“Bird is the word in Lynn” (The Daily Item)
Birding guide Laura Vehring shows walking tour participants a page from a birdwatching book. (Emma Fringuelli)
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LYNN — Hikers joined the Lynn Museum and Essex County Greenbelt Land Trust on a birdwatching adventure through Lynn Woods.
Lynn Woods Ranger Dan Small and EC Greenbelt volunteer Laura Vehring led beginner birders on a two-hour hike through the reservation, starting on Pennybrook Road.
EC Greenbelt Events and Outreach Manager Jane Rumrill said the museum and EC Greenbelt have hosted several walking tours of Lynn Woods to engage the community in the reservation’s history and introduce people to hiking activities.
She added she loves working with the staff at the Lynn Museum who also love the outdoors, saying the event was spearheaded by them while EC
Greenbelt was there to provide guides and extra binoculars.
Rumrill said Vehring taught hikers about the various aspects of birding, such as how to identify birds and how to use binoculars.
“She was fantastic at answering questions from the public,” Rumrill said.
She said toward the end of the walk, everyone present gathered around to talk about why they enjoy being in the woods.
“We had a number of retired folks who just like to get out. We had kids who came, who were looking for something to do over the summer, who are really into birds,” she said.
Small said while on the walk, he shared the history of Dungeon Rock, which is a small cave in the 2,200-acre reservation.
He said the legend goes that in the 1600s, an earthquake caused a rock to fall on a pirate, Thomas Veale, trapping his body and his treasure. Then in the 1850s, his ghost directed people to dig into the rock to find the treasure, causing the cave to form.
Small said the legend is made up, but there was a man named Thomas Veale and he “really did spend 30 years digging through solid rock,” Small said.
“It is a legend that just grew over the years,” he said. “But it’s a great story.”
Small said that as the ranger, he probably knows more about Lynn Woods’ history than anyone and is open to any questions.
He added that during the walk, he saw a weasel in the woods for the first time in his 25 years of working there.
