Belding Wildlife Area Steward Gives a Lecture for the Birds at the Rockville Public Library

It was a a lesson for both young people and their parents at the Rockville Public Library children's department on Thursday.

Jane Seymour, a wildlife technician for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's Wildlife Division and the steward of the Belding Wildlife Management Area on Bread and Milk Road, was on hand to talk about bird migration.

"Does anyone know what this is," she asked a dozen or so youngsters in the room as a photo of a red-chested bird appeared on a screen.

"A robin … a robin …" was the response, which was correct. Seymour said that many birds common to Vernon, particularly robins, head down to the shoreline and large flocks of wintering birds can be found in Lyme.

That's a short flight compared to the ruby-throated hummingbird - the only species of hummingbird in Connecticut - who can migrate as far as Mexico, Seymour said.

Gray catbirds can fly as far as Belize, she said.

The migratory winner will not be found in Vernon, but the Arctic tern is the long distance champ. The bird flies almost from the North Pole to the South Pole and vice versa in its migrations, Seymour said.

The next scheduled event at Belding is an Earth Day bird walk on April 22 at 8 a.m.

The Belding Wildlife Management Area is a 282-acre parcel of land in Vernon that was donated by Maxwell Belding to the state.

The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection is the legal steward of the land and the agency uses modern wildlife, forestry, and conservation practices to maintain and improve the land.

In 2002, the Belding Wildlife Management Area Charitable Support Trust was established to provide the DEEP the resources to conduct professional management, enhancement, and long-term maintenance of the area. A board of trustees was established and remains in force to provide oversight of the trust and to review and approve ongoing activities on the management area.