Great Pond is the biggest part of a beautiful state forest and a neat place for a morning walk. Expect a nice assortment of birds, with some about to leave and others arriving.

Main entrance at the end of the guard rail. Search for residents and the migrants and breeders of early spring in the many habitats of this beautiful and compact preserve.

The trail follows sections of the Hockanum River and butts up against the Manchester Landfill at times. Forest, meadow, wetlands and sections of Hop Brook will provide a diversity of bird species.

Visit open fields, and a woodland trail with a slight incline. It can be wet on this 2-mile loop. Nice mix of plants and birds.

This is a walk you don’t want to miss but wear boots. After we get our 50 or more birds on this walk, we adjourn to Dunkin Donuts to tally the four walks.