Broad Meadow Brook MAS: Worcester, MA (3/25)

On Sunday afternoon I took a short hike over at Broad Meadow Brook. The snow from the night before was already halfway melted and it made for a very muddy time. There wasn't much active but I did find some more Coyote tracks.

In an attempt to find anything interesting, I resorted to looking for mushrooms that were poking thru the snow. I found some small orange ones on a piece of dead wood and some "shelf" mushrooms on a tree. Along the "stretch" the pussywillows were out and I couldn't resist taking some photos.

Plum Island (3/24)

Saturday was a beautiful spring day (at least until it snowed after dark) so my parents and I took a trip out to Plum Island. We got to the bridge by around 9:30 and stopped for a few minutes to watch a Harrier work the field. As we continued onto the island we were greeted at the gate to the refuge by a Short-eared Owl who was also out hunting for food. As quickly as we had seen it, it was gone. But this was certainly a great start to the day.

We came to the island hoping to get a walk on the beach so we immediately started down the road. But, unfortunately the gate at the end of the paved road was closed. We tried to walk to the end but it was longer than we thought. After a nice hike, we turned around and headed back. On the way, we stopped at the pines and spotted a single Great Egret amongst the reeds.

We drove back to the north pool and stopped for lunch. At the pool we spotted a Northern Shrike which gave us great looks before flying over to the ocean side of the island. We finished up and drove on further before stopping at the bird blind near Hellcat. The water was filled with Pintail, Black Ducks, and Mallards. We even spotted four female Hooded Mergansers. On our drive out, I spotted a raptor which we identified as a male Harrier.

Before heading home we decided to stop at a few more locations. Joppa Flats was open and they were showing some of Jim Fenton's photos. They were absolutely fantastic. From there we stopped at the park and watched flocks of Bufflehead, Goldeneyes, and Long-tailed Ducks work against the incoming tide.

We continued on to the town boat launch but it was pretty quiet. Next was the chain bridge hoping to find a Bald Eagle or two who had lingered. But we lucked out. Our final stop was at Cherry Hill Reservoir which was still frozen.

Birds: Northern Harrier, Black-capped Chickadee, Northern Mockingbird, Red Wing Blackbird, Northern Shrike, Canada Goose, Snow Goose, Mallard, Black Duck, Short-eared Owl, Tree Swallow, Killdeer, Hooded Merganser, Northern Pintail, Gadwall, Yellowlegs Species, Great Egret, Tree Sparrow, Red-tailed Hawk, Long-tailed Duck, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Ring-billed Gull, Grebe Species

Vernal Pools

Well, now that the last snowstorm of the season is over (I hope) it truly is the start of spring. One good thing about the snow is that it will feed the vernal pools in the region. These temporary bodies of water usually go dry by mid-summer so they don't support fish. This lack of large predators makes the pools critical habitat for the first stages of life for many amphibians.
In Massachusetts, the two most common vernal pool amphibian species are Wood Frogs and Spotted Salamanders. The Wood Frog is truly an incredible animal. It spends most of the year in the woods. As winter approaches it seeks a hiding place in the leaf litter and proceeds to freeze virtually solid. The frog has developed special adaptations to allow it to survive this freezing process. When the temperatures drop, the frog's body produces large amounts of glucose. This blood sugar acts as a type of "anti-freeze", preventing the frog's cells from freezing along with the water in its body.

When the ice melts, the frogs reanimate. This event was captured by Jeff Corwin in his Animal Planet show, Corwin's Quest. Jeff went out in the dead of the Massachusetts winter and chipped a Wood Frog out of the ice. After an hour or so inside, the ice had melted enough to allow the Wood Frog to break out (kind of like it was in an egg). It really is incredible to watch.

Passing the winter on land allows the Wood Frog to be the first to the mating grounds. Hundreds of individuals gather in vernal pools and pairs enter amplexus. The males grip the females around the waist and hold on tight. This allows them to be in position to fertilize the female's eggs as they are laid. After this short period in the pool, the adult frogs disperse back into the woods.

