It was a clear, balmy morning with eight birders walking at the Mendell’s Folly, Bethany Land Trust. This property includes a variety of habitats: rocky ridge with a mix of deciduous and evergreen trees, wetland and adjacent wet forest, riparian corridor along the Hockanum Brook, upland forest, and a large grassy meadow pasture.
The Mountain Laurel was in bloom on the ridge, and White Water Lilies dotted the open water of the wetland. 45 species were seen and/or heard, including Baltimore Oriole, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellow-throat, Brown Thrasher, Black-and-white Warbler, Eastern Bluebird, Worm-eating Warbler, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Tree, Rough-Winged and, Barn Swallows over the wetland, Green Heron, and Great Blue Heron. We were happy to see signs of successful breeding: an Ovenbird carrying food, and an adult Veery protectively hovering near a short-tailed fledgling low in a shrubby edge. A final plus in the successful breeding department was an active Baltimore Oriole nest with nestlings in it.
This outing was an invitation to begin to introduce the NHBC to the trails of some beautiful Bethany Land Trust Properties.
Here’s a list of BLT parcels (including Mendell’s) you might like to bird. Check them out/share what you see on e-Bird. Each one represents one of the Notable Bethany Land Trust Preserves with Hiking Trails. Trail maps are available on the Bethany Land Trust’s website: https://bethanylandtrust.org/
1. Hein Trails (Bethany Land Trust)
2. Whispering Pines Preserve (Bethany Land Trust)
3. Bethany Farms Trails (Bethany Land Trust)
4. Mendell’s Folly-Grobe-Woodward Nature Preserves (Bethany Land Trust)
5. Van Epps Preserve (Bethany Land Trust)
6. Ida Carrington Lowell Property (Bethany Land Trust)
–Christin Arnini and John Triana