WMA Field Guide

Beyond the Academy Walls A guide to the natural world around Wilbraham & Monson Academy

by Deborah Finley, Science Department

Text by Deborah Finley Photographs

by ZiYi Li ’14 Photos of Killdeer and Red-tailed Hawk

by Andrew Finley

Introduction Wilbraham & Monson Academy spans over 300 acres of woodlands, wetlands, fields and ponds. Our natural areas include many of the habitats and species found in western Massachusetts, including white-tailed deer, fishers, coyotes and bobcats. Several species of “special concern” to the state have been identified on campus. Many of our students from urban areas have their first real exposure to nature in a biology or environmental science class. The Outdoor Adventure program and Forest Stewardship Club provide further opportunities for students to learn about and enjoy our environment.

This guide was prepared for anyone interested in exploring the Academy’s natural areas. Some historical references to land use are included in recognition of the Town of Wilbraham’s 250th anniversary.

The Rubicon The Rubicon is a temporary, or intermittent stream. It carries runoff water from the mountain through the campus to the Mill River in Wilbraham. Most of the time the Rubicon is a shallow meandering stream. However, in periods of snow melt and heavy rain, its banks have flooded all the way to Mountain Road.

The Rubicon provides habitat for crayfish, frogs and small fish. Brook trout have been spotted swimming down the Rubicon in the spring. Mallard ducks and great blue herons are often seen feeding in the Rubicon.

The Rubicon also carries sediments from erosion on the mountain, and its bottom is quite silty. It can dry up completely in the summer.

WMA seniors cross the Rubicon with their stones before commencement. Students used to soak their stones in the Rubicon to make them easier to carve. Today most seniors have their stones professionally engraved, but a forgotten senior stone occasionally surfaces in the Rubicon.

Central Campus The main campus, with its expansive lawns and beautiful tree-lined walkways, is home to a variety of birds and mammals. Some of the most commonly seen birds include robins, starlings, grackles, house sparrows and pigeons. These birds are adapted to living near humans, and may even nest in or near buildings. At night, nocturnal animals such as skunks, raccoons and deer can sometimes be seen moving through campus. Our most common diurnal animal is the gray squirrel. They feed on pine cones, acorns, maple seeds and other vegetative matter. You can find cones stripped by squirrels under spruce and pine trees on campus.

Two bird species are of special interest. Every spring, killdeer return to campus and nest on the edges of the lawns. The adult birds call kill-deee, kill-deee repeatedly in their nesting territories. If a human gets too near the nest, the killdeer will feign injury to focus attention away from the young.

The red-tailed hawk can be seen almost anywhere on campus and is a permanent resident of Massachusetts. This hawk can be spotted soaring overhead or perched in a tree or on a telephone line. Red-tails have no shortage of food on campus, as they prey on squirrels, rabbits and other small mammals. Red-tails are mobbed by crows, for reasons which are not understood. In the spring watch for pairs of red-tails swooping and diving in the air as part of their pair bonding ritual.

The main campus also boasts a large number of trees and shrubs. The most common tree is the sugar maple. Sugar maples line the broad walk, and provide an autumn spectacular as the leaves turn a golden yellow in October. Rhododendrons, planted near many of the classroom buildings, keep their leaves all year. Stately Norway spruce produce an abundance of cones for squirrels and chipmunks. White Pines shade the entryway to Wallace Blake. The crab apples which line the Mattern

driveway buzz with insects in the spring, and provide fruit for robins and evening grosbeaks in the winter.

Our trees and shrubs, whether native or ornamental, provide a beautiful back drop to our historic campus.

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Crystal Pond Crystal Pond is a glacial kettle hole. It was formed by a melting block of ice during the last glacial period, 10-15,000 years ago. Today the pond is quite shallow, but it provides habitat for a wide variety of wildlife. Painted turtles and snapping turtles live in the pond. The snapping turtles cross Faculty Street in the spring in search of sandy soil for digging nests.

Bullfrogs, green frogs and pickerel frogs hunt for prey along the banks.

Mallard ducks, common mergansers, Canada geese and great blue herons are frequently seen at the pond. Swallows fly over the pond looking for insects. In early spring, red-winged blackbirds arrive and set up nesting territories which they defend by calling konk-a-ree, konk-a-ree from trees and shrubs.

The edge of the pond provides habitat for many species of wildflowers, such as milkweed, bone-

set, goldenrod and Queen Anne’s lace. Trees include silver maple, black walnut, cottonwood and American elm. Unfortunately, Crystal Pond also hosts a variety of invasive plants. Purple loosestrife, multiflora rose, and oriental bittersweet are just some of the species which choke out native vegetation.

Although fish have been released in the pond at various times, they probably do not survive because ice forms from top to bottom in the winter. Even though it lacks fish, Crystal Pond has relatively high biodiversity. It provides food, water, shelter and nesting sites for a variety of species.

The deck at the gym is a good observation post for watching wildlife and enjoying the view at Crystal Pond.

Woods Behind Binney The trail through the woods was once an old cart path that passed through the campus and continued up the mountain. The road was rerouted in the 19th century and became the present day Mountain Road.

The woods were heavily damaged by a late October snowstorm in 2011. Because the trees had not yet lost their leaves, the weight of the heavy, wet snow caused branches to break and trees to fall. “Hangers”, or dangling branches, can still be seen near the tops of many trees.

