Southport Beach

Pequot Avenue, Fairfield, Fairfield County, Connecticut

Directions:

From the East: Take I-95 South. Take exit 19 to US-1/ Southport and continue 0.24 miles. Stay straight to go onto Pease Avenue and continue 0.17 miles. Pease Avenue becomes Jelliff Lane/ Crystal Brands Road and continue 0.14 miles. Turn left onto Center Street and continue 0.29 miles. Turn right onto Pequot Avenue and Southport Beach is after 1367 Pequot Avenue.

From the West: Take I-95 North. Take the Center Street exit 19 to Southport and continue 0.17 miles. Turn right onto Center Street and continue 0.22 miles. Turn right onto Pequot Avenue and Southport Beach is after 1367 Pequot Avenue.

Trails:

11/19/2005.  On a slightly cold day, Rosemary Cooney, Sarah-David Rosenbaum, dog Sonar and I parked at the Southport Parking area.  There are no trails here since the land area is small and in a residential area. But there are bits and pieces of land that combined add up to at least a short walk.  Because in addition to the beach area there is an open space area across Pequot Avenue along a short stretch of Saco Creek.  We went up on side of Pequot on the beach side and then crossing over to the other side to examine the Sasco Creek area.  There are also some roadside species along Pequot Avenue on the Sasco Creek side.  Dr. Patrick L. Cooney.

PLANT LIST:
Dr. Patrick L. Cooney and Sarah-David Rosenbaum

*  =  plants blooming on field trip, 11/19/2005

Trees:
Acer sp. (maple)
Ailanthus altissima (tree-of-heaven)
Picea abies (Norway spruce)
Picea pungens var. glauca (blue spruce)
Prunus serotina (black cherry)
Pyrus calleryana (callery pear)
Pyrus sp. (crab apple)
Robinia pseudoacacia (black locust)
Salix sp. (willow)
Tilia americana (American basswood)

Shrubs:
Berberis thunbergii (Japanese barberry)
Euonymus alatus (winged euonymus)
Iva frutescens (marsh elder)
Ligustrum sp. (privet)
Lonicera morrowii (Morrow's honeysuckle)
Rhus glabra (smooth sumac)
Rhus typhina (staghorn sumac)
Rosa multiflora (multiflora rose)
Rosa rugosa (wrinkled rose)
Rubus phoenicolasius (wineberry)

Vines:
Ampelopsis brevipedunculata (porcelainberry)
Celastrus orbiculatus (Asiatic bittersweet)
Clematis terniflora (sweet autumn clematis)
Lonicera japonica (Japanese honeysuckle)
Polygonum scandens (false climbing hempweed)
Toxicodendron radicans (poison ivy)

Herbs:
Achillea millefolium (common yarrow)
Alliaria petiolata (garlic mustard)
Allium vineale (field garlic) 
Artemisia vulgaris (common mugwort)
Asparagus officinalis (asparagus)
Atriplex patula (orach)
Conyza canadensis (horseweed)
Daucus carota (Queen Anne's lace)    
Erigeron sp. (fleabane)     *
Gnaphalium obtusifolium (sweet everlasting)
Lepidium virginicum (poor man's pepper)
Limonium carolinianum (sea lavender)  
Linaria vulgaris (butter and eggs) 
Medicago lupulina (black medick)     *
Oenothera biennis (common evening primrose)     *   
Oxalis sp. (yellow wood sorrel)
Polygonum lapathifolium (nodding smartweed)
Raphanus raphanistrum (wild radish)     * waning
Rumex crispus (curled dock)
Saponaria officinalis (bouncing bet)   
Senecio vulgaris (common groundsel)
Silene latifolia (white campion)     *
Solanum dulcamara (bittersweet nightshade)   
Solidago sempervirens (salt marsh goldenrod)     *
Solidago spp. (goldenrod)
Taraxacum sp. (dandelion)      *
Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)
Xanthium strumarium (clotbur)

Grasses:
Ammophila breviligulata (beach grass)
Digitaria sp. (crab grass)
Panicum dichotomiflorum (fall panic grass)
Panicum virgatum (switch grass)
Phragmites australis (giant reedgrass)
Schizachyrium scoparium (little blue stem grass)
Setaria faberi (nodding foxtail grass)
Setaria glauca (yellow foxtail grass)
Spartina alterniflora (salt marsh cordgrass)
Spartina patens (salt hay cordgrass)
Spartina pectinata (cordgrass)

Back to the w. Connecticut Page
Back to the Main Page