A section of “Map of The State of Connecticut Showing Indian Trails, Villages, and Sachemdoms Made For the Connecticut Society of the Colonial Dames of America” by Mathias Spiess and Hayden Griswold, 1930.

This map shows approximate locations of Wangunk camps on both sides of the Connecticut River before the settlement of Europeans in what became Middletown and Portland. (The entire statewide map may be found here.)

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Bird populations have been declining in Connecticut for some time. This is one reason why we are working to suppress the mugwort infestation on the midden cap and replant with wildflowers and grasses to create a pollinator- and bird-friendly environment.

Part of project is to make the Midden Lookout Park an e-Bird hotspot. eBird is a free mobile app offered by Cornell Ornithology Lab. Watch an introductory video here. Cornell Lab offers another app – Merlin Bird ID —  that records birds’ songs and tells you tell you what birds you’re likely hearing. When  you click, “This is my bird” it saves a record for that location. Many bird sightings create an “eBird hotspot.”

Both apps can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play. Use them when you visit the Midden Lookout Park. Enter “Midden Lookout” as the specific place. This will help us document the bird species present and track changes—in species and sightings—over time.

Watch carp spawning in the Coginchaug River just upstream from the canoe and kayak launch in Middletown — a Jonah Center project completed in 2014.  It’s the perfect place and time of year to see many amazing forms of life out in the Floating Meadows.  Our thanks to videographer Phil LeMontagne for this video.