The woods are undergoing secondary succession. Eventually they will reach the climax stage, with a canopy of oak, ash, hickory and maple. The understory, or shrub layer, will slowly disappear as sunlight is blocked by mature trees.

About midway down the path there is an old sugar maple on the right. The large diameter of the trunk, and the widely spreading upper branches indicate that this tree grew up without competition. Large trees were often left in fields and pastures to provide shade for farm animals or field workers.We know from photographic evidence that this area was sparsely wooded in the past. Its historical use is unknown.

The woods are a good place to look and listen for birds. Some common permanent residents include the chickadee, white-breasted nuthatch, blue jay, cardinal and tufted titmouse. These birds feed on the abundance of insects, seeds and nuts in the woods. Wild turkeys visit the woods in the fall to feast on acorns. Hairy, downy and red-bellied woodpeckers look for insects in dead and declining trees.

The woods provide habitats for gray squirrels, chipmunks, deer and red fox. You may smell the pungent, skunk-like odor of the fox’s scent marking.

Unfortunately, the woods harbor a number of invasive species. Barberry, burning bush, multiflora rose, garlic mustard and oriental bittersweet have spread from cultivation and grow in many of the Academy’s natural areas.

These and other invasive plants have been banned from sale in Massachusetts. They compete with native species, reducing biodiversity wherever they take hold.

The Lower Reservoir This small pond was once the source of drinking water for the Academy. The Lower Reservoir was much deeper and wider than it is today. The deterioration of the old dam, and the siltation caused by years of runoff from the mountain, have hastened aquatic succession in the pond. Today, the pond is slowly transitioning to a marsh. An ever-increasing population of wetland plants has cut the pond into two sections.

The Lower Reservoir no longer supports brook trout or other fish stocked by former students, but it is an important habitat for wood ducks, mallards and great blue herons. Frogs, minnows, crayfish and salamanders thrive in the pond. Raccoon tracks can be seen in the mud near the dam, where they hunt for crayfish. Kingfishers fly over the pond hunting for food, and noisily scold any intruders with a loud, rattle-like call. Snapping turtles lie in wait in the pond, hoping to snatch a duckling for a meal.

Although the pond appears murky and uninviting to humans, it is biologically active. A diverse population of microorganisms and aquatic insects provide a good base for the food chain. An abundance of diatoms indicates that the water is clean. The Lower Reservoir is still a thriving ecological community, although it is not a good place to swim or get a drink of water any more.

A Climax Forest Just beyond the Lower Reservoir, the path continues uphill through a mature, or climax forest. It is very shady in these woods, and only trees which are adapted to living in low light levels as seedlings and saplings can survive.

There are few shrubs in the understory. Wildflowers, such as bloodroot and toothwort, bloom in early spring before the trees leaf out. Ferns are shade tolerant, and thrive in the woods.

The long stone wall which parallels the path was probably built between 1775 and 1825. This was the “golden

age� of stone wall construction, when early farmers cleared their land of glacial boulders and created walls to mark property boundaries or contain livestock. These walls are a testament to Yankee ingenuity and hard labor.

The dead trees on the ground are mostly white ash. Although ash is a climax species, the rocky soil and hilly terrain may have made these trees vulnerable to blow-down during storms. Most of the trees in this forest are sugar maple, shagbark hickory and red oak.

There are many large boulders scattered throughout the woods. They are covered with moss, lichens, and sometimes ferns. These granite rocks were too large to move, and this made the land unsuitable for growing crops. Early Wilbraham settlers probably cut firewood on this part of the mountain, or used it for grazing sheep or cows.

The path ends at Mountain Road. A narrow trail across the road leads to the Upper Reservoir in about a five-minute walk. Water from the Upper Reservoir was carried by an aqueduct of pine logs to the center of town, but problems with pipes bursting caused the town to abandon the project and sell the Upper Reservoir to the Academy. Students swam and fished at the Upper Reservoir, and the Outing Club maintained a log cabin on the cliff overlooking the pond. Today the Upper Reservoir is somewhat overgrown, but it is still a peaceful and scenic place to visit.

Mohawk Woods Mohawk Woods abut the playing fields near the end of Faculty Street. Although this area was severely impacted by a microburst in July, 2011, the cross country trail can be followed through a portion of the woods. This area is bordered by the town-owned White Cedar Swamp, and a power line right-of-way, creating a significant area of open space and wildlife habitat.

Coyotes, fishers, bobcats and white-tailed deer inhabit this area. Great horned owls nest in the white pines, and great blue herons have used the swamps as a rookery. Beavers have periodically dammed the streams in the woods, creating more wetlands and marshy areas.

The Mohawk Woods have a number of vernal pools. These shallow bodies of water provide critical habitat for amphibians during the spring breeding season. Wood frogs and salamanders lay their eggs in vernal pools without threat of predation by fish. In Massachusetts, vernal pools are afforded some protection by state and local laws.

Wetlands were once thought of as wastelands as they were not suitable for farming or development. Today, wetlands are considered important for the control of flood waters, purification of ground water, and for their rich biodiversity.

The damage from the microburst will be evident for years to come. In time, this area will succeed to a mixed hardwood-coniferous forest. Severe storms can alter an ecosystem in a matter of minutes. It will probably take about 100 years for this woods to reach a climax stage once again.

423 Main Street Wilbraham, MA 01095 413.596.6811 www.WMA.us