Great Captain Island
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Great Captain Island also known (less familiarly) as "Great Captains Island," is an island off the coast of Greenwich, Connecticut and is the location of the Nineteenth-century Great Captain Island Lighthouse.
The 17-acre island, a bit over a mile south of the Byram shore, is the southernmost point in the state of Connecticut and New England, lying south of 41ยบ.
The isle is the largest of a three-island group which also includes Little Captain (more commonly known today as Island Beach) and Wee Captain, attached to Great Captain by a sandbar. The islands are named after Captain Daniel Patrick, one of the first settlers of Greenwich.[1]
Egrets, herons, osprey, and many other bird species can be seen on the island. Trails have been laid out for visitors, and the western part of the island has picnic tables, grills, restrooms, and posted swimming areas. The Island is open year round, with a ferry running during the summer, but only for Greenwich residents and their guests. No public tours of the lighthouse or island are available.[1]
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[edit] History
Both the state of New York and Connecticut claimed the island in the Nineteenth century, but after 50 years, a commission resolved the dispute in favor of the Nutmeg state. In 1829, the federal government authorized money for a lighthouse on the island and bought 3.5 acres on Great Captain for the purpose.[1]
In 1966, the town government bought all the land on the island except for the lighthouse grounds for $90,000, and in 1973, the federal government turned over that tract as well.[1]
[edit] The owl
For the past three years (to 2006), a great horned owl has nested in the thick forest of cherry, maple and poplar trees on the eastern side of the island, feeding off of the many birds there (endangered only individually by the predator, not as a species). Great blue herons, which have only been on the island for the past decade or so, and egrets have become meals for the owl.[2]
[edit] Trivia
- The island's exact location: Latitude: 40.9825; Longitude: -73.6235
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b c d [1]"Great Captain Island, CT" page at LighthouseFriends.com Web site, accessed August 21, 2006
- ^ "Stealthy hunter targets Great Captains Island birds," article by Michael Dinan in The Greenwich Time, August 20, 2006
[edit] External links
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