Parking at 277 Great Neck Road, West Kingston, RI ~4 mile loop

The Great Swamp management area is a very beautiful area. The nature trail is mostly dirt and goes through some woods and around a swamp and back. This was my second time here with Mike. Being a flat trail it was the perfect place to take the dogs to get them accustomed to walking on leash and reinforcing commands.

In Rhode Island, it is mandatory to wear “daylight florescent orange” in management areas that allow hunting. Since it is hunting season, we both wore orange and the dogs each had orange bandanas on. It didn’t take us long to pass a hunter on the trail either.

The swamp is full of wildlife, beavers, birds, reptiles, amphibians, etc. I was very excited to see a painted turtle crossing the trail in front of us. Savannah was also excited and possibly is responsible for the wet spot on his back. We watched him pass and I took pics of him like I was the paparazzi.

We saw several cormorants which I love watching — but most memorable and exciting for today’s wildlife, was a pheasant encounter. He was buried in the bushes along the side of the trail. Savannah must have smelled it, because she stopped and went it to beast mode stance and I couldn’t move her.

I quickly realized that I needed help from Mike because if an animal came out of the brush there was nothing I was going to be able to do to prevent it from getting to Savannah and vice versa. Before I could even get Mike’s attention to help, Savannah sniffed out the pheasant. In a shocking rustle of brush and feathers the bird flew up and out right over my head! We watched it fly across the swamp and land in some trees. It was definitely a thrilling experience and the closest I have ever been to a pheasant.

This area is beautiful and convenient to Mike’s so I am sure I will be here again.

Adventurers included: Jes, Mike, Savannah & Oliver