The Wildlife of New England: A Viewer's Guide

Images

Portions of the Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge near Calais, Maine, are managed for American woodcock, which make twilight courtship flights during spring. A bull moose feeding during an autumn morning at Baxter State Park beneath the backdrop of Mount Katahdin. Large colonies of Atlantic puffins (top) and razorbills (bottom) inhabit Machias Seal Island off the Maine coast during the warm months. A newborn whitetailed deer fawn lies motionless in an oak forest days after its birth in late May. The spotted coat provides camouflage by breaking up its form. Gulls circle the summit of Gorham Mountain in the southeast corner of Acadia National Park. Coyotes migrated into the Northeast during the twentieth century and, in the absence of mountain lions and wolves, are the region’s top predator. Habitats of Maine’s Bigelow Mountain Preserve include high-elevation bogs, a partially open ridge, Flagstaff Lake, and Stratton Brook Pond and its associated wetlands (above). Apart from humans, no other animal impacts its surrounding environment more than beavers, whose wetlands benefit many other species. The Sunkhaze Meadows National Wildlife Refuge encompasses a large complex of wetlands, including one of the state’s largest peat bogs. Mount Washington and the Presidential Range rise above Cherry Pond at the Pondicherry Wildlife Refuge in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. Also known as the “varying hare” thanks to its changeable winter coat, the snowshoe hare is an important prey species for predators such as Canada lynx, bobcat, and fishers. A gray fox on the hunt. Gray foxes are somewhat more secretive than red foxes and can climb trees. The largest preserve on the New Hampshire coast, Odiorne Point State Park offers extensive tide pool habitat and coastal views. The Moose River meanders through the Victory Basin Wildlife Management Area, part of a large wildlands network in Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom region. Areas where different habitats meet, such as this meadow and spruce forest at the Bill Sladyk Wildlife Management Area in northern Vermont, are especially important for wildlife. A monarch butterfly pauses to feed on asters during the course of its long migration south to the mountains of Mexico. White-tailed deer and wild turkeys have recovered from historic declines and are once again common throughout most of New England. Hawk watchers on the summit of Wachusett Mountain in central Massachusetts during a prime mid-September viewing day. Two gray seals duel for a favored basking site on a sandbar at the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge at the elbow of Cape Cod. (opposite) The Quabbin Reservoir and its surrounding habitats form a 40-square-mile wilderness that is the largest conservation area in southern New England. A humpback whale breaches the Atlantic Ocean at Stellwagen Bank off the Massachusetts coast. Courtesy of Brooks Mathewson. The Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, which encompasses most of Plum Island in northeastern Massachusetts, is one of the finest bird-watching destinations along the Atlantic Flyway. Scenic Bog Meadow Pond and its associated wetlands are among the many habitats at the Sharon Audubon Center in the hills of northwestern Connecticut. A pair of red fox kits await the return of their mother to their den in a woodlot adjacent to a farm field. Colorful migratory songbirds such as magnolia warblers are most visible from mid to late spring through midsummer. Courtesy of Brooks Mathewson. Tidal marshes and observation tower at the mouth of the Connecticut River near Lyme, Connecticut. Another familiar species that has made a strong recovery in recent years is the great blue heron, which benefits from the increase in beaver wetlands. The Hanging Rock Trail at the Norman Bird Sanctuary in Rhode Island offers a unique ridge, along with views of ocean, ponds, coastal forests, and marshes. Nesting ospreys are among the most visible of the many inhabitants of the Great Swamp Wildlife Management Area in southern Rhode Island. ...