Where have all the birds gone? Many wildlife watchers have asked this question recently. Indeed, our feeders, after being in constant demand all summer, are now virtually empty of birds, save for an occasional goldfinch. As I recall, this is always a concern for feeder watchers at this time of year. There may be several…
Pileated Woodpecker at Frances Hill Conservation Land – September 2019 Photo courtesy of Roy Perry
One of the fall events bird lovers look forward to is the return of the dark-eyed juncos to our feeders. Juncos are one of North America’s most common birds. Dark-eyed juncos are black and white or gray and white. Males are darker gray or even black on their head and back, white on their belly,…
Where have all the grackles gone? Common Grackles are those large, glossy iridescent blackbirds. Males glow with a copper, blue and green sheen in the right light. They have light colored yellow eyes. Females are a bit less iridescent, more brown, with the light eye. Juveniles are all brown with a brown eye. Their song…
After several months of hard work clearing and restoring a local hiking trail, Westford Girl Scouts Troop 85411 had a grand reopening on August 9th of the Butterfield Lane section of the Beaverbrook Trail in Westford, near the Littleton town line. The scouts also worked to bring this trail up to AMC specifications . Trust…
Members and friends are invited to join us for the 2019 Westford Conservation Trust Annual Meeting on Thursday, November 7th, at Roudenbush Community Center at 7 pm. A brief Trust business meeting will be held from 7:00-7:20 pm followed by our guest speaker. Light refreshments will be served. Our new trail booklets and several hand…
We are saddened to share that our trust board member Emily King Edwards passed away after a long battle with melanoma on July 20th, 2019 at age 35. She will truly be missed by the many lives she touched. There are no words to describe her loss for family, friends and community. Emily became an…
Did you know that many female birds sing? I didn’t, but read about the phenomenon in the summer issue of Living Bird. I had heard about the female rose-breasted grosbeak sometimes singing from the nest, and some years ago I witnessed this phenomenon. I heard the singing, assumed it was a male rose-breasted grosbeak and…
Have you seen any Monarch Butterflies this spring? I haven’t, and if last year is any precedent, we won’t see many this spring and summer either. Monarchs are declining precipitously. Experts estimate that these migratory butterflies have declined by 90% in the past twenty years. The Mexican Oyamel Fir Forest, monarchs’ wintering habitat, has shrunk…
Maybe you are, like me, a “tree hugger”. One of my earliest memories as a child is of a huge tulip tree in my yard. My friends and I played in our big side yard with the tulip tree as base for all games of Tag, Mother-May-I and Red Light, Green Light. My other favorite…
Azure Bluet damselfly on fern Photo by Ron Gemma
Westford Conservation Trust voted to donate $8,000 to the Campaign to Conserve Salt Box Farm in support of the protection of open space in Westford. Please consider donating today to help with the protection and conservation of this very special property! Salt Box Farm The 52-acre Salt Box Farm on Hildreth Street in Westford Center…
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