Yesterday Sam McGullam and I co-led a walk for the Hampshire Bird Club. We went to Brightwater Bog, a fairly new preserve owned by the Kestrel Trust; before Kestrel acquired the land it was known as Julian’s Bower, named for the owner whose outdoor sculptures are still featured along one section of trail, and whose poetry is posted on a few trailside trees. The bog and preserve surround Ames Pond in Shutesbury. We tallied 46 bird species, plus several butterflies and dragonflies, a couple of orchids, some carnivorous plants, and various other critters.
Bird highlights: A pair of Broad-winged Hawks soaring low over the forest canopy, one of them calling A pair of Red-shouldered Hawk, one of which was carrying a snake Some Common Ravens making a racket Alder Flycatcher cooperatively calling from atop a snag in the bog 9 warbler species singing, and one of the Ovenbirds popping up by the trail while carrying food
