| Sharon Audubon Center | |
| Type: | Nature center and wildlife sanctuary |
| Location: | 325 Cornwall Bridge Road Sharon, CT, USA |
| Area: | 2600acres+ |
| Created: | 1961[1] |
| Hiking Trails: | 11miles of trails |
| Coords: | 41.857°N -73.455°W |
The Sharon Audubon Center is a wildlife sanctuary of the National Audubon Society in Sharon, Connecticut. The of the Sharon Audubon Center property is primarily forest land with two ponds with of trails for visitors to use. Its facilities include a raptor aviary, a herb garden, a garden to attract birds and butterflies, a sugar house, a memorial room to Hal Borland, a small museum and store.[2] Sharon Audubon Center is located at 325 Cornwall Bridge Road.
Associated with the Sharon Audubon Center is the Emily Winthrop Miles Wildlife Sanctuary, which currently encompasses of land that is situated in of protected open space. The residential facility within the wildlife sanctuary is used by interns and scientists who are conducting work in the area; none of the buildings are currently open to the public. Parking and access is available at 99 West Cornwall Road.
The Sharon Audubon Center offers environmental education programs for school groups. The Center also has summer and weekend environmental programs for adults and children.
Prior to the creation of the Sharon Audubon Center, the land was owned by Clement and Keyo Ford who lived on a property known as Bog Meadow Farm.[3] In 1961, the Fords donated the estate to the National Audubon Society to serve as an educational nature center for future generations.
The main building features the Hal Borland Room, a memorial to the nature writer whose work first appeared in The New York Times in 1941. Some of Borland's essays were collected and published as Sundial of the Seasons in 1964. The room includes photos, his books and typewriter.[4]
The Sharon Audubon Center has a collection of trails available for visitors to walk, including the wheelchair accessible Lucy Harvey Multiple Use Interpretative area, totaling . Hal Borland is also honored with a 0.75mile trail that begins near the "native wildflower garden and continues through brushland and deciduous forest to a streamside hemlock forest." The native wildflower garden includes Virginia bluebells, Aquilegia, and white violets. Another trail, the Fern Trail, is a narrow and rocky 1miles woodland trail that follows the northern shore of Ford Pond. Over 70 species of birds have been recorded on the trail and there are many varieties of ferns to be seen. The Ford Trail is a 1.6mile trail through the deciduous and hemlock forest. The Hazelnut Trail is a 1mile loop trail. The Woodchuck Trail is a 2.35mile trail through open fields and the deciduous forest. The Hendrickson Bog Meadow Trail is a 1.6mile loop trail through the deciduous forest and along Bog Meadow Pond's shore.
The Emily Winthrop Miles Wildlife Sanctuary was originally property owned by Emily Winthrop Miles, a poet, writer and artist, who acquired of land in Sharon, Connecticut. In 1962, as part of her will, Miles donated the property to the National Audubon Society.[5] The property now includes 1,500 acres of land that is situated amidst 5,000 acres of protected open space. The wildlife sanctuary includes forested land and two miles of Carse Brook Wetlands, home to endangered flora and fauna species.[6]