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News

  • Something Wild Celebrates 25 Years on NHPR

    Dave Anderson, Chris Martin, Jessica Hunt
    March 10, 2023

    This week marks the 25th anniversary of Something Wild on NHPR.

  • Sophie Suggests: What to Watch this Winter

    Sophie Oehler
    February 28, 2023

    In a cinematic slump? Check out these nature themed movie and TV titles recommended by one of our own!

  • Forest Journal: Birdfeeders Attracting More Than Birds This Winter

    Dave Anderson
    February 26, 2023

    With forest food absent, wildlife patterns change.

Volunteer Captures Wildlife Photographs on the Floodplain

Eliza Cowie
May 28, 2015
Conservation Center
Wildlife
Volunteers
A gray catbird perches on the floodplain. Photo by Ellen Kenny.

Herons react to a nearby bald eagle. Photo by Ellen Kenny.

A Bald Eagle perches in the branches of a Silver Maple. Photo by Ellen Kenny.
Ellen Kenny, a Forest Society volunteer, has had the chance to capture some incredible wildlife photographs during her daily walks along the trails at the Merrimack River Outdoor Education and Conservation Center in Concord (home of the Forest Society's headquarters). In a recent e-mail, she noted one of these encounters between herons and bald eagles. She states that the herons stopped fishing and preening to watch as “the bald eagle cruised down the river” and “landed briefly up in a snag at the oxbow, squawked a couple of times and then took off, joined by a second eagle.” 

The floodplain provides a sanctuary to wildlife including beavers, herons, kingbirds, wood ducks, bald eagles, 

Photo by Ellen Kenny
bobcats, deer and many other species. Visitors can look for signs of them while walking along the 1.5 mile Les Clark Nature Trail. This walk provides a great opportunity for young children to attempt to identify different species they might encounter in their own backyard. As the hot summer months approach, the silver maple forest provides shade along the riverbanks of the Merrimack River. Visitors can take breaks to sit on the benches provided and observe the wildlife in Eastman Cove. This is an ideal location for young families as the trail is relatively flat and, as Ellen has noticed, is abundant in wildlife.

Ellen came across this Wood Duck floating near a beaver dam. Photo by Ellen Kenny
Visitors are encouraged to take photographs at any Forest Society reservation, as Ellen has done, and submit them to the photo contest that is being held until July 1. Visitors are also encouraged to take part in the new Forest Reservation challenge, in which visitors to various sets of Forest Society reservations can earn a special embroidered patch and decal.  

 

Barred owl photo by Ellen Kenny.
For more information regarding the Merrimack River Outdoor Education and Conservation Center and other Forest Society reservations to visit, please visit our Reservation Guide.

 

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Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests54 Portsmouth St.Concord, NH 03301
Phone: 603.224.9945Fax: 603.228.0423info@forestsociety.org
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