The Wildlife of New England: A Viewer's Guide

Massachusetts

� new hampshire ������������� 2 91 6 7 190 290 495 90 1 8 6 13 9 5 15 14 16 11 10 2 12 17 3 7 4 �. Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary �. Bartholomew’s Cobble �. Cape Cod National Seashore �. Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge �. Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge �. Mohawk Trail State Forest �. Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge �. Mount Tom State Reservation �. Parker River National Wildlife Refuge ��. Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary ��. Quabbin Reservoir ��. Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary ��. Upper Connecticut River: French King Gorge, Barton Cove, and Turners Falls Canal ��. Wachusett Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary ��. Wachusett Mountain State Reservation ��. Ware River Reservation ��. Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary ������������� massachusetts 79 Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary Massachusetts Audubon Society, 413-584-3009, www.massaudubon.org closest town: Easthampton directions: From Interstate 91 in Northampton take exit 18 and follow us 5 south for 1.5 miles to a right on East Street. Follow East Street for 1 mile, then turn right on Fort Hill Road, following signs for the sanctuary. Bear right at the junction with Clapp Street, then turn left on the sanctuary entrance road. Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors and children 2–12, and free for Massachusetts Audubon Society members. Another wildlife area with similar habitats is the Fannie Stebbins Wildlife Refuge, which encompasses 340 acres of wetlands, riparian forests, and open fields along the floodplain of the Connecticut River in Longmeadow near the Connecticut state line. To reach the entrance, from the SpringfieldLongmeadow town line drive south on us 5 for 2.4 miles, then turn right on Bark Haul Road and continue for 0.4 mile to a parking area at the junction with Pondside Road. In 1836 the “Oxbow,” a sharp bend in the Connecticut River at Easthampton , was immortalized as the subject of a famous landscape painting by artist Thomas Cole. Along its west banks is the mouth of the Mill River, which originates in the hills west of the valley and flows east through Northampton to its confluence with the Connecticut. Protecting 700 acres worth of riverine and upland habitats where the two rivers meet is the Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary, a property of the Massachusetts Audubon Society. Among the many natural communities here is an uncommon floodplain forest of silver maple, shagbark hickory, and black birch. Rising above a complex of wetlands along the Mill River is an observation tower with fine views of Arcadia Marsh; posted signs mark the remarkable extent of the great floods of the late 1930s. Other habitats include an old orchard, vernal pools, a red maple swamp, and lowland and upland forest groves of oak, pine, and hemlock. North of the oxbow are large, former agricultural fields that were recently acquired by the sanctuary and are now maintained as open grasslands. The nature center offers educational programs and a popular summer day camp. viewing FromtheFernandRivertrailsandtheobservationtower,scantheMillRiver floodplain for river otters, mink, muskrats, and beavers; sign of the latter is 80 the wildlife of new england often evident along the trail. Wood, mallard, and black ducks are regularly seen here, along with green and great blue herons, Canada geese, kingfishers , and occasional great egrets and migrating snow geese. Dead standing trees along the floodplain provide food sources and nesting cavities for downy, hairy, pileated, and red-bellied woodpeckers. The latter, sometimes known as “zebrabacks,” thanks to their checked feathers, have expanded their range from the south into New England during recent decades. Coyotes and foxes hunt mice and meadow voles in the open fields adjacent to the entrance and north of the Mill River bridge; the fields are maintained for grassland and edge-favoring species such as eastern meadowlarks , bobolinks, eastern bluebirds, savannah sparrows, and American woodcock. Uncommon Cooper’s hawks nest on the grounds, and other raptors such as sharp-shinned hawks and northern harriers are present during migrations. Ideally situated along the Connecticut Valley flyway, the adjoining woodlands and thickets provide waysides and homes for migratory songbirds such as melodious wood thrushes, veeries, brown creepers, red-eyed vireos, and black-throated green warblers. Check the old orchards for cedar waxwings, common yellowthroats, northern cardinals , and indigo buntings. All told, 215 bird species have been recorded throughout the sanctuary. Frogs and painted turtles frequent the vernal pool and pond behind the nature center. Black bears are fairly common in this region of Massachusetts and, though often elusive, are periodically seen along the woodland trails and field edges. getting around There are five...