Apologies—we have to cancel this Saturday’s bird walk. Please take a early morning walk in the beautiful fields, woods, and wetlands of C.C. Browne Woods at your convenience. If you sit quietly, as we practiced at the Bird Language workshop earlier in the month, you will see different bird activity in each of these habitats. Scroll down THIS PAGE to see a map of the trails at C.C. Browne.
If your bedroom windows are open on these spring mornings, you can sense that the season is changing before you even open your eyes. The air is full of song. The birds are back.
On Saturday, May 20, at 7:30AM, join the Chocorua Lake Conservancy for a fresh start to your day with an early morning bird walk with CLC Stewardship Director Debra Marnich. With spring comes the return of thousands of migratory birds, readying for nesting season in the fields and forests around the Chocorua Lake Basin.
Deb will share her enthusiasm for birds and birding while picking out the field marks and songs of our feathered friends. We’ll take a walk through the fields and forests of the C.C. Browne Woods, looking and listening for recent avian arrivals. The blueberry fields, forest uplands, and recent shrub plantings on the site create a variety of habitats attracting birds to the area. We’ll find our way to the Chocorua River and look for any birds that may be taking advantage of the unique wetlands along the stream.
The CLC was provided with funding from Natural Resource Conservation Service to write a forest management plan, place nest boxes for bluebirds on this site, in addition to planting fruiting shrubs for wildlife. Come to see and hear birds, and to learn how the CLC is working to enhance early succesional wildlife habitat on some of our properties.
Bring your own binoculars, comfortable footwear that may get wet from dew, dress for the weather, and water and a snack, if you like. No experience necessary. As with most fields and woods this time of year, be prepared for ticks and other biting insects. Meet at the C.C. Browne Woods on Washington Hill Road in Chocorua. This program is free; donations always welcome. Space is limited and we want to be able to let you know if plans change: please register in advance below.
CLC Stewardship Director Debra Marnich holds a BS in Zoology and an MS in Forestry. Her major interests and professional focus areas include combining wildlife and forestry practices to manage for both sound silvicultural and optimum wildlife habitat, creating early successional and bird nesting habitat, pollinator habitat creation, promoting small diverse farms local food production/agriculture, promoting land conservation and protection, environmental education, and integrating all resources concerns to create a balanced conservation system.
Banner image: Bluebird. Photo: Debra Marnich