Train Tracks Are A Connection To The Past

 There's something mysteriously appealing to me about old train tracks. Many of them are no longer used by trains and have been converted into rail trails used for recreational use. Whenever I take a walk along them I imagine them as being a secret link from the past to the present.

 In Connecticut many of the old tracks are located along the Connecticut River. This is the castle which was owned by the actor William Gillette who played Sherlock Holmes on stage many years ago. He also had a his own train with tracks that ran around his property high up along the banks of the Connecticut River. It was a nice way of entertaining his guests.

 I was recently birding at Haddam Meadows and took advantage of a free ride in a pick-up trucks that was adapted to fit the old tracks which run along side the park.

I go birding several times a year on old train tracks or ones that have been turned into rail trails. I love the way they cut a straight line right through the landscape.  They may necessarily be birding hotspots but they give you a good vantage point from which to appreciate the habitat and birds in the area.