A Little Piece Of "God's Country" In Connecticut

Over the years I've been on numerous fishing trips in the most remote regions of northern Maine and New Hampshire. During each trip there is a point where buildings, people, and stores seem to disappear. We find ourselves suddenly surrounded by mountains, woods, huge green fields filled with wildflowers, lakes, and clear flowing rivers. The air is noticeably cooler and cleaner. The feeling I get when entering these areas can be so overwhelming that it's difficult to put into words. My father has always referred to these areas as "God's Country". I never had to ask for an explanation of this term. When you are there, you just know it. No explanation is needed.

There are many scenic areas in the state of Connecticut. None of them can compete with the Great North Woods, but once in a while I feel as though I've found a little piece of "God's Country". That is what I was hoping to find this weekend. I hiked through wooded trails in several areas. The above photo is of a little stream called Bible Rock Brook located in Haddam. It runs along Route 81. As I was sitting on a rock in the middle of the brook , I saw several trout darting through the water.

click play to watch and listen

This video was taken in a portion of the brook called Seven Falls. There are many miles of hiking trails surrounding it. Although it is close to the road, all you can hear is the soothing sound of rushing water when you're near it.

On Fridays there is a column in the Hartford Courant that I like to read called "Nature's Path" by Peter Marteka. He recently wrote about a preserve called "The King Property" which borders Lake Beseck in Middlefield. I decided this would be a nice place to go for a hike.
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I'm not that familiar with the area surrounding Lake Beseck. I do remember there used to be a tavern near the lake called "Bucket Of Blood". If that name isn't asking for trouble, I don't know what is. The preserve is located on the south end of Mattabeseck Road next to the lake. As it turns out, I parked on the wrong end of the road. Instead of hiking on The King Property, I ended up hiking on the Blue Trail . I didn't have any complaints about that though. The views of Black Pond and the surrounding traprock ridge were stunning!

I was so impressed with the scenery, I almost forgot about the birds this weekend-but not quite. I decided not to take any bird photos unless they posed right in front of me. After all, there will soon be droves of migrant warblers and other birds heading our way. I might as well take a little breather from birding now while I still have the chance.

That's not to say that I didn't enjoy the birds that I did see. Looking down at Black Pond I had distant views of eight Great Blue Herons on the opposite shore, as well as three Double-crested Cormorants. I enjoyed watching several Golden-crowned Kinglets as they moved from tree to tree searching for food. I watched as three Hermit Thrushes followed each other through the woods. I got the impression that one of them would soon be packing his bags. I spooked a couple of Wood Ducks from a swampy puddle that I passed along the entrance trail. I enjoyed seeing a Hairy Woodpecker doing what they do best-pecking wood. There were many other birds to see as well, but my favorite bird sightings of this weekend took place in Durham and Portland.

This bird is a Yellowlegs. Unless I see them side by side it is difficult for me to tell whether it is a lesser or greater. This one seems to have a very long bill which might be slightly upturned. It was also very active in chasing down food at the fairgrounds. Because of those two clues, I'm going to call this one a Greater Yellowlegs. Lesser Yellowlegs have a smaller bill and are a little bit more laid back with their feeding habits.

I stopped by the Brookfield Game Club Pond on Route 68 in Durham and was pleased to find two male Northern Shovelers. I saw my first two ever Northern Shovelers just about a week ago. It goes along with my theory that once you see a species the first time, they're a lot easier to find again. There was plenty of other ducks in the pond, including Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Ducks, Bufflehead and what was probably a Common Goldeneye but the little bugger kept hiding around the corner.

click to play

Also on Route 68 is a skating pond. This is where I saw my first Great Egret of the year. Traffic didn't seem to bother it as it searched for food along the edge. I took several pictures of it but I'm afraid you would have a case of snow blindness if you saw them. The video seemed to work out a little bit better. Listen for the Belted Kingfisher in the background.

What does the term "God's Country" mean to you?