Fall is a wonderful period of transition in New England. The air is crisp, the trees are showing their new colors, and many feathered friends will be stopping again here in the Valley to refuel on their annual migration to warmer climes.

Join us on Saturday, September 17 at 10 am as U.S. Forest Service wildlife biologist Dave King leads us on a 2-hour stroll at the Conte Refuge in Hadley to watch for both hawks and migrating songbirds. We will have an opportunity to view, at a distance, existing research infrastructure deployed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and collaborators for the monitoring of migrating birds.

The Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge was established in 1997 to conserve, protect, and enhance the abundance and diversity of native plant, fish, and wildlife species and the ecosystems on which they depend throughout the 7.2 million acre Connecticut River watershed. Currently, the refuge is comprised of nearly 40,000 acres within parts of the four watershed states of New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, and Connecticut. It provides exceptional wildlife habitat for many species as well as an important avian migration route.

The Fort River Division in Hadley is comprised of 260 acres of forests, riverlands, and grasslands. It offers excellent opportunities for bird-watching and wildlife observation on fully accessible trails and boardwalks. In 2011, Kestrel helped conserve the 32-acre property on Moody Bridge Road in Hadley, preventing this scenic and ecologically valuable land from being sold for house lots. Check out the map of the 1.1-mile accessible trail.

Dave King is a wildlife biologist specializing in birds, but with an interest in all creatures, including insects and plants. He worked for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service over a three-year period on a study of migrating birds in the Connecticut River Valley.