Join Lloyd Center Research Associate Jamie Bogart on the Lloyd Center’s Spring Bird Migration Walk Series. Sign up for one, or all three walks. Participants will enjoy the Lloyd Center property and its diverse bird life. Forest songbirds, shorebirds, raptors including the osprey and owls, and waterfowl are all potentially seen on these walks.

For each walk, participants will traverse a variety of habitats including maritime forest, freshwater wetlands including vernal pools and a kettle pond, salt marshes and estuaries, and a bird feeding station. These habitats support the high avian diversity present on the property. Keep your eyes peeled for our resident barred and great horned owls, which may have young!

Attend each walk to see changes in number and variety of species occurring over a short timeframe. For all walks, attendees should wear footwear for light trail walking and bring binoculars and a bird guide if they have them.

Pre-registration is required for all walks.

To pre-register, visit https://lloydcenter.org/calendar. If you have specific questions regarding the program, please call Jamie Bogart at 508-990-0505 x 23, or via email jbogart@lloydcenter.org.

The price for each walk is $10 for members, $13 for non-members, and $5 for children under age 12. These walks are suitable for ages 10 and older and attendee limit is 10.

Lloyd Center Spring Bird Walk I – Migrants on the Move will take place on Saturday, April 27th from 7:00 am – 9:00 am. Inclement weather date is Sunday, April 28th. Pre-registration is required by 3:00 pm, Friday, April 26th.

On this walk, songbirds are arriving as the forest slowly springs to life. Shorebird migration is well underway with nesting birds having arrived, waterfowl which wintered over are still abundant, and first ospreys are arriving, making the estuary particularly lively during this walk.

Lloyd Center Spring Bird Walk II – Arrival of the Nesters will take place on Saturday, May 4th from 7:00 am – 9:00 am. Inclement weather date is Sunday, May 5th. Pre-registration is required by 3:00 pm, Friday, May 3rd.

This walk occurs when the numbers of nesting songbirds, which are establishing territories in the forest, has increased considerably, including resident birds and migrants just arriving. Forest birds potentially encountered include the striking Baltimore Oriole and various warbler species.

Lloyd Center Spring Bird Walk III – Chorus in the Trees will take place on Thursday, May 9th from 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm. Inclement weather date is Friday, May 10th. Pre-registration is required by 12:00 pm (noon), Thursday, May 9th.

Take a late afternoon woodland stroll on this final walk of the series, when under the right conditions bird activity can be similar to that of the morning hours. Breeding pairs are setting up territories and vocally making their presence known, especially the orioles which by this time have all but overtaken the tree canopy.

The Lloyd Center for the Environment, a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, founded in 1978 and situated with its headquarters and spectacular nature preserve overlooking the scenic Slocum River estuary, has achieved a well-earned reputation for excellence in environmental research and education. Through its innovative outreach programs, it has established itself as a highly regarded leader in the ongoing effort to raise awareness of the area’s fragile coastal resources and the importance of protecting them.

The Center’s 82-acre property offers over five miles of walking trails, the “Bridge to Discovery” dock on the Slocum River, vernal pools, oak-hickory forest, freshwater wetlands, salt marsh, estuary views, and is home to an injured screech owl.

The Lloyd Center’s Visitor Center is currently closed for renovations, (but will be open from 10am to 4pm, Tuesdays through Saturdays, and on Sundays, June - September, free of charge when it reopens). There, aquarium exhibits offer unique views of live freshwater and saltwater species of fish and other marine critters.

The Center is also home to a fascinating collection of live local reptiles, amphibian and fish species. At the always popular touch-tank, youngsters learn the hands-on joy of socializing with gentle spider crabs, elusive minnows, sea stars (starfish), whelks, hermit crabs, periwinkles and mussels.

The top-floor Osprey Room Observatory, with its magnificent views of the Elizabeth Islands and Buzzards Bay, has been designated by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs as one of the Commonwealth’s top-fifteen “Special Places”. Through telescopes there, one can get a close-up view of formerly endangered Ospreys, and their chicks, nesting on platforms erected by members of the Center’s research staff.

Trails are open from dawn to dusk, seven days a week. The Lloyd Center for the Environment is located at 430 Potomska Road, Dartmouth, Massachusetts. For more information, visit www.lloydcenter.org or call 508-990-0505.