York Land Trust and White Pine Programs host monthly bird walks

YORK — The York Land Trust and White Pine Programs recently held their monthly bird walk series at the Land Trust’s 300-acre Smelt Brook Preserve.

Over 15 adults and children gathered to explore the terrain and look for birds. On this chilly spring morning, the group spotted a Bald Eagle, red-tailed hawks, red-winged blackbirds, Northern Cardinals, Eastern Bluebirds, Song Sparrows, American Robins, and American Black Ducks.

The group met at Highland Farm Preserve, where they were greeted and led on the walk by Debbie Ethridge, of the York Land Trust board of directors, and Amy Martinez Beal, a founding board member of White Pine Programs, who holds a Level III certificate in wildlife track and sign. Bird enthusiasts came from various towns to participate in the walk, including York, Portsmouth, Kennebunk, and Dover.

The group received an impromptu educational lesson on deer at the start of the walk, when co-host Martinez Beal came upon a deer skull with intact antlers in the field, to the surprise of everyone. The group then continued on the walk along the Riverview Trail to the salt marshes and York River, where they spotted an immature eagle flying overhead. Many in the group recorded their bird sightings, and most had binoculars to get a better look at the bird species.

All York Land Trust programs are free to participate in, and the bird walk series is designed for birders of all ages and experience levels. The program was launched during the pandemic in October 2020, and in its first year, more than 100 bird species were spotted, including a variety of woodpeckers, warblers, thrushes, egrets, and owls. The bird walk series has surged in popularity, now going on its fourth year. To support the program, the York Land Trust partnered with the York Public Library so that people may check out a birding backpack complete with bird books, educational materials and binoculars.

For more info on monthly Bird Walk Wednesdays, visit the YLT’s Events Calendar at https://www.yorklandtrust.org/events/.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: York Land Trust and White Pine Programs host monthly bird walks