After a day of Mud, hot dogs, and shotguns on Saturday, I was looking to get a little exercise by taking a walk in quiet area . Of course, I'm always interested in seeing what birds may be around too.
I chose a little known area owned by The Nature Conservancy called Spiderweed Preserve.
This preserve is located in a rural section of Middletown Connecticut called Maromas. The word “Maromas” may have come from the old English Word “marmoric” pertaining to marble. There seems to be a lot of Granite and Marble throughout much of the area..
After walking about a mile up the trail, I came upon an abandoned house (above photo) in the middle of the woods. I wonder how old it is? Who used to live there? Why is it still there?-I'll have to contact the Nature Conservancy to find out more about it.
I wandered further in to the woods past some massive rock formations. The sound of traffic was replaced by the soothing gurgling sound of the numerous tiny brooks throughout the area. The air was damp, cool, and refreshing. The entire area was sheltered from any kind of wind. Except for the lack of sun, it was a nearly perfect spring morning.
There were more birds that could be seen than heard. This included the calls of PILEATED WOODPECKER and RED-SHOULDERED HAWK. I did get a view of some of the more common woodland birds of this area. Encountering the first EASTERN PHOEBE I had seen since last December was a welcome sight.
Along the way I passed by some old stone walls, remnants of farms from many years ago. I walked for two hours before encountering another hiker who was carrying a walking stick. She was kind enough to put me on the right track back to where I started and gave a synopsis of the trails in the area.
By the time I returned to my truck, I felt healthier in more than one way. It's not just about the birding. It's also about the places that birds can lead you to.
4 comments:
Looks like a wonderful area for a hike, including some higher ground to keep the feet out of mud.
Ruth
Exactly-I had enough of the mud.
Did you ever find out any information about the house? My maiden name is Dripps. I remember visiting the house when I was in elementary school with my dad. He last visited the property when he was a child. He could not tell us any information as to who lived there and if the Dripps' family were the original owners.
Interesting! I contacted the Nature Conservancy, but did not hear back from them.-I will make an attempt to contact them again.
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