Most visitors come to the Zoo to see exotic animals. Did you know about Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo’s Hidden Wildlife, including thousands of beautiful and fascinating animals from around the world? These animals live wild on our Zoo grounds or visit from the surrounding area. We may not always “see” them, but if we look for signs (burrows, tracks in snow…) and listen (bird songs), Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo’s Hidden Wildlife comes alive. Several factors combine to make our Zoo and surrounding Beardsley Park a unique haven for wildlife. We are…
Not only is Connecticut home to an incredible diversity of wildlife, we are also home to many introduced animals such as Mute Swans from Europe and Monk Parrots from Argentina.
- A few miles from Long Island Sound with access to the Atlantic Ocean.
- Positioned along the Atlantic flyway for dozens of species of waterfowl and migratory birds.
- On the banks of the Pequonnock River, bridging Connecticut’s coastal and upland habitat types.
- A green oasis in Connecticut’s largest city.
- A natural travel corridor for many animal species including endangered species and many birds of prey.
Not only is Connecticut home to an incredible diversity of wildlife, we are also home to many introduced animals such as Mute Swans from Europe and Monk Parrots from Argentina.
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Mammals
Eastern Chipmunk Eastern Cottontail Rabbit Gray Squirrel Large Brown Bat Little Brown Bat Meadow Vole North American River Otter Northern Short-Tailed Shrew Raccoon Star-Nosed Mole Striped Skunk Virginia Opossum White-Footed Mouse Woodchuck Reptiles/Amphibians
American Toad Black Rat Snake Bull Frog Gray Tree Frog Green Frog Northern Brown Snake Northern Garter Snake Northern Water Snake Pickerel Frog Spring peeper Birds
American Black Duck American Crow American Goldfinch American Kestrel American Robin Black Capped Chickadee Bald Eagle Barn Swallow Belted Kingfisher Blue Jay Blue Winged Teal Broad Winged Hawk Brown Thrasher Canada Goose Chimney Swift Chipping Sparrow Common Grackle Common Nighthawk Cooper’s Hawk Double Crested Cormorant Downy Woodpecker Eastern Kingbird Eastern Phoebe European Starling Fish Crow Golden Crowned Kinglet Gray Catbird Great Black Backed Gull Great Blue Heron Great Horned Owl Green Winged Teal Hairy Woodpecker Herring Gull Hooded Merganser House Finch |
Birds (continued)
House Sparrow House Wren Killdeer Laughing Gull Least Sandpiper Lesser Black Backed Gull Little Green Heron Mallard Merlin Monk Parrot Mourning Dove Mute Swan Northern Cardinal Northern Harrier Northern Mockingbird Northern (Baltimore) Oriole Northern Shoveler Osprey Peregrine Falcon Pileated Woodpecker Purple Finch Red Bellied Woodpecker Red Shouldered Hawk Red Tailed Hawk Ring Billed Gull Ring Necked Pheasant Red Winged Blackbird Rock Dove Rose Breasted Grosbeak Ruby Throated Hummingbird Rufous Sided Towhee Scarlet Tanager Screech Owl Sharp Shinned Hawk Slate Colored Junco Tree Swallow Tufted Titmouse Turkey Vulture White Breasted Nuthatch Wild Turkey Wood Duck Woodcock Yellow Rumped Warbler Yellow Shafted Flicker Yellowthroat Warbler This list of eye-catching creatures is only a small sampling of the thousands of smaller species present on Zoo grounds.
Insects/Spiders/Invertebrates
Angular Winged Katydid Barn Spider Dog Day Harvest fly (Cicada) Giant Root Borer (beetle) Oak Timberworm Beetle Patent Leather Beetle Praying Mantis Pseudoscorpion Reddish Brown Stag Beetle Wolf Spider |
Butterflies and Moths
American Painted Lady Common Sulfur Eastern Black Swallowtail European Cabbage Butterfly Giant Swallowtail Great Spangled Fritillary Harvester Monarch Morning Cloak Northern Metalmark Painted Lady Gypsy Moth Sweetheart Underwing Question Mark Silver Spotted Skipper Spring Azure Tiger Swallowtail White Admiral Bunnell’s Pond and greater Beardsley Park are home to a greater variety of wildlife including…
American Bittern
American Coot American Widgeon Barred Owl Black Crowned Night Heron Cattle Egret Common Golden-eye Common Merganser Coyote Eastern Bluebird Gadwall Gray Fox Great Egret Green Winged Teal Least Sandpiper Least Tern Musk Turtle Painted Turtle Pied Billed Grebe Purple Gallinule Red Eared Slider Red Fox Royal Tern Ruddy Duck Scaup Snapping Turtle Snow Goose Snowy Egret |
This is a growing list* of resident wildlife here at the Zoo and the skies above. Let’s expand our list together!
In keeping with a Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo tradition of exchanging and sharing knowledge with our guests, we welcome your feedback. We encourage you to bring field guides and binoculars and…
–Look and Listen–Explore–Share– let us know if you discover an animal not listed. Contact the Zoo’s Education Department at (203) 394-6563. Your find might be a Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo first!
In keeping with a Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo tradition of exchanging and sharing knowledge with our guests, we welcome your feedback. We encourage you to bring field guides and binoculars and…
–Look and Listen–Explore–Share– let us know if you discover an animal not listed. Contact the Zoo’s Education Department at (203) 394-6563. Your find might be a Connecticut’s Beardsley Zoo first!
