New Haven Bird Club: Geology and Birds – Stony Creek and Quarry Park

(Rain date) Sunday, September 15, 2024, 8 am to noon

Come join us for a new field trip that will explore the natural resources and birds in two different rock quarry areas in rural Branford and suburban New Haven. The trip will start in the Kelley Memorial Preserve in Branford, which surrounds the active Stony Creek quarry. The Stony Creek granite is a building stone that has been mined here since the late 19th century and is used for breakwaters and jetties on CT shorelines. It also functions as the main rock for the base of the Statue of Liberty. We will hike a moderately strenuous loop of 1.5 miles, observing both the geological features and the birds found in woodland and riparian settings. The optional (and shorter) second part of the trip, after a rest stop on Interstate 95, will be at Quarry Park Preserve in Fair Haven Heights. This small, wooded preserve in sandstone bedrock was a quarrying site from the 1700s until the early 1900s and the rock is featured in some of New Haven’s oldest buildings. The reclaimed urban setting is an interesting contrast to the Stony Creek area.

Meet at 8 am in Kelley Memorial Preserve (103-127 Quarry Road, Branford). From Leetes Island Road (Rte 146), turn north on Quarry Road and park in the gravel lot on the right just after the road becomes unpaved. For the 11 am Quarry Park Preserve loop, park along E. Grand Avenue, or in the New Haven Friends Meeting lot, 225 E. Grand Ave, New Haven. We will access the trail from the southwest corner of the parking lot.

Leaders: Cheryl Cape and Daniel May, capect13@gmail.com.