Baby birds are hatching at Milford Point. Please take extra care if you visit over the Memorial Day weekend.

Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers, 2 of the highly vulnerable bird species that nest on the Milford Point beach, are hatching.

Those young birds leave the nest and start to wander almost immediately, so please take extra care if you visit the Coastal Center over the busy holiday weekend.

The safest choice for the young birds would be for you to avoid the sandbar if you visit Milford Point.

There are good observation opportunities from the two dune platforms.

Or visit our other sanctuaries.

All are open dawn to dusk every day. A few late migrants are bound to be around, and many birds are already nesting, so there will be plenty of activity.

At Milford Point, the Piping Plovers in particular are a concern because are tiny and almost perfectly camouflaged.

If you visit the sandbar:

Please heed the warning signs and do not duck under the string fencing. In fact, the baby birds are already scooting beyond the fencing, which puts them in greater peril.

My advice is to walk slowly and watch for movement on the sand.

If you are there to take photographs, please do it quickly and move to your next location.

Thousands of other shorebirds are at Milford Point now as well, to feed and rest on their northward migration. It's fine to photograph or view them from a distance. A general rule is if your presence causes the shorebirds to fly away or scatter, you're too close.

Heed the advice or warning of our field staff, which will be out there all weekend. (And stop to chat and ask questions — they're all friendly and happy to help.)

All of the shorebirds at Milford Point are protected by the Endangered Species Act or the Migratory Bird Trearty Act or both. They're all at Milford Point because it's a safe place to nest, feed, and rest. Please keep that in mind if you visit.

You can find information about visiting Connecticut Audubon sanctuaries on our Sanctuaries home page. Click Here!