The Spotted Salamander also uses vernal pools for mating. These animals are a member of the mole salamander family, so named because they spend almost the entire year underground. The only time that you're likely to find them is during rainy nights in March/April when they emerge to mate. I've been lucky enough to see a few of these salamander at a set of vernal pools in Sutton. They are truly huge. I'd estimate about 10 times the size of a Redback Salamander (a species which more people have probably encountered).

But, these are only a two of the species that rely on vernal pools. Snakes, turtles, fairy shrimp, and all sorts of insects live or feed at the pool. If you're interested in these animals, I'd recommend getting a copy of "A Field Guide to the Animals of Vernal Pools" by Leo P. Kenney and Matthew R. Burne. this is a small but unbelievably useful guidebook. I have a copy and keep it in my pack for quick reference whenever I'm out in the field.

Another great resource for more information on vernal pools is The Vernal Pool Association's web site. The association even has a listserv for discussions on the subject.

Planet Earth

This Sunday on the Discovery Channel premieres Planet Earth, an 11-part mini-series. Its from the same people who made Blue Planet. The commercials for this program have been running on all of the channels in the Discovery network and they look absolutely AWESOME. Strange birds in courtship dances, stop motion photography of mushrooms growing, deep sea creatures undulating... But my favorite is only in the web trailer. Its only on screen for a half second but it seems to show a pack of Smooth Coated Otters attacking a crocodile. That's worth an hour of your time right there.

Subaru's Zero Landfill Plant

A friend sent me a link to this article about Subaru's "Zero Landfill" assembly plant in Lafayette, Indiana. The plant uses the three R principles (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) to reduce the waste products produced at the plant to almost zero.

This is a great first step. But, to make a major difference, I believe that these large companies have to get their suppliers involved too. In theory, the companies producing the detail parts have to be producing a higher percentage of waste (metal chips, casting features, used machine oil, etc). But, this is certainly a more complex issue to tackle.

Cromwell Meadows (3/17)

Nuisance snow. I just hate it. It should snow during the core weeks of winter but once the temperature cracks 50 degrees, winter should be over.

The northeast got hit with one of these snowstorms on Friday which left me effectively stranded. On Saturday morning before getting to the task of clearing the snow from my driveway, I decided to take a walk.

I didn't want to risk the drive so I walked over to Cromwell Meadows, a state owned property within walking distance from my house. The walk was longer than I thought but it at least the weather was pleasant. And along the way I spotted a few birds: Northern Cardinals, American Robins, and Blue Jays in the bushes and a pair of Mallards swimming in a small stream.

The "meadows" is actually a strange name for this place since its mostly woods and marsh along the Connecticut River. I started down the main trail enjoying the hard work of making good time through the snow. It was relatively deep with a hard crust of ice which made walking particularly difficult. A ways in I veered off the main trail to see the water. To my surprise it was still mostly frozen and I spotted a Mute Swan asleep on the ice. Hearing my crunching footsteps, it raised its head and gave me a look of pure annoyance.

Back on the main path, I continued my hike. I found "pockets" of birds here and there but the woods were mostly quiet. In the marshier section of the trail, I found a small flock of Red Wing Blackbirds that were calling like crazy. Further down the path I spooked a Red-bellied Woodpecker and what I'm pretty sure was a Hairy Woodpecker. A few minutes later, a Great Blue Heron flew across my view.

I got to the end of the property, rested while enjoying the view, and then started back. On the return trip I discovered a single Eastern Bluebird. It was obviously a male since his feathers were brilliant red and deep blue. This is really a stunning bird this time of year.

Right before I left the property I came across a mixed flock of birds. From what I could tell, they were all Tufted Titmice and Black-capped Chickadees. Not a bad list for a snowy day.

Birds: (Cromwell Meadows) American Robin, Tufted Titmouse, Black-capped Chickadee, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Bluebird, Great Blue Heron, Mute Swan, Blue Jay, Red Wing Blackbird, Northern Cardinal

Birds: (Home feeders) Dark-eyed Junco, White-throated Sparrow, Mourning Dove, Downy Woodpecker, Common Grackle

Photo Contest

Like I said in my last post, I've finally turned in my entries for the photo contest. I had over 30 photos that I thought were good and I asked my friends and family to vote on their favorites. The top vote getters were:

Ghostly Tree (7), Wood Lily (7), Snapping Turtle (7), Snow Cones (5), Shedding Snake (5), New England Aster (4), Fragmities (4), Skunk Cabbage Along the Brook (4)

The contest is limited to 5 entries per person so I still had some issues making my final decisions. But, after some thought I picked the following:

1. People's Choice #1 - Ghostly Tree

I took this one in the middle of December. It was just starting to get cold and there was a dense fog over the entire sanctuary. (I also took this picture of the fragmities on that same trip.)

