Wildlife
Great Captain Island is one of the state's 26 "important bird areas" that provide an essential habitat for one or more bird species, according to the Connecticut Audubon Society. (Two others in Greenwich are Greenwich Point and Audubon Greenwich's back-country grounds.)
Great blue herons, have been on the island since the 1990s.
Great egrets, snowy egrets, and black-crowned night herons also live on the island, nesting in the highest branches of black locust and cherry trees on the southeast corner of the island, above a tidal marsh accessible by a dirt road. The nesting period runs from March through August.
The island was once known as the state's largest heron and egret rookery, but in the early 2000s their populations shrunk dramatically, with summer counts down from a total of 364 in 1998 to 98 in 2004. People who make a lot of noise near the nesting birds can upset them, according to Mike Nickerson, the island caretaker. Some, including Patrick Comins, director of bird conservation for Audubon Connecticut, think the bird populations have been hurt by human disturbances and possibly also by competition from cormorants and the great horned owl that lives on the island and has fed on the birds. Comins also said that overall pollution in Long Island Sound waters might also have an effect.
Wading bird populations on the island
| 1998 | 2001 | 2004 | |
| Great egret | 46 | 98 | 24 |
| Snowy egret | 139 | 40 | 33 |
| Black-crowned night heron |
179 | 150 | 41 |
| Total | 364 | 298 | 98 |
Some conservationists have expressed concern that the birds, which nest close to the lighthouse, may abandon the colony if they are disturbed by noise or interference from visitors after the lighthouse's planned renovation in 2007.
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