Riverbound Farm Nature Center

Centered on Birds
Riverbound Farm Nature Center, Cheshire
May 2019

Connecticut museum visit #419

Classic.

This rarely open Quinnipiac Valley Audubon Society nature center is a straight up, old school, nature center.

Even though it’s in someone’s living room. Essentially.

And I love it. Well, I didn’t love trying to visit on one of its once per month for a few hours opening times only to learn that it wasn’t actually open that month because of some event, but once I was able to get inside with Damian, I loved it.

In fact, now that I look, I see that Damian and I came here in September 2016 to check it out originally. We were thwarted, but still had an enjoyable hike on the property’s trails. (The ownership of this parcel is a bit confusing; if I understand correctly, Quinnipiac Valley Audubon Society owns the building and nature center here, but the surrounding trailed land, called the Mortensen Sanctuary, is owned and managed by the Cheshire Land Trust.)

If you noticed the date of our nature center visit, you see it was in May of 2019. That’s just how it is sometime. The Nature Center is open the 3rd Sunday each month, 11am to 4pm, from April to October… except that time on the third Sunday of September of 2016 at noon for some reason. (And, if I recall correctly, another time as well.)

However, that’s how these small, volunteer-run places are – and I completely understand. When we did visit, there was one elderly gentleman there. If he’s the only person available, and he is under the weather, well, then see you next month. I view these types of museums with their extremely limited hours as the pinnacle of CTMQ. I get a thrill when I visit them now.

So yes, I was thrilled to get inside the small ground floor nature center here at Riverbound Farm along the Quinnipiac River. The house is old, built in 1814, and I think it belonged to the Reverend Ralph Mortensen and his wife Esther, who ultimately bequeathed it to the Audubon Society.

And it being associated with the Audubon Society, you shouldn’t be surprised to find that 95% of this nature center is centered on birds.

And bird eggs.

In fact, there’s an amazing collection of birds’ eggs here. Which is interesting for a few reasons. One, today it is illegal to collect birds, their nests, eggs, or feathers. The Quinnipiac Valley Audubon Society has been issued a special permit from the US Fish and Wildlife Service to possess and exhibit these eggs and other stuff.

Two, these eggs are old as all get out. They date back to the 1870’s-1880’s, and came complete with a key to which birds they belong to. They were collected in Canton by a Higley family and then donated to the Society in 2003. They were clearly carefully protected.

And I love the handwritten “key”:

“Ground bird. Lazy bird. Grass bird. Fire bird. Turtle.”

Look, I’m not making fun of a person who’s been dead for over a century who has better handwriting than anyone I know, but what in the world was a “fire bird” to her? I’d love to know.

This nature center is perhaps the homiest nature center in the state. It’s literally housed in a few rooms of a big old house that was lived in until relatively recently. (Relative to a more typical historic house museum that is.) It’s like if that eccentric neighbor down the street was really into woodland animals of Connecticut and he let you into his living room.)

There are cute and interesting exhibits for kids of course, and even dad jokes here and there:

Good one.

There are several education displays in the form of questions and answers. I really like that approach and it certainly not only engages kids, but keeps them engaged.

There are skulls too. Skulls are cool. And these skulls are extra cool because Riverbound shows the same bones across different species and how they’ve evolved slightly differently. Now that should definitely spark good family discussion.

And that’s about it. There are a bunch of stuffed birds and other animals, and the docent was more than happy to speak with us. (Unfortunately Damian doesn’t speak to random people, but points for that guy trying.) We were given a coloring book and a rather intense Rachel Carson Word Search to take with us.

Enjoy some more pictures!

Riverbound Farm Sanctuary
CTMQ’s Mortensen Sanctuary hike
CTMQ’s Museum Visits