Warwick Pond

This under-visited wildlife reserve (open sunrise to sunset daily, admission free) stretches for nine acres along Middle Road, its marshy ponds, farm fields, and woodland reserves lying in a wide central valley coated by endemic Bermuda cedars and allspice trees. Recognized as a wetland of international importance by the World Conservation Union, the pond was once part of a chain of wetlands through Bermuda’s center, linking Southampton to Spittal Pond in Smith’s. It is Bermuda’s second-largest freshwater pond (after Spittal) and a sanctuary for resident and migratory waterfowl, including barn swallows in the fall, common snipes in winter, and mourning doves year-round. You might also spot resident roosters; until recently, there was a lone flamingo—a bright-coral specimen nicknamed “Flo,” which escaped the large flock at the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum & Zoo in 1987 but was eventually recaptured.

The Bermuda National Trust acquired most of the Warwick Pond reserve that same year but made the site more accessible late in 2003, when it was reopened with a better parking area, cleared trails, and educational panels describing habitats and wildlife found along a circular path. The pond’s fertile wetland borders are rented from the Trust by farmers for cattle-grazing or agriculture. Warwick Pond’s entrance is well marked by a Trust sign on Middle Road at the turnoff to Tribe Road 3, which also connects to the Railway Trail. For more information, contact the Trust (tel. 441/236-6483, www.bnt.bm).