Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge

Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge For official information about the refuge, go to www.fws.gov/refuge/stewart_b_mckinney/ Welcome to the Stewart B. Mckinney National Wildlife Refuge page!

Created in 1971 as Connecticut's first National Wildlife Refuge, we have grown over the years to encompass Federal conservation lands along 70 miles of the state's coastline. For more information about the refuge, go to http://www.fws.gov/refuge/stewart_b_mckinney/

For more about the US Fish and Wildlife Service, go to www.fws.gov

PLANT OF THE WEEKHere's a shout out to WHITE NORTHERN BOG-ORCHID - my plant of the week!This orchid - Platanthera dilata...
08/28/2026

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Here's a shout out to WHITE NORTHERN BOG-ORCHID - my plant of the week!

This orchid - Platanthera dilatata - likes alpine areas which I found fascinating. Sadly, you likely won't see it in Connecticut, though it was once here. It is believe to have been extirpated from the state 🥺

The white northern bog-orchid's native range covers most of New England (not in Rhode Island), a lot of the Great Lakes and northern U.S. states, and into many of the western states from Montana to New Mexico.

This orchid flowers in July and August - so if you are adventuring north, you may find it on your strolls in the mountains. It likes wet places so you'd need to find a wet meadow. It also grows in bogs and fens...but these habitats are super fragile, so please don't venture out and disturb these areas.

The flowers are pollinated by owlet moths. This tall orchid is sometimes called "bog candle" due to its height and shape.

- Kris Vagos, Refuge Wildlife Biologist

PLANTS OF THE WEEKThis week, I am featuring native grasses that I love 💚If you want to landscape with grasses, please ch...
08/21/2026

PLANTS OF THE WEEK

This week, I am featuring native grasses that I love 💚

If you want to landscape with grasses, please choose one of these amazing native species. Plant names attached to the photos.

- Kris Vagos, Refuge Wildlife Biologist

Where are Abby and Patience today? They are in the New Haven Urban Wildlife Refuge partnership area, preparing a site fo...
08/20/2026

Where are Abby and Patience today? They are in the New Haven Urban Wildlife Refuge partnership area, preparing a site for a fishing event. Can you name the location in New Haven that they are at?

PLANT OF THE WEEKHere's a shout out to PASTURE THISTLE - my plant of the week!I love the color of this wildflower; it is...
08/14/2026

PLANT OF THE WEEK

Here's a shout out to PASTURE THISTLE - my plant of the week!

I love the color of this wildflower; it is so vibrant and sings with electricity âš¡I also like how spiky these plants are - a challenge to any gardener who deems them weeds. Hopefully, I can change your mind about our native thistles, and you may leave them to sow seeds in the future.

Pasture thistle - or Cirsium pumilum - is one of four native thistles in Connecticut. There are three non-native thistles, and you would be correct in saying that these non-native thistles are hard to control and are aggressive. However, these invasive non-native thistles give all thistles a bad name - when in reality - our native thistles are wonderful pollinator plants and provide wildlife with food and homes.

This gorgeous biennial thistle is found in meadows and fields, as well as in disturbed habitat. Pasture thistle is native to all of New England with a range extending west to Ohio and south to South Carolina. The flowers are hot pink to purple but can also be white, reddish, or blue-purple. They bloom from June until August.

This wildflower is an excellent pollinator plant and provides high-value nectar to bees and butterflies. It is also a host plant of the painted lady butterfly. The seeds are rich in oil content and are eaten by songbirds, and the tufts on the seeds can be used as nesting material. If that wasn't enough, native bees can nest in the dead stems of this plant which provides them with much needed shelter for their young over the winter.

Give our native thistles a chance...maybe they'll win your heart. 🩷

- Kris Vagos, Refuge Wildlife Biologist

PLANTS OF THE WEEKCan you believe how many beautiful native plants are thriving in the pollinator gardens on Outer Islan...
08/07/2026

PLANTS OF THE WEEK

Can you believe how many beautiful native plants are thriving in the pollinator gardens on Outer Island?

Over the past several years, we’ve been working to enhance these gardens, transforming an area once covered in pine needles and cones into a vibrant space full of beneficial native pollinator plants. Our iNaturalist records show visits from monarchs, hairstreaks, painted ladies, Appalachian browns, native bumblebees and wasps, beetles, and moths—proof of just how important this habitat has become.

Take a look at these incredible species! Plant names are included with each photo.

- Kris Vagos, Refuge Wildlife Biologist

Here are Aidan's photos of the mink from Outer Island (7/25).
08/06/2026

Here are Aidan's photos of the mink from Outer Island (7/25).

Where on the refuge is Abby? We join Abby with her colleagues (Patience, Kenya, and Anthony) at the sides of the Long Is...
08/06/2026

Where on the refuge is Abby? We join Abby with her colleagues (Patience, Kenya, and Anthony) at the sides of the Long Island Sound. Fun fact: the center of Long Island sound avg depth is 65ft. However, right off the coastline of this refuge island unit is one of the deepest parts of central Long Island sound. Where on the refuge is Abby?

Refuge volunteers and interns from the Connecticut University system stained the pavilion on the Outer Island Unit of th...
08/06/2026

Refuge volunteers and interns from the Connecticut University system stained the pavilion on the Outer Island Unit of the refuge. Not only does the stain enhance the appearance of the pavilion, but it also protects the wood from the elements.

Address

733 Old Clinton Road
Westbrook, CT
06498

Telephone

(860) 399-2513

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