2008 Migration Festival at Lighthouse Point Park
The Migration Festival was held Sunday, September 21, 2008. The festivities, supervised by New Haven's Parks Rangers, included hawk watches, live birds of prey demonstrations, bird watching guided tours, lighthouse tours, live sea life touch tank demonstrations, butterfly catching (and release), carousel rides, and more.
The event is a cooperative effort sponsored by the City of New Haven Department of Parks, Recreation & Trees, the New Haven Bird Club, Menunkatuck Audubon Society, Audubon Connecticut, Connecticut Audubon Society, Northeast Hawkwatch, the Connecticut Ornithological Association, and the Connecticut Butterfly Association and the generous financial support from the DEP Long Island Sound Fund.
A Brazlian spectacled owl, part of the live birds of prey demosnstration
The Butterfly
Garden at Lighthouse Point Park
Some butterfly hunters watching the one that got away
Flowers in the beautiful butterfly garden
Flowers in the beautful butterfly garden
A butterfly that has been tagged and about to be released
Hawk watchers in the great field at Lighthouse Point Park
Bird watchers
awaiting birds and supervised bird walks
Visitors heading to the Lighthouse for a tour to the top
Visitors enjoying the grand view from the Lighthouse tower
A photo of the Lighthouse granite staircase and brick interior wall
An eerie photo of the old brickwork at the top of the staircase
View from the Lighthouse facing north: New Haven Harbor and the fishing pier
View from the Lighthouse facing northwest: the Ranger Station and great field
View from the Lighthouse facing southeast: the carousel pavilion, playground, splashpad
and beautiful Long Island Sound beach
Visitors descending the ladder from Lighthouse observation tower
Visitors outside the Lighthouse entrance awaiting their turn for the tour
Lighthouse Ranger Terry McCool
demonstrating sea denizens in the live touch tank
Children and adults can touch and feel a wide variety of living animals and plants from Long Island Sound
A family observing butterflies, dragonflies and bees at the Butterfly Garden
Live demonstration and informative lecture on birds of prey
A barn owl spreading its wings
A hawk shields its catch from the prying eyes of other birds
An explanation of aspects of hawks that assist their hunting: keen eyesight and high speed dives
Visitors enjoying a ride on the historic antique carousel
Two riders wish to share the same stead
Brian describing how barn owls are built to detect prey by sight and sound
Visitors get a close-up and personal view of the magnificent birds
A Brazilian spectacled owl
An owl spreading its wings