Group returning to Beanne Point Lodge following an interpretive hike on Block Island NWR, October6, 2007.

Fishermen, hikers, photographers, birding enthusiasts, and budding conservationists visited the national wildlife refuges of Rhode Island to celebrate the 12^th anniversary of NWR Week.  They enjoyed guided hikes, nature crafts, engaging lectures, great fishing and magnificent birding opportunities.  At Block Island NWR, hikers who ventured out for a dusk walk to Beane Point experienced the "changing of the guards", where the graceful great egrets come in at dusk to roost, while the black crown night herons leave overhead at sunset to feed..  "This is an amazing site," "An experience we will always remember," "What amazing birds," were some of the exclamations heard that night. 

Beane Point Lodge, on Block Island NWR, had its annual Open House on October 7^th, 2007, for the local community and island visitors.  Guests came to the lodge by way of the sand trail, a lengthy, but beautiful walk along the barrier beaches and saltmarshes of Block Island.  At the lodge, hikers, young and old, were welcomed with smiles, refreshments, nature crafts, scavenger hunts, and the big hit "Make Your Own Trail Mix",  enjoyed by children of all ages.  As the hikers rejuvenated and "refueled" themselves, they experienced firsthand the importance of stopover sites, such as Block Island NWR, to migrating birds on their long journeys.

At Sachuest Point NWR, visitors came for an open house on October 13, 2007, and enjoyed colorful slide shows and guided walks focused on the natural beauty and managed wildlands of Sachuest Point refuge.  Guests were also treated with a Rachel Carson biography film, scavenger hunts, nature crafts, and use of our newly available memorial "birding backpacks".  The backpacks, which contain assorted nature and bird identification guides, as well as, binoculars, were a big hit with the families, many of which had never used binoculars before.  The novice birders came back with big smiles and birding stories to share.

At Trustom Pond NWR, home to RI's only undeveloped coastal pond, hikers enjoyed guided walks that included views of an exceptionally large and diverse array of waterfowl that are responding to our recent breaching of the pond, in addition to seeing straggler migrant songbirds feed among the abundant fruiting shrublands.