May 18, 2007: Bergen Swamp Trip (Genesee County) (25 PHOTOS, 6 BIRD)

We got a rare opportunity today to visit a unique feature in Genesee County: The Bergen Swamp. I had never been here before. It was a cool place definitely worth a follow up visit. It is a "fen", or an alkaline wetland. Because of this distinction, there are many flora and fauna unqiue to Western New York. It is a large swamp, where one can easily become disoriented and lost: Make sure your first visit is a guided visit! See the link above on how to request a visit! We visited two distinct areas of the swamp....

HESSENTHALER ROAD TRAILPart of the Hessenthaler Road Trail

Gaewing

Sensitive Fern

Skunk Cabbage

Columbine

Starflower

One of the many 'dissapearing streams' in the swamp

Skunk cabbage and ferns

A shy Ovenbird

Red Admiral

Above two: Black-Billed Cuckoo (gathering nesting material?)

Yellow-rumped Warbler

We found this fawn, that had to be only a few days old

Above two: Yellow Ladyslipper Orchids

Lilacs were blooming in the parking lot

MAIN BERGEN SWAMP TRAILA stump encountered along the trailSwamp Marigold Larch Tree
The "Marl Room" (Marl is a lime rich mud)
The rarer White Lady Slipper Orchid
Common Yellowthroat Red-Eyed Vireo

Kurt Fox's Birding Bergen Swamp Page