Broad Meadow Brook: Worcester, MA (12/3)

On Sunday I made a quick trip over to Broad Meadow Brook MAS for a hike. It was REALLY quiet. I was only able to find a few species of birds. They were all our winter residents: Blue Jay, Nuthatch, Chickadee, and Downy Woodpecker.

But at least I got the chance to take some more photos of the powerlines area. This area is owned by National Grid but managed by Mass Audubon. As part of the power companies maintenance of property, they need to come thru and cut back all the woody plants that might grow large enough to reach the lines above. In the past they have done this culling by spraying individual plants. This year the advisory council suggested a substantial cut. This certainly wasn't an easy decision since this would be change to the powerlines. And there were some concerns that the sanctuary's population of Harris' Checkerspot butterflies would be adversely affected.

But, the cut was approved and everyone crossed their fingers. In the early spring the property looked really bad but it didn't take long before the plants sprung out of the ground. So, since March I've been taking pictures of the area every time I was at BMB to document the changes. It certainly is cool to see how the new meadow filled in.