Spread across 64 acres and teeming with wildlife, this is the largest nature preserve in Bermuda. It’s also a birdwatchers paradise. The reserve is home to dozens of species of resident and migratory waterfowl which congregate near its freshwater ponds and surrounding marshlands. The best months for spotting birds are November through March, when it’s possible to see more species in a single day than at any other time of year (since 1974 more than 250 species have been recorded). But don’t let that stop you from ambling its winding pathways and scenic trails the rest of the year, when you can spot finches, sandpipers, black warblers, white egrets, blue herons and Bermuda’s ubiquitous longtail tropic birds. Spittal Pond is also known for the oceanside bluff that’s home to Portuguese Rock—a historic carving believed to have been left by shipwrecked sailors from Portugal. Now cast in bronze, the inscription includes the initial “RP” (a reference to Rex Portugaline, the King of Portugal), along with the date 1543. Historians believe the castaways eventually sailed off in a new vessel they constructed from cedar timber.