2. People's Choice #2 - Wood Lily

This one was a surprise favorite. Personally I like New England Aster better but this is a good shot too. It was taken on the power lines on the 4th of July.

3. My Personal Favorite - Snapping Turtle

This was a great sighting. At the beginning of May my parents and I were walking the stretch and spotted this turtle in the distance. It was crossing from the fragmities to the brook. It was a ways away but it was moving pretty slowly. So, when we finally ran up it hadn't had a chance to disappear into the water. I took pictures of it for a few minutes. The final few had the benefit of great lighting from the setting sun. My favorite thing about the photo is the turtle's eye. Its so beautiful.

4. My Mom's Favorite - Question Mark

While doing a survey of the power lines at the start of July my Mom and I found this great butterfly. Question Marks are relatively rare on the sanctuary and this one was very fresh.

5. Sentimental Favorite - River Otter

This photo didn't get a lot of votes but I had to enter it because its a sentimental favorite. I came across this otter as it bounded along one of the beaver dams on the brook. When it saw me, it dove into the water. When it surfaced for air, I had only a fraction of a second to get a shot off. This is the only one I got and I'm pretty proud of it.

For anyone who's interested in seeing the rest of the entries, the show opens on April 1st at 2:00 and runs thru the summer.

Broad Meadow Brook MAS: Worcester, MA (3/11)

The deadline for BMB's Photo contest is this Thursday so I had to drop my entries off at the office on Sunday morning. While I waited for the sanctuary to open I decided to take a short hike. Most of the trails were still pretty icy so I figured that the stretch would be my best option.

It was around noon so the area was pretty quiet. There were sparrows here and there, a Downy Woodpecker in the trees, plus a few Robins. Nothing special. I did spot a Common Muskrat feasting on tender shoots at the banks of the brook though.

On a sadder note, I found a deceased Great Blue Heron in the brook near the bridge. I wondered if the cold snap that we had last week was too much for it. This just highlights how close to the "edge" that birds live. They fly up from warmer climates at the wrong time and it can be a fatal mistake.

Salem, MA (3/10)

On Saturday the Walkers took a family trip to Salem to visit the Peabody Essex Museum. Even for people (like me) who don't consider themselves art lovers, the museum is worth a visit. The museum has thousands of pieces of maritime art. My favorite had to be the schematic which detailed how a battleship should be painted with a cubist pattern. Apparently the almost random shapes and colors made it very difficult to determine which direction the ship was heading. It must have been something to see though.

The Asian art was spectacular too. One of my favorites was a giant tusk which had been carved into an entire miniature town. The hours of work that must have gone into the piece must have been unbelievable.

After leaving the museum for a quick lunch we headed over to the docks to see what was on the water. There were scores of Red-breasted Mergansers and Bufflehead. I think that I spotted one Scaup amongst a group of Common Eider. And we did see one Common Loon... at least until it dove and vanished.

Random Bird Sightings

Here are some of the bird sightings that I've made during the last week or so:

3/8 - On my way to work in Middletown, CT I spotted an adult Bald Eagle in a tree along the Connecticut River.

3/9 - Driving thru the industrial park in Auburn I spotted a single Bufflehead in the open water.

Northbridge Ponds (3/4)

After my walk along the bike path I headed out to Northbridge to check out the ponds. The first one that I came to was still frozen over to a thickness that people were actually ice fishing on it. So, I continued on to the pond across the street from the Northbridge high school. As I approached the bird blind I spooked a Great Blue Heron that had been standing on the muddy banks of the pond. On the water were mostly Black Ducks, Mallards, and Canada Geese but I did find a pair of Hooded Mergansers and a solitary Common Merganser.

