Since the pond is only a few miles from Great South Bay, many bay ducks, such as canvasback, redhead, greater and lesser scaup, and bufflehead are common. A small fishing dock marked with a number 8 leads a few yards into the Connetquot River itself. A layer of glacial pebbles covered with dark silt makes up the shallow bottom. The Connetquot begins as a spring-fed seep several miles to the north. As the water is a cold 52 degrees when it emerges from the underground aquifer, it is particularly well suited for trout.
Brook trout are native, but browns and rainbows have been introduced.
Continue on the red trail, past a small building on the left, to the yellow trail. Go left toward the river and the trout-hatchery complex. Continue to the right along a small pond as the yellow trail cuts left. Cross a wooden bridge, marked 20a, that separates an upper and a lower pond. If you are here in the fall, winter, or early spring, you may well see the great blue herons that winter at the far end of the upper pond.