Back on 13 May 2016, on a business trip to Nashville, Melissa and I took a side trip to nearby Bells Bend Outdoor Center. The center is located on the West side of Nashville, in an oxbow of the Cumberland River. It is an 800 acre park of scattered fields and hardwood forests crisscrossed by several miles of hiking trails. We stopped in at the nature center building to talk to the attendant and get a trail map.
Nature Center Building at Bells Bend. Copyright (c) 2018 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.
Walking out the back porch where we saw several Ruby Throated Hummingbirds, we went a short distance down the Outdoor Center Trail.
View from the back porch of the Nature Center looking West. Copyright (c) 2018 Robert D. Vickers, Jr.
Since the day was sunny and hot and our time was limited, we decided to keep our outing short. We turned right, went by the barn and back up the Loop Trail and Outdoor Center Trail to the building again. This made for a pleasant break in the day but we barely scratched the surface of the park. I want to return when I have more time to do some serious birding. A list of birds found in the park include Henslow’s Sparrow, Dickcissel, and Willow Flycatcher among many others.
