rarer harp seal. Harbor porpoises have been sighted from Sherwood Point.

Large, spreading basswoods shade Sherwood Island's waterside picnic area. Mature oaks and hickories grace West Woods, a favorite retreat for people who stroll the park. In 1996, a sand dune was restored along the length of West Beach, planted with dune grass and seaside goldenrod. Although the park has expansive lawns, significant areas have been left unmowed to provide tall-grass habitat.

Ringed by salt marshes, beaches, and tidal waters, Sherwood Island's woods, lawns, meadows, and thickets form a coastal ecosystem that is unique in Fairfield County. —RW

Read about The Eno House Fiasco

Related article: Big Day bird count

See the Sherwood Island Bird Checklist (295 species as of May 2007)

Create a link to this site

A message from Robert Winkler

Jeff Brush/Connecticut Post (used with permission)

If you enjoyed this article, I know you'll enjoy my critically acclaimed book, Going Wild: Adventures with Birds in the Suburban Wilderness (National Geographic), which expands on many of the short pieces I've posted here. Why do I write about birds? Because they represent the wild in all its glory. They're numerous, diverse, intelligent, talkative, and beautiful; their power of flight never ceases to amaze; and they're the most conspicuous class of wild animal—even in the suburb, they're just about everywhere. Whether you're a beginning or advanced birder, a fan of nature writing, a curious suburbanite, or a reader in search of that rare bird known as a good book, Going Wild could very well change how you view your world.

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