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Walk on the Wild Side
By Jennifer Gray
 Through its mission "to protect and promote Bermuda's unique natural and cultural heritage forever," the Bermuda National Trust (BNT) cares for 76 properties covering more than 250 acres. These gems include traditional houses, islands, gardens, cemeteries, nature reserves, coastlines, three museums and an exceptional collection of artefacts. With sites in every parish, the BNT encourages visitors to revel in Bermuda's history, culture and natural magnificence.
The open spaces convey huge economic and social benefits, so the BNT encourages everyone to take a walk on the wild side — great for exercise, health, recreation and creativity, as well as for art, literature and music. For people on small oceanic islands like Bermuda, visits to the reserves provide lasting memories of the incredible beauty here.
Paget Marsh is the jewel in the crown, spanning more than 25 acres, with tremendous environmental and historical importance. It is the last significant tract of peat marsh in Bermuda to have survived virtually unmodified by man since prehistoric times.
The reserve covers the largest remaining cedar-and-palmetto forest in Bermuda. Palmettos grow closely together and form a canopy under which some of the last small colonies of sedge and wild Bermuda pepper survive.
In managing Paget Marsh, the BNT and the Audubon Society have balanced needs to protect the ecosystem and to allow people to experience primeval Bermuda. A boardwalk enables access while reducing impact.
Spittal Pond Bird Sanctuary, in Smith's Parish, is a 24-acre oceanfront valley and Bermuda's most important wetland for wintering waterfowl. The surrounding Spittal Pond National Park is owned by the government. Together, these parcels provide 64 acres of precious habitat, including five of Bermuda's six terrestrial ecosystems, from upland forest to coastal salt-resistant areas.
Some 20 species of birds winter at Spittal Pond, while 200 have been recorded as visitors. The pond also contains some excellent Bermudian geological features. Most notable is the Checkerboard, which provides a record of sea-level recession from around 120,000 years ago. Spittal Pond boasts two important historic sites: Jeffrey's Hole, a cave formation where an escaped slave hid; and Spanish Rock, thought to be where Spanish sailors came ashore in the 16th century.
In Warwick Parish, Warwick Pond and the adjoining Powell Woodland form a beautiful, environmentally significant, 13-acre reserve with walking trails. Warwick is the largest freshwater pond in Bermuda, extremely important to both resident and migratory waterfowl. Mudflats at the western end support up to 16 species of shorebirds.
To learn more, check with the Bermuda National Trust, an independent not-for-profit organisation whose members enjoy a common love of Bermuda and desire to safeguard it for everyone to enjoy now and always. (236-6483, www.bnt.bm)
Bermuda's Birds
Have you noticed the bird on the back of a Bermuda $10 bill? It's the cahow, or Bermuda petrel (Pterodroma petrel), and if it could speak it would have quite a story to tell.
Cahows are birds of a different feather. They spend most of their time in flight, fishing in the ocean as far away as the coast of North Carolina. When they do touch down, they make their nests in burrows on the ground.
In the 1600s, cahows covered the skies over Bermuda. An easy source of food, cahows sustained Bermuda's earliest settlers—to say the least. Within 25 years, the birds were extinct. At least that's what Bermudians thought.
Three centuries later — in the 1950s — local scientists discovered cahow nests on islets in Castle Harbour. Today the birds that kept Bermuda's first colonists alive are protected and prized as natural national treasures.
Make your Bermuda trip even more memorable with dolphins! Dolphin Quest offers fun, interactive dolphin encounter programs for all. Book your adventure today!
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Have a fun-filled vacation with a cycle from Oleander. If you can ride a bicycle, you can easily ride an Oleander scooter. See all of Bermuda...reserve one today!
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Relax, enjoy, save and see Bermuda by bus. A blue or pink pole indicates bus stops. If the pole is topped with blue, the bus travels from Hamilton; if the pole is topped pink, the route is toward Hamilton.
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