Exploring the Nature of Twilight: A Crepuscular Adventure

Walktober is almost here! The Last Green Valley’s fabulously successful annual series of activities starts in September, and Avalonia’s four offerings go right through the whole season! Registration is required for all Avalonia Walktober programs. (If an event is rescheduled because of weather, you’ll want to know.) Service animals only, please, at these events. Saturday, September 26, 5:30 PM – 7:00 PM Join guide Bruce Fellman in Donald R. Henne Memorial Preserve for a walk of mystery, discovery, and wonder. (Rain date next day, same time.) Bring binoculars, camera gear, hand lenses, water, insect repellant and sunscreen . . . and please download the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology’s Merlin Bird ID app to your smartphone in advance of our walk (merlin.allaboutbirds.org/download). Bruce Fellman is a veteran naturalist, teacher, and environmental photojournalist with more than a half-century of experience introducing people to the natural world. Address: 113 Babcock Road, North Stonington (0.9 miles from Wyassup Road or 0.8 miles from Route 49). The parking area is on the north side of the road. The trailhead for the Henne walk is nearby. REGISTER HERE A message from Bruce: “Poets and biologists alike are drawn to the special period of each day around dawn and dusk when the natural world is best described by the term ‘crepuscular.’ The word is derived from the Latin for twilight, and as the afternoon transitions to evening, we’ll hike through the Henne Preserve in search of a diverse group of animals, from beavers and bats to migrating birds and resident owls, that emerge from hiding and begin to be active in the time of decreasing light around sunset. The Henne Preserve’s 100 acres of uplands and wetlands feature an abundance of ecological diversity, and the dusky hours can offer the best opportunity to observe often furtive wildlife. (The same is true around dawn, as the nightshift creatures retire for the day.) On this slow-paced journey of discovery, we’ll use our eyes and ears, along with assists from technology that can translate sounds, even the inaudible high-pitched bat calls, into visual depictions called sonograms, to meet the meet the members of the crepuscular chorus.” Accessibility Note Parking: Small, off-street lot with packed surface, no designated accessible space, room for 7-8 cars. Additional parking along the road. Short walk, approximately 100 feet, along the side of Babcock Road to access the Henne Trailhead at the north end of the preserve. Trails: Trails are narrow throughout, often with room enough for only one person, some slopes, some protrusions into pathway, and occasional wet areas, some of which are crossed using narrow wooden bridges. Off-pathway exploration through open woods to a hillside of downed trees felled by beavers. Wildlife observation area atop five-foot-wide boardwalk that spans open water is somewhat rough, uneven, and wobbly in places, especially in times of high water. Communication: This walk will be amplified and may include live sonograms that provide pictorial representation of frog and bird calls. Sign language may be available upon request. For more information about the accessibility of this event, contact Avalonia at [email protected] or 860-884-8500.