Litchfield Hills Audubon Society: Bird Walk Through Forester Jim Gillespie’s Acreage in Sharon

Jim has a 123-acre tree farm in Sharon. About 90 acres is in early successional forest (14 to 30 years old), an age class that is sorely lacking in Connecticut. His forest was the first in the “Foresters for the Birds” program being implemented by the Sharon Audubon Center. There are several miles of walkable trails, and Stony Brook, a class 1 trout stream, runs through it.

Directions: From the Goshen rotary at the intersection of Routes 63 and 4, go west on Route 4 toward Cornwall (about 9 miles). At the Route 7 intersection continue west on Route 4 toward Sharon (about 2 miles), then go left on Northrup Road (large boulder) and go about 1 mile (bear left at Kings Hill Road/construction business) to South Ellsworth Road and take a left. In half a mile take right fork onto Herb Road. Go about 1 mile to #68 B on left. Go up the driveway a quarter mile to shed. (Note: GPS takes you to the beginning of the road about a mile away so follow the directions here.)