But the best “sighting” at this pond was actually a familiar song. From the reeds I heard the repeating call of a Red-wing Blackbird... my first of the season. This is a sure sign that spring has arrived.

Millbury Bike Path (3/4)

Last Sunday I went over to the bike path in Millbury hoping to see some of the great birds reported by Danny Berard. Right around the corner from the parking lot I saw a Ring-neck Duck swimming alone. Further up, near the bridge there was a single Common Merganser amongst the Mallards and Black Ducks. While standing on the bridge and looking upstream I could see Hooded Mergansers and Canada Geese. I walked on to the next bridge where there are always tons of waterfowl (mostly Mallards). There I was able to find a pair of Wood Ducks resting on the shore.

As I left the bridge I noticed a Red-tailed Hawk soaring above the highway. While I watched a second hawk flew into view. Then another. I counted five Red-tails in total and watched as they chased each other in what appeared to be a territory dispute.

After the hawks flew off, I continued my walk up the bike path. Right before I was about to turn around and head back, I spied a flash of blue. It was a male Eastern Bluebird in full breeding plumage. Again, careful inspection turned up several more birds. I would estimate six in total. They were all flying from perch to perch picking food off the plants. But, it was frustrating since they seemed to know just when to move to avoid giving me a good shot.

On the walk back, I had one more nice sighting. At the first bridge, a pair of Northern Pintails were swimming with the Mallards. The female was eating while the male stood guard. Whenever another bird came too close, he chased them away.

Flower Show (3/3)

On Saturday night I volunteered for a couple hours at the Broad Meadow Brook/Greater Worcester Land Trust display at the Flower Show. The display was great. The goal was to recreate a wooded setting inside the DCU Center. The floor of the display was covered with mulch and the landscaping companies donated shrubs, trees, and flowers for a backdrop. The centerpiece was a small camping tent and a couple of picnic benches. It was very nicely done (here are some pictures).

My work was to help the kids make animal tracks out of plaster of paris. I also assisted them with the scavenger hunt and talked to the adults about BMB. It was a lot of fun.

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

I spent most of the day on Saturday at Broad Meadow Brook attending a natural history conference. There were several different presenters who spoke about the work they were doing on the sanctuary. The talks were wide ranging: from mammal diversity to fungi, from birds to invasive species. My Mom gave a talk on the butterfly diversity on the sanctuary and discussed the Harris' Checkerspot and how its population was affected by the recent power line cut. All the speakers were great. Its just too bad that there weren't many people in attendance.

After spending most of the day inside, we were anxious to get out on the trails and enjoy the sunny weather. My parents, John Shea, a woman we met at the conference, and I headed out for a short hike. My Mom was hoping for her first Mourning Cloak of the year but we lucked out.

There were lots of tracks though. I found a few that looked like Fisher to me and others which were probably Chipmunk. We walked down Holdredge and made the turn onto Enchanted Forest Trail. About halfway to Sprague Trail, Ann spotted an animal moving around in the Sedge Marsh area to our left. Even though it was a ways off, we immediately recognized it as an Eastern Coyote. We tracked the coyote with our binoculars getting quick glimpses of the animal thru the trees. Then, I spotted a second coyote a ways in front of the first. Could this possibly be a mated pair? I did a quick search and found out that coyotes in Massachusetts mate in February and give birth in April. So, this really seems probable to me. And I have seen a lot of coyote tracks this year especially along the power lines. Could the pair be denning in the Sedge Marsh?

We finally lost sight of the animals so we continued down to Sprague Trail. There we found lots of fresh tracks which I attributed to the coyotes. I'm looking forward to seeing if there are more signs of activity in this area later this spring.

After looking at the tracks for a few minutes, we continued down to Frog Pond Trail. There at the corner we had the best birds of the day. There were sparrows in the bushes as well as a Northern Cardinal and some American Robins. A White-breasted Nuthatch, a Downy Woodpecker, and a Red-bellied Woodpecker all worked over one of the trees looking for food. A Red-tailed Hawk soared above us and we even spotted what John thought might be a Rusty Blackbird in the bushes. Unfortunately he never gave me the opportunity for a clear photograph.