Essay by Jane Balbo, Blair Preserve Volunteer Steward
On a recent Monday morning, I set off on my twice-monthly check-in of this lovely little Athens Conservancy preserve. While I enjoy it every month of the year, this time of year is my favorite – the Spring ephemeral wildflowers, insects, and birdsong make it extra special.
At just 75 acres, the Blair Preserve is one of the Athens Conservancy’s smallest preserves. It serves as an important link between Strouds Run State Park and the Mary Beth Zak Lohse preserve and protects the important Gillette Run stream. This preserve is home to many native plants, insects, birds, mammals, and fungi.
My favorite way to access the Blair Preserve is to park at the Thunderbunny trailhead lot on Strouds Run Road, walk across the bridge, enter the woods and take a right onto Trace Trail. Entering the park, I hear the songs and calls of a Blue-Winged Warbler, an Indigo Bunting, an Eastern Phoebe, American Goldfinches, and a Chipping Sparrow. A carpet of Blue-Eyed Marys greet me in the cool shade of the forest. A White-Eyed Vireo calls from the scrubby undergrowth, joined by the scratchy whispers of Blue-Gray Gnatcatchers.
I walk under the huge old “signal tree,” pass the Gillette Cemetery, and climb higher up the trail. Shortly after entering the Blair Preserve is a bridge over Gillette Run. Watch the video and notice the abundance of birdsong in this one location, ranging from our summer residents Scarlet Tanager, Ovenbird, Cerulean Warbler, American Redstart, Red Eyed Vireo, and Hooded Warbler; to our year-round residents Northern Cardinal, Carolina Chickadee, Tufted Titmouse, Blue Jay, and Eastern Towhee. Soon they’ll be joined by Eastern Wood-Pewees and Acadian Flycatchers. The Blue Phlox, Aniseroot, and May Apples carpet the forest floor with their flowers. Spicebush have leafed in and Viburnum have set their blooms. A Zebra Swallowtail and unidentified Skipper butterfly float past.
Just past this bridge is the turn off to Tunnel Rock Picnic Area. I always stop here to stretch my legs and notice what other birds might be visiting – today included the songs and sights of a Kentucky Warbler, a Tennessee Warbler, several Wood Thrush, a Swainson’s Thrush, a pair of Rose-Breasted Grosbeaks, a small flock of White-Throated Sparrows, and a year-round resident Carolina Wren.
As I wrap around Tunnel Rock and follow the trail that leads up to the top, I remember the time I came across two Turkey Vultures mating quietly, knowing they nest among the boulders upon which I am walking. Along the path lie the fur and bones of a raccoon. It has likely served a meal or two to some coyote and resident vulture family. I see or hear several Wood Thrush, American Redstarts and Red-Eyed Vireos, a couple of Cerulean Warblers, a Northern Parula, and a Yellow-Throated Vireo. On top of the ridge, the Wild Comfrey is beginning to bloom and I hear both a Cape May Warbler and a Blackburnian Warbler – both migrating through on their journeys farther north.
Where the Tunnel Rock Trail intersects the Gillette Ridge Loop Trail, I take a left and head back to the top of Trace Trail. Near a clearing above the trail, I hear the faint call of the Yellow-Billed Cuckoo. It always sounds much farther away than it truly is. A Spicebush Swallowtail butterfly floats gently through the trees as sunlight filters through. This is the first day this spring I’ve heard crickets.
At Trace Trail, I take a left and head back down the hill, the trail alternately passing through Strouds Run State Park, the Mary Beth Preserve, and the Blair Preserve. A Louisiana Waterthrush calls its “chuck! chuck! chuck!” then a bit later issues its beautiful, jumbled song from the banks of Gillette Run. I notice a healthy community of Oyster Mushrooms growing on logs among the piles of invasive privet cleared by the Conservancy’s Bill Rucker and countless dedicated volunteers over the years.
When I reach the parking lot, I realize I’ve seen or heard 44 different species of birds. I’ve been walking the Blair Preserve and its adjacent wild lands for several years and each time delight in what it shares with me. Today’s journey to and through it was one of my favorites. I suspect that will be true the next time, and the next time, and the time after that…