Sharon Audubon Center

Sharon Audubon Center Conservation Action Center that protects birds and their habitats through education programming, volunteer engagement, and youth development.
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Take a hike on our trails, visit our resident raptors, and/or learn about our wildlife rehabilitation clinic. Environmental Education, Wildlife Rehabilitation, Nature Center, and Wildlife Preserve—Sharon Audubon Center consists of 1,147 acres of primarily forest land. It includes 11 miles of trails and two ponds. The main building houses a small hands-on natural history museum, the Audubon Nature

Store, and the children's Adventure Center. The immediate grounds include a raptor aviary with live birds of prey, gardens maintained with the help of Millbrook Garden Club, a butterfly house, and working sugarhouse (formerly an ice house.) We also serve as as the hub for Audubon’s Forests conservation work in Connecticut. The majority of our programs and events are held at our center, which is also the location of our Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic. Our staff and volunteers are on duty to help people who find injured and orphaned wildlife and to answer questions and interface with the public.

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As the steward of the Emily Winthrop Miles Wildlife Audubon Sanctuary, Sharon Audubon Center manages 1,500 acres of habitat amidst 5,000 acres of protected open space. In addition to forest land, the Miles sanctuary features 2 miles of the Carse Brook Wetlands that supports a wide variety of flora and fauna, some on the endangered species list. Though none of the buildings are currently open to the public, the sanctuary itself is open for visitation and the trail around Miles Pond boasts some of the best wildlife viewing in the region. The Emily Winthrop Miles Wildlife Audubon Sanctuary is the training and research part of Sharon Audubon Center's operation. With a small residential facility, Miles is able to house interns and scientists who use the sanctuary for fieldwork and environmental study.

Great news! Chicks are beginning to hatch inside the Indian Mountain School's American Kestrel nestbox! We're thrilled t...
05/30/2026

Great news! Chicks are beginning to hatch inside the Indian Mountain School's American Kestrel nestbox! We're thrilled the school's fifth grade science class will be able to see photos of them before going on summer break.



American Kestrel nestlings. Photo: Sarah Hyland/Indian Mountain School

Thank you to all of our friends and supporters who joined us for this year's Raptors and Riesling event! Whether you spo...
05/28/2026

Thank you to all of our friends and supporters who joined us for this year's Raptors and Riesling event! Whether you sponsored the event and/or attended in person, we're so grateful for your support of our work protecting birds and the places they need.

While we didn't release any rehabilitated birds this year due to poor weather conditions, we did receive an official announcement from our Center Director, Eileen Fielding, that she will be retiring at the end of June. More to come on that as the date gets closer!

Special thanks are due to our volunteers who passed hors d'ouevres, parked vehicles, and beautified our avian enclosures prior to the event. And, of course, to Eileen and our wonderful Board of Directors who organize this fantastic event every year!

Raptors and Riesling, 2026. Photos: Bethany Sheffer and Cynthia Walsh/Sharon Audubon Center

05/26/2026

Growing up can bring some awkward learning curves for all of us.

This nestling Black-capped Chickadee is learning the transition to live food, and let's just say it's going to take some practice!

This little bird was found on the ground after a rainstorm earlier this month. Due to the inconspicuous nature of their small cavity nests, this little one was unable to be reunited with its parents.

Thanks to the finder's compassion, this young chickadee is continuing to grow and develop into a bird who will be returned to the wild. Today, you'd never know he was initially found in critical condition, cold, wet, and lethargic! Just look at that face.

If you find wildlife in distress, do not hesitate to reach out to your local wildlife rehabilitators!

Last Wednesday, Sharon Audubon Center hosted a group of 37 students from Torrington High School Science Club as part of ...
05/26/2026

Last Wednesday, Sharon Audubon Center hosted a group of 37 students from Torrington High School Science Club as part of our continuing partnership with the school. The students helped with several projects around the grounds, including setting up tents for our Raptors & Riesling event, draining the evaporator and closing up the Sugarhouse for the year, and spreading a fresh layer of wood chips on Maple Trail.

