Spring Bird Walk #4 – JONATHAN WOODS & RICHIE POND PRESERVE

For this late-May bird walk we’ll explore two of the nature center’s satellite properties. A mature hardwood forest, Jonathan Woods is a 145-acre preserve that includes a large, leatherleaf bog and a cold water brook with a hemlock stand. Greatly affected by past glacial activity, the terrain here is rolling and hilly. Previous bird walks here have turned up Red-headed and Pileated woodpeckers, Great Crested Flycatcher, Scarlet Tanager, and Northern Waterthrush, among many other birds. Before returning to the nature center we’ll make a stop at Richie Pond Preserve, a grassland area that includes a small marshy area along Richie Pond. Here we hope to find birds of the open grassland, including Bobolink and Eastern Meadowlark, along with nesting Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows. Bring your binoculars and field guide, and be sure to wear footwear appropriate for spring conditions. This is a carpooling trip; plan for a 7:00 AM departure from the Seven Ponds parking lot.