Greater Lovell Land Trust

The Greater Lovell Land Trust has built an impressive inventory of birding opportunities in Western Maine. Formed in 1985, the trust continues to grow. These are some of its productive properties:

• Sucker Brook Preserve is a 32-acre nature trail in Lovell. It begins and ends on Horseshoe Pond Road. The trail is best known for its profusion of increasingly rare Cardinal Flowers in August. Birders will find it more productive from April through July. Many common warblers, woodpeckers, and flycatchers nest within the preserve, and they are likely to reveal themselves to anyone spending quiet time on top of the viewing platform located at the trail’s halfway point. This platform overlooks a bog that may contain waterfowl when flooded. Directions: From Route 5, take the West Lovell Road over the Narrows, past the Kezar Lake Marina. Bear left onto Foxboro Road, then right at New Road. Turn right at Horseshoe Pond Road.

• The Bradley & Heald Pond Preserve is reached via Slab City Road. The Heald Pond Preserve trail is reached first. It follows a jeep path, skirting the west side of Heald Pond. The forest is mature and highly diverse, featuring birch, beech, oak, ash, and aspen. Pockets of hemlock and balsam fir contribute to the woodland mix. Watch for birds rising from beneath your feet. Ovenbirds and Hermit Thrushes have both been observed nesting in the middle of this lightly used path. Black-throated Green Warblers and Northern Parulas are likely, too. Toward the end of the trail, the habitat becomes a little damper and more stunted. Be watchful for moose.

• The Bradley Pond Preserve is part of the same parcel as Heald Pond but the access trail begins from a different parking lot. It loops through hardwood forest a woodland bog. Though the habitat on these trail systems is not overly coniferous, yellow-bellied flycatchers have been heard singing in both.

Directions: From Route 5, turn east onto Slab City Road. The 2.4 mile Heald loop trail begins on Slab City Road 500 feet west of the Fairburn parking area at the south end of Heald Pond. The Bradley Pond Trail is reached via Heald Pond Road just a little further down Slab City Road.