Winimusset, New Braintree

	Winimusset Wildlife Management Area, New Braintree: Winimusset Wildlife Management Area (WMA), is a state-owned property that is maintained by the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife and offers excellent birding throughout the year. Winimusset's extensive landscape is comprised of diverse habitats, and is especially rich in open spaces ranging from agricultural fields to marshland. There are several access points to the property, each leading to different birding opportunities, and the WMA can be explored by quick roadside scans or more intimately in a day's wandering. Target Species: Winimusset is a great spot year-round, and is really one of the locations in the area during the winter months where such interesting species as Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, Winter Wren, Northern Shrike, Eastern Bluebird, Cedar Waxwing and Swamp Sparrow have come to be almost expected daily. All three accipiter species are also regularly present in winter year to year. In autum look for Wilson's Snipe in the marshes and for hordes of sparrows in the margins. Spring offers migrant marsh birds such as American Bittern, Sora and Virginia Rail, as well as a high density of American Woodcock in the upland pastures. Summer offers breeding Virginia Rails, the possibility of American Bittern, and a very high density of Willow Flycatchers and lesser, but still good numbers of Bobolinks in the hay fields. Getting to Winimusset: Beginning on route 32 in Petersham Center, continue south for about 1/2 mile until you meet the intersection with route 122. Turn right onto route 122W and proceed another 1/2 mile until you come to the flashing yellow light announcing route 32A. Turn left onto route 32A and continue for about 10 miles, until you reach Hardwick Center. Bear left as you approach Hardwick Common, passing close by the church on the hill and the old Hardwick Town Hall. Shortly after the old Town Hall you will come to a stop sign. Continue on through, down the hill onto Barre Road. Follow Barre Road for about 3 miles, passing under a railroad bridge and coming to a stop sign shortly after. Continue straight through (across route 32) and over the bridge that crosses the Ware River. This is Hardwick Road, and in just less than a mile you will see a small, cinderblock building on the right after a series of large hay fields. This is a good start for a first visit of Winimusset, and there is a small dirt pull-off on the right, in front this disused building. Park here. Birding Winimusset: Winimusset is comprised of several distinct units that are either seperated by impassable wetlands or are not contiguous. Fortunately, there are adequate parking areas to provide access to each of these parcels, and with this in mind, the following overview will be broken down to suggested itineries for each of these specific parcels. And though the marshy nature of this WMA can make birding a bit difficult at times, much of the property consists of fields or open wetalnds, and can be scanned fairly thoroughly with binoculars or a spotting scope. Hardwick Road Entrance: Heading east on Hardwick Road, pull into the dirt turn-off near the small cinderblock building and park. In front of you are several acres of hayfields backed by the extensive marshes of Winimusset Brook. This area is often productive year-round. In spring, the short, wet grass of the hayfields can occassionally support thousands of birds feeding in the newly-thawed soil. There have been times when nearly 100 Killdeer have fed alongside Pectoral and Least Sandpipers while surrounded by hundreds of Robins and Blackbirds, with the occassional small flock of Eastern Meadowlarks mixed in. American Kestrel is a typical spring through autumn raptor perching on the telephone lines here, and if there has been a good amount of spring rain, migrating waterfowl, such as Green-winged Teal and even the occassional flock of Snow Geese can be seen in the puddles out in the field. Walking to the back of these fields at dusk will often put you close enough to to the marsh to hear to calls of spring migrants such as Sora and American Bittern, not to mention the displaying American Woodcock. Just keep in mind that these fields can be extremely wet and muddy year-round, so boots may be a necessity. In summer, these fields support a decent population of breeding Bobolinks, and they are often easily obsereved right from the parking area. There are also hints that Northern Harrier may occassionally breed in the marshes behind these fields, so always be alert for this state-threatened species. In fact, just the presence of a Harrier during the summer months is extrememly noteworthy and should be reported. Autumn can be a hectic time here as this a very popular Pheasant hunting location (it's heavily stocked), but if you can get here on a Sunday you'll often be rewarded. Sparrows are the main draw, and an October morning's list can be impressive for both numbers of individuals and of species. The weedy margins of the fields and marshes are often alive with, at times, 100's of the more common Song, Swamp and Savannah Sparrows, with lesser, but regular numbers of Lincoln's and White-crowned Sparrows. And occassionally a real treat can be present, such as Vesper Sparrow, Grasshopper Sparrow or Dickcissel. This is also a good spot to observe migrant raptors, especially Accipiters and the occassional Northern Harrier. In the now-mown fields, American Pipit, Horned Lark and Snow Bunting can often be found. While winter can often be a quiet time in the region, Winimusset always seems to be at least somewhat active. Horned Larks and Snow Buntings often stay through the season in the hay fields, while a Northern Shrike can typically be spotted by scanning the hedgerows or the marsh. If the winter has been particularly cold and the marsh is frozen, a full day can be spent exploring the marshy basin. Of course, always exercise extreme caution when navigating across the ice and expect that there will be thin spots, even in the coldest of months. If the ice is stable, a nice list of birds can be put together, often made up of species that are otherwise difficult to find in this region during the winter. Species such as Belted Kingfisher, Northern Flicker, Winter Wren and Swamp Sparrow will often over-winter here, along with flocks of Eastern Bluebirds, American Robins and Cedar Waxwings. And always be on the lookout for surprises, such as the American Kestrel and Virginia Rail that spent the winter of 2000-2001 in this frozen marsh. McKay Road Entrance: From the Hardwick Road entrance, continue east for about 100 yards on Hardwick Road and turn right. This 90 degree right turn will keep you on Hardwick Road, despite the feeling that you have turned onto a different road. Shortly after this turn there will be a hillside of hay fields on the left that hold breeding Bobolinks in the summer months. These fields are part of the WMA and can be birded. Continuing past these fields, follow Hardwick Road for about 1/2 mile and bear right at the intersection with McKay Road. Follow McKay Road a short distance, past an old barn on the right and over a small brook, until you see the first cornfields on the right. Park roadside here. This is the McKay Road entrance, and a walk down into the cornfileds will give you the potential to seasonally encounter most of the same species as seen at the Hardwick Road entrance. However, one major difference is the unique perspective of Winimusset marsh offered at the bottom of the cornfield. This cornfiled abuts directly up to the marsh with no hegderow, in a sense putting you into the marsh without actually having to be in the marsh. In spring, this view will often show the area's first Tree Swallows, and a scan of the standing deadwood across the marsh will reveal the three active Great Blue Heron nests atop the snags. This is also a great spot to listen for migratory marsh birds such as the Sora and American Bittern. Summertime offers a near overwhelming presence of Willow Flycatchers, some at very close range, along with high numbers of breeding Yellow Warblers and Swamp Sparrows. Autumn brings the migratory sparrows here as well, along with Wilson's Snipe at the margins. This is also a very reliable spot for Rusty Blackbird, and sometimes very large flocks of American Pipits on the cornfield. In winter, use this view to scan the marsh for Northern Shrike (three individulas wintered here in the winter of 2000-2001). If the marsh is iced-over, this entrence allows a good access to wander the ice in search of the otherwise tough-to-find winter species. But again, always keep in mind that the ice never freezes consistantly in marshes and a breakthrough into waist-deep water may be par for the course. On the east side of the McKay Road entrance you will see a sign erected by the Ruffed Grouse Society announcing their joint effort with the Massachusetts Division of Fish and Wildlife with the Uplands Habitat Management Program (http://www.state.ma.us/dfwele/dfw/bdi/UplandIntro.htm). This hillside is a tangle of early successional habitat that features breeding Prairie Warblers and Field Sparrows, along with a nice assortment of Butterfiles. Thompson Road Entrance: From the McKay Road entrance, return to Hardwick Road and turn right, up the hill. In about 1/2 mile Hardwick road will bear 90 degrees to the right, while Thompson Road will begin if you continue on straight. Continue straight on Thompson Road. A few hundred yards after this intersection will be a large, hanging Winimusset WMA sign on the left, announcing the parking area for the Thompson Road entrance. The habitat in this tract is much different than that of the previous two sections described, and consists of upland pastures, small hay fields, areas of early regeneration and upland forest. But like the other sections, this tract can be rewarding in all four seasons. Spring is perhaps the most exciting time here, as this is one of the premier Woodcock display grounds in the area. Showing up at dusk and quietly taking a seat near a hedgerow can often put you in the midst of 20 to 30 birds as they perform their elaborate flight displays and offer their nasally 'peent' calls. In summer, the thickets and tangles come alive with House Wrens, Gray Catbirds, Brown Thrashers, Blue-winged, Chestnut-sided and Yellow Warblers, Common Yellowthroats and Eastern Towhees. This is also an excellent area for a diverse array of butterflies in the weedy fields. Autumn brings migrating passerines, including warblers in the thickets and sparrows in the sqaush fields just west of the parking area, and winter will often have flocks of Eastern Bluebirds, Cedar Waxwings and even the occassional Northern Shrike or flock of Common Redpolls. This tract is a great representation of the state's Upland Habitat Management Program at work.