Hit the trail with new birding guide

Just in time for the fall migration, Audubon releases "Rhode Island Birding Trails" to help you search for birds from American Bitterns to Short-eared Owls and everything in between.

Posted 9/17/17

"It was Ken's idea, he's the one who came up with the concept for the book," says Jeff Hall, Senior Director of Advancement at The Audubon Society of Rhode Island. "He contacted birders, walked the …

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Hit the trail with new birding guide

Just in time for the fall migration, Audubon releases "Rhode Island Birding Trails" to help you search for birds from American Bitterns to Short-eared Owls and everything in between.

Posted

"It was Ken's idea, he's the one who came up with the concept for the book," says Jeff Hall, Senior Director of Advancement at The Audubon Society of Rhode Island. "He contacted birders, walked the trails, and planned the layout."

Ken is the late Ken Weber – naturalist, Providence Journal nature columnist, and dedicated Audubon staff member. Hall and Weber began the project ten years ago, but Weber’s death in 2007, followed by the recession and other challenges, meant the project languished, unfinished for several years.

Just last year, Hall revisited the project, rechecked all the locations to confirm that a decade of time and development had not changed any details, and added GPS coordinates, which were not in wide use in 2007.

An experienced outdoorsman and birder (who credits his parents' interest in birding and being brought along on their jaunts — not always enthusiastically — for the hobby he began to truly appreciate as an adult), Hall also recommends the book for those who may just want to get out and explore the Ocean State. “This is a book that anyone living in or visiting Rhode Island can enjoy,” Hall said. “Many of the listed locations provide beautiful trails and scenic destinations for walks and nature observation.”

Some locations are well known; others are more like well-kept secrets. The book divides the trails intro three distinct areas of the state: northern Rhode Island, South County, and East Bay and the islands. It not only provides the best time of year to visit and what bird species might be found; it also give readers the address, parking information, and helpful tips regarding each destination.

The long-awaited book is now in print and dedicated to Weber — the person who knew these trails best. You can find it at ribirdingtrails.com at local retail locations including the Audubon shop in Bristol, the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center, and Norman Bird Sanctuary, in Middletown.

"Bird watching is a passion for a lot of people," said Hall. "But you don't have to be experienced to do it. It's a great way to get out in nature."

Audubon, Rhode Island Birding Trail

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