After the work was complete, students were introduced to the resident education birds and had the opportunity to hold our hissing cockroaches, snakes, and box turtles inside the center building before heading back to school. We truly appreciate their hard work each spring. Thank you, THS!

Interested in seeing wild birds up close AND being a critical part of their care? If so, we'd love to speak with you abo...
05/23/2026

Interested in seeing wild birds up close AND being a critical part of their care? If so, we'd love to speak with you about volunteering in our wildlife rehabilitation clinic this summer! While we're looking to cover a variety of shifts, we're especially interested in folks who have evenings available from 4-8pm Sunday - Saturday.

If this is calling to you, please contact Senior Coordinator of Conservation and Volunteer Programs, Bethany Sheffer, at [email protected] with interest.

Photo: Mackenzie Hunter/SAC

05/22/2026

These four nestling Eastern Bluebirds were observed without any parental visits for several hours, extending after sunset. The kind homeowners on whose property the nest box resides sought help and contacted our wildlife rehabilitation clinic. The young birds were lethargic and dehydrated, but after several days of intensive care, they are bright, active, and always ready to eat! That f***l sac at the end of the video is exactly what we want to see; a fully encapsulated sac means the bird is healthy and properly digesting!

Between May and October every year, our clinic admits nearly 500 patients. These patients are predominantly young birds ranging in age from hatchling to fledgling. Nestlings, as seen in this video, are fed every 20 - 30 minutes for 14 hours a day!

Our clinic's work leans on the support of our compassionate community. From volunteers, food supply gift certificates, Amazon purchases, monetary donations, and more, we are always extremely grateful to those who care about these wild animals.

If you would like to help the patients in our clinic visit our Amazon Wish List: https://a.co/2Z0tvCY

If you would like to help our clinic feed nearly 1000 hungry mouths, please consider donating a gift receipt to Rainbow Mealworms using the recipient email [email protected].
https://www.rainbowmealworms.net/giftcertificates.php

Eastern Bluebird nestlings being fed by clinic staff. Video: Mackenzie Hunter/Sharon Audubon

The month of May continues to be full of activity! After a lovely women's birding and brunch program Saturday morning, w...
05/21/2026

The month of May continues to be full of activity! After a lovely women's birding and brunch program Saturday morning, we pivoted to tidying up our resident bird aviaries for our upcoming Raptors & Riesling event on Sunday (link below for tickets - do come!).

Many, many thanks to our outstanding volunteers who helped us paint fences and spruce up our birds' aviaries, especially to Vicki and Marguerite for organizing this event!

Raptors & Riesling Tickets: https://www.audubon.org/sharon/explore/raptors-and-riesling

Photos: Sharon Audubon Center

Hooray! We're thrilled to have discovered five eggs inside the American Kestrel box we worked with the Indian Mountain S...
05/15/2026

Hooray! We're thrilled to have discovered five eggs inside the American Kestrel box we worked with the Indian Mountain School to install on their campus this spring. Not only that, the school's fifth grade science class caught glimpses of mom and dad flying nearby, too!

Photos: Sharon Audubon Center, Sarah Hyland/Indian Mountain School

Please join us in thanking Kaylee, our Thursday exhibit animal care volunteer, for her outstanding work during the past ...
05/14/2026

Please join us in thanking Kaylee, our Thursday exhibit animal care volunteer, for her outstanding work during the past six months! Kaylee is a high school junior who has a heart for wildlife and the skills and foundational knowledge to pursue a career in the field. While we're sad her last day was today, we're hopeful she'll be back this summer!

Thank you for your kind heart, strong work ethic, and delightful presence, Kaylee! See you again soon!

Photos: Sharon Audubon Center

Address

325 Cornwall Bridge Road
Sharon, CT
06069

Opening Hours

Thursday 1pm - 4:30pm
Friday 1pm - 4:30pm
Saturday 1pm - 4:30pm
Sunday 1pm - 4:30pm

Telephone

+18603640520

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