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| Box Turtles are rare in the East Quabbin Area |
Conservation
One of the primary
intentions of this group is to work to better protect the ecological integrity of the East Quabbin Area. Open space conservation
is a fundamental action in acheiving this goal, but to make the land protection effort further relevant, supporting efforts such
identifing key habitats, finding populations of rare and endangered species, and simply understanding the movements and trends
of local wildlife becomes critical.
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| BlueJays are common in the East Quabbin Area |
General
Monitoring
Please send all area trip lists and other observations to info@eastquabbinbirdclub.com.
The
simple coordination and compilation of the group's observations is an invaluable tool in identifying and defining the area's
most important ecological landscapes. By keeping even basic field notes about what you're seeing and where, your individual
observations become an important record of the landscape; especially when correlated with the regional notes of the entire
group. In most cases, you will be the only person looking at your landscape, and without your documentation, that knowledge
will be invisible to conservation.
What
bird species have you been seeing? Do you think you might be seeing vernal pools? Does is seem that
there is an interesting plant community on the landscape? Is that a type of turtle that you've never seen before?
These
are the simple questions that lead to discoveries, and ultimately, to conservation. A great example of this is the Muddy
Brook Valley in Hardwick. For years this area has been considered at least interesting, though no real ecological monitoring
had ever been done. Then, in the mid-90's, birdwatchers began visiting the area and noting an impressive diversity of
birdlife. Over time this notation showed trends and piqued interest that eventually lead to closer examination of the
valley, turning up populations of endangered species, unusual plant communities, and a complex network of vernal pools.
These discoveries then turned real conservation attention to the valley, and because there was a written record of observations,
large conservation organizations, including the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Program, have become involved
in the valley's protection. And it all started with a birdwatcher's field notebook.
So, this type of passive monitoring of the area will be a central pillar of the East Quabbin Bird Club. Lists
of species and numbers of individuals observed during walks are the base for finding the ecological value of an area.
Please include date, name of area and any comments that you feel might be relevant to info@eastquabbinbirdclub.com. From here, your information will be entered into a data base focused
on the East Quabbin Area and used to build a data set for these areas, to track population trends, and to have a general record
of what is being observed. All information has value, and some other specific observations to submit are potential rare
species habitats, written landscape descriptions, plant lists, or even questions about something you've seen.
Also, be sure to visit the 'Surveys' page to become involved with more specific and formal monitoring.
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| New England Blazing Star is A Species of Special Concern |
Rare and Endangered Species
The East Quabbin Area is home
to a surprising number of species considered by the Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program
to be Rare or Endangered. In a sense, these species are the most important to document, as they're already at the edge of their local existence,
they are often dependant upon unusual and specific natural communities, they have the benefit of real protection by state
and federal law if properly documented, and their protection will result in the protection of a wide array of peripheral species.
What is a Rare or Endangered Species?
The
Massachusetts Natural Heritage & Endangered Species Program (NHESP) is an annex of the Massachusetts Department Fisheries
& Wildlife, and is responsible for the conservation and protection of the state's non-game species, especially those species
at risk of extinction or extirpation. The main tools used to achieve these goals are Biological Field Surveys, Research
and Inventory, Data Management, Environmental Impact Review, Rare Species Recovery, Ecological Restoration of Key Habitats,
and Land Protection. NHESP is also responsible for determining the status of rare species in the state, and
status is divided into one of four categories:
Endangered: A species a risk of extinction
Threatened: A species at risk of becoming Endangered
Special Concern: A species at risk of becoming Threatened
Watchlist: A species of concern that is either approaching
a Special Concern status, or that needs more population data. Watchlist species have no special regulatory
protection under the Massachusetts Endangered Act.
Why
is documenting an Endangered Species Important?
The
proper documentation of an Endangered Species observation is the only way to provide legal protection to the rare plant or
animal observed. All properly documented observations need to be submitted to NHESP, and once Heritage receives this
documentation, the observation is mapped and tracked. From here the record is used for research, guiding land acquisition
decisions, and perhaps most important, providing a legal protection to that species and its population's habitat. A properly
documented rare species occurrence ensures that NHESP will be notified of all work done within that species' local habitat,
and NHESP will have the opportunity to make legally binding recommendations to how that work is able to proceed. This
does NOT mean that no work will be able to commence within the habitat, but it does mean that the work will be facilited
in a way to also protect the habitat.
How to submit a Record
The
submission of rare species records to Natural Heritage is one of the easiest ways to make a real contribution to conservation.
The following is a step-by-step example of the submission process.
1) You're walking along
Muddy Brook in Hardwick and you see a Wood Turtle basking on the streak bank. This is a Species of Special Concern in
Massachusetts and should be documented.
2) Before anything else, take
out your camera and snap a good photo that shows its diagnostic features. It may sound presumptuous to assume that you
have a camera with you, but knowing that just about everyone now has at least a cheap digital camera, you should really have
it with you whenever you go out on a hike, and you should keep it in your car when driving around. That's why you have
a camera. From now on, keep your cameras handy so you can use them. Records from the general public without photos,
with the exception of some very diagnostic calling birds, often have to be rejected. However, records with a good photo
will be accepted if the photo shows the species clearly.
3) If you have your field notebook
with you, take notes of your observation. Make a written description of the turtle to go along with the photo:
markings and size; sex and relative age if known. Note the habitat of the observation: meadow or forest; upland
or wetland; the plant community (dominant plant species). Describe the waterway: fast riffles or deep pools in
the immediate area. Describe the habit of the waterway over the course of 1/2 mile up and downstream. Also make a
note of directions to the site based on nearby roads and landmