Friday, June 10, 2011

Great Neck Wildlife Sanctuary

Thursday morning my birding calling Doug and I decided to try a new place to bird. Since we are both involved with Allens Pond Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary which now manages the Great Neck Wildlife Sanctuary in Wareham Massachusetts that is the location we decided to visit.gn D7K_6218 NIKON D7000 June 09, 2011gn D7K_6222 NIKON D7000 June 09, 2011
Here is a description of the sanctuary taken from the Massachusetts Audubon Society webpage:
"Located in Wareham, Great Neck is truly a sanctuary for wildlife. Here you might spot an Eastern box turtle ambling along the trail or an osprey hovering over Bass Cove. The open forest provides shelter for ovenbirds and great horned owls while the salt marsh feeds wading herons and egrets. And, nearly the entire property is designated as priority habitat of state-listed rare species.
The 2.5 miles of trails follow old carriage roads and deer paths. As you walk along them, you’ll encounter native plants gn D7K_6226 NIKON D7000 June 09, 2011including blueberry, huckleberry and sassafras trees; pass by stone walls built by hand by the early settlers; and discover a large glacial erratic (a massive boulder deposited here by glaciers in the distant past) once used for quarrying. gn D7K_6278 NIKON D7000 June 09, 2011
Great Neck is more than an ecological treasure; it’s testimony of successful land conservation partnerships. Public and private conservation organizations, as well as private land owners, worked together to ensure that this special place will remain a wildlife sanctuary for all to enjoy. Members of this effective collaborative to protect the land include the Wareham Land Trust, Department of Conservation and Recreation, town of Wareham, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Mass Audubon"
greatneck_trails

The area is as described, a juvenile great horned owl Great horned Owl Great Horned Owl- Juv_D7K_6232 NIKON D7000 June 09, 2011allowed us nice views of it.






An ovenbirdOvenbird D7K_6281 NIKON D7000 June 09, 2011 kept jumping around over our heads with a caterpillar in its mouth. We had other numerous birds sightings however we could not walk all the trails because a rain and thunderstorms came upon us and we made it back to the car just prior to the very heavy rains. A return trip is planned so we can finish seeing the entire property.

Ameran Crow


Directions to the property are:From Exit 21 off Rt 195, go southeast on Rt 28. Stay right before light onto Tremont Road and follow as it merges with Main Street, curves right, and becomes Rt 6 through downtown. Stay left on Rt 6 over bridge to light. Turn right onto Narrows Road. Take 3rd right onto Indian Neck Road, which becomes RD Stillman Memorial Drive. At T, turn right onto Great Neck Road and follow for 1.4 miles. Turn right onto Stockton Shortcut (becomes unpaved after Little Harbor Country Club) to parking lot on right.

If you use a GPS in your car, enter the intersection of Great Neck Road and Stockton Shortcut especially if you are coming from the North or West of Wareham.

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