Celebrating 40 Years of Preserving and Protecting Westford's Open Space and Natural Resources.
Common Grackles Are your feeders dominated by grackles? Ours are too. Common Grackles are large birds, 11-13 inches long, with long beaks. Their coloring is black with a beautiful iridescent sheen of blue, purple and bronze. Their eyes are bright golden yellow. Surprisingly, though they are common and widespread, grackles are among those birds that … Read more
One of my favorite hobbies is collecting old bird and wildflower guides. Perhaps you have a passion for this type of old book too. Recently, I was fortunate to be given a wonderful old pocket bird guide by a Westford friend. The book is titled Land Birds Bird Guide: Song and Insectivorous Birds East of … Read more
Marsh Marigold (Caltha palustris) seen next to Vine Brook April 21, 2020, South Westford – photo courtesy of Ron Gemma NATURE NOTES* By ANNIE REID Westborough Community Land Trust Marsh-marigolds in our streams and swamps The branches are still bare and the day is chilly, but you know it’s spring when you see a bouquet … Read more
Brighter Outlook by Stepping Out Westford has lost a talented photographer, poet and nature lover, and I have lost a friend. Doug Pederson sent me many of his lovely bird photos over the years I knew him, and gave me permission to use them for the Westford Wildlife Watch column. His family put together some … Read more
One of the newly emerged skunk cabbage (Symplocarpus foetidus) seen next to the extensive bog bridges on the lower section of the Tom Paul Trail – photo by Bill Duane, March 27, 2020 From New England Wildlife Center, Weymouth, MA – Native to eastern North America, skunk cabbage prefers to grow in wetlands. This plant … Read more