Maj. Michael Donnelly Land Preserve: South Windsor, CT

Next we headed over to a place that I'd discovered a few years back, Maj. Michael Donnelly Land Preserve. Its a nice property in South Windsor jointly owned by the Town of South Windsor and the State of Connecticut which has been dedicated to Maj. Donnelly. Donnelly, a resident of the town, contracted ALS during the first Gulf War and dedicated his life to exposing the truth about Gulf War Syndrome before succumbing to the disease in 2005.

The reserve is a very nice place for a hike. There is ample parking at the Sullivan Ave entrance. The trail slopes down from the parking lot to a small pond filled with cattails and reeds. A boardwalk brings you around the pond and into a brushy habitat. I've never come to the property specifically for birds but its probably a great site for spring migration. I wasn't paying too much attention to the calls but I did hear the common warblers, Common Yellowthroat and Yellow Warbler, throughout the hike. We also spotted a Red Admiral patrolling his territory in one of the woodier sections of the trail. As we looped back to the parking lot, we came across a Green Frog sunning itself on the boardwalk. We also found a few flowers that I have been unable to identify.