Wachusett Meadow MAS (6/25)

Before the rains started on Sunday (I'm really sick of writing that) my sister and I took a drive up to Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary in Princeton. The weather was extremely overcast and the air was humid. But in spite of the weather we actually had a great time.

We started at the small man-made pond just north of the main office. There were dozens of big Bullfrog tadpoles warming themselves in the shallows. The adult frogs were all out on logs trying to do the same. A Yellow Warbler flitted about in the bushes picking off insects and a few Bobolinks hovered overhead calling incessantly.

Next we headed back down to Goodnow Rd. We were hoping that the cloudy day would make it easier to find some snakes. I was especially hoping for a Smooth Green Snake, a species which I have only ever found at Wachusett Meadow.

We walked down the road until we came to the turn off for Beaver Bend Trail. Then we headed into the pastures. As could be expected, they were pretty quiet. There were tons of European Skippers but for the majority of the morning the butterflies were "grounded". We also found a couple Common Ringlets and a dozen or so Little Wood Satyrs.

But the other bugs were active in the pastures. We found several Daddy-long-legs (many of which had mites attached to their legs). We also glimpsed a couple different species of Jumping Spiders and a number of dragonflies that I couldn't identify.

We finally made our way to Pasture #4 where I knew that we would find some snakes. The sanctuary staff has placed a tarp and a piece of plywood in the field and there are always snakes under them. When we lifted the tarp, we discovered a Brown Snake. The plywood yielded a Garter Snake.

From there we headed back to the sanctuary headquarters. As we came up the street we noticed a pair of heads sticking out of the stone stairs in front of the building. It was two more Garter Snakes. They would only let us get so close before tucking themselves back into the crevasses.

We continued down and around to the wildlife pond. On the way there I spotted a Viceroy on the Milkweed which was just starting to bloom. The Yellow Goat's-Beard and Dogbane were also starting to flower. At the bottom of the hill we saw a pair of Great-crested Flycatchers squabbling. We watched them chase each other around until they disappeared into the beaver marsh.

Before leaving I took one more hike around the upper pasture. At the old tree I heard a mammal in the bushes. It let out one or two guttural growls that reminded me of a Tazmanian Devil. Unfortunately the brush was dense and I never got a look at it. Could it have been a Fisher?


Birds - Bobolink, Cedar Waxwing, Red-tailed Hawk, Red Wing Blackbird, Black and White Warbler, Yellow Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, American Redstart, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Downy Woodpecker, Blue Jay, Eastern Kingbird, Eastern Phoebe, Mourning Dove, Tree Swallow, Barn Swallow, Great-crested Flycatcher, Norther Cardinal, Warbling Vireo, American Robin

Butterflies - European Skipper, Common Ringlet, Little Wood Satyr, Viceroy

Mammals - Gray Squirrel, Red Squirrel, Chipmunk, Sheep

Herps - Bullfrog, Pickerel Frog, Brown Snake, Garter Snake