Explore Preston Nature Preserve’s Field of Natural History Dreams

Don’t be fooled: a natural meadow may look like an unkempt lawn that a lazy homeowner has taken a holiday from mowing, but look closer and you’ll discover an amazing and fascinating array of biological diversity.

The Preston Nature Preserve (PNP) offers explorers a pathway through several interconnected meadows that are at their prettiest in August. On Saturday, August 5th, from 10 a.m. to at least noon, Avalonia naturalist Bruce Fellman will guide visitors on a leisurely tour of the 56-acre refuge’s treasure trove of native plants, insects, and birds that thrive in the fields, as well as in the surrounding woods and wetlands. The botanical star of the meadow show is an expanse of Bee Balm, a native member of the mint family whose showy pink, red, and purple flowers are butterfly, bee, and beetle magnets. If we’re lucky and patient, we’re often blessed with sightings of hummingbird moths, pint-sized hummer mimics that find Bee Balm blooms irresistible—and this is just the tip of the floral iceberg. Joe Pye Weed, goldenrod, native grass, thistle, and aster flowers will also be bringing in the pollinators. The milkweeds, though past their blossom time, will still be attracting Monarch butterflies, whose eggs and leaf-eating caterpillars we’ll seek. Last but hardly least, the PNP banquet usually includes a variety of dragonflies, birds, frogs, and even a deer or two.

Bring binoculars, hand lenses, cameras, notebooks, your natural history curiosity, and, if you have them, your kids and grandkids. Don’t forget the sunscreen, bug spray, water, and a hat—it’s an easy 1.5 mile hike, but it can be bright and hot in the fields. Rain date Sunday August 6. For more information, contact Bruce Fellman, 860-599-4867, or bruce.fellman@yale.edu.

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Accessibility Note

Parking: Ample off-street lot, grass surface, room for about a dozen cars, no parking space accessible to people with disabilities. Lot located on 38 Krug Road at the PNP trailhead. Additional parking available along Krug Road.

Trails: Mostly mowed grass surface pathways through open meadows, some slopes, wide enough for several people to traverse side-by-side. One quarter-mile stretch of trail through upland woods, hilly and narrow, with some roots and rocks in the pathway, as well as occasional protruding branches.

Communication: This walk will be amplified (Bruce will use a portable microphone system), with sign language interpretation available upon request. It will include sonograms of bird calls that we hear to provide pictorial representations of their songs.

Avalonia Accessibility Statement: https://avalonia.org/accessibility-for-people-with-disabilities-statement/ If you have questions on the accessibility of this event, please call Avalonia at 860-884-3500 or email accessibility@avalonia.org.

Photo credit: Bruce Fellman