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BLOCK ISLAND SUMMER TIMES
July 2014
Block Island Walking Trails
www.blockislandtimes.com
1 Hodge Family Wildlife Preserve 2 Clay Head Trail 3 Beacon Hill to New Harbor Link, Harrison Loop 4 Meadow Hill Greenway 5 The Greenway 6 Elaine Loffredo Memorial Preserve 7 Fresh Pond Greenway 8 Fresh Swamp Trail 9 Rodman’s Hollow 10 Elizabeth Dickens Trail Pocket maps with information about each trail can be purchased at the Chamber of Commerce.
Black-crowned Night Heron Andy’s Way hosts not only a beautiful, calm beach off of Great Salt Pond, but also a salt marsh. In the summers, this marsh is home to stateendangered Black-Crowned Night Herons, which are relatively small, with black heads and bodies and white stomachs. Especially at dusk, you might catch the birds wandering the shore, looking for fish. Since they are easily disturbed by humans, make sure to keep a respectful distance.
Northern Harrier Northern Harriers fly high above Fresh Pond, looking for prey. At times, male Harriers perform what is known as a “sky dance” while courting — they dive and twirl through the sky to impress their mates. The Harrier is an endangered species and unusually abundant on the island, so it has been the subject of several studies here. If you are lucky enough to see a dance, give a call to The Nature Conservancy to aid in nest location.
Blackberries It’s the beginning of berry season! Later in July, hidden (and not so hidden) through Nathan Mott Park, you’ll find hundreds of blackberry bushes. Blackberries are a beloved summer fruit of many nonhuman animals, especially the catbird. Catbirds eat so many that they get purple juice rings around their beaks.
Rhinoceros Beetle This spectacular beetle, jet black, and with an enormous identifying horn, lives among the grasses and sandy soil of Rodman’s Hollow. Block Island is the only place in the state where it can be found.
Black-crowned Night Heron photograph by Jessica Kirste; other photos courtesy Scott Comings and The Nature Conservancy.
Highbush Blueberries July marks highbush blueberry season—in fact, in 1999, July was declared national blueberry month! Find some in Fresh Swamp Preserve.