One of the mysterious cairns at the refuge in Coventry.

COVENTRY –– Natural beauty and ancient mystery await visitors to the Audubon Society of Rhode Island’s George B. Parker Woodland Wildlife Refuge.

The 860-acre nature refuge is home to scores of song birds. Walking the property with Audubon’s executive director, Lawrence J.L. Taft, is a treat because he recognizes their songs and keeps his ears open for rare birds as well as more common ones. On a mint-bright morning, he finds scarlet tanagers, orioles and a variety of warblers and finches by their songs. In a meadow near the entrance, male bluebirds stand guard at their nesting boxes.

Near the visitor center, a side path leads to the frame of a Native American wikiup, a reproduction used in classes at the refuge.

The land reaches into Foster, with individual trails ranging from half a mile to three miles long. The entire trail system in the woodland is over seven miles long and takes between three and five hours to hike without stopping.

There is so much to see, hear, touch and smell in the refuge that it’s impossible not to stop.

Larry Taft’s first stop is Turkey Meadow Brook. He hears an ovenbird. “He’s calling tee-chur tee-chur TEE-chur TEE-CHURR, getting louder all the time,” Taft says.

“Hear that one? He’s singing ‘Here-I-am. Where are you?’ That’s a red-eyed vireo.” He says he’s hoping to hear a northern water thrush, or perhaps an even rarer Louisiana water thrush.

He hears the screech of a hawk. “Now that could be a red-shouldered hawk or a blue jay, mimicking a hawk,” he says. “I’m thinking it’s a hawk.” He spots the hawk soaring.

Taft moves on and turns right where trails intersect. Soon he comes upon an unusual collection of cairns, neat stacks of rocks on a hillside.

Their meaning is a mystery, says Taft. The area is too rocky to have been cultivated, he speculates. Perhaps the cairns memorialized people who had lived and died there. Perhaps their arrangement created a solar calendar.

“Were they built by native people, early Europeans, Norsemen? I don’t know,” Taft says. Archeologists who have studied the site also are uncertain about the meaning of the cairns. “I think the fact that it remains a mystery is pretty cool,” he says.

The George B. Parker Woodland is open throughout the year. Admittance is free. To get there from Route 95, take exit 5B. Follow Route 102 north for about 8.5 miles. Turn right (east) at the Audubon Refuge sign onto Maple Valley Road. Turn into the second driveway on the left by the Parker Woodland Wildlife Refuge sign.

Information about the Audubon Society of Rhode Island, its refuges and programs is available online at asri.org.

tmeade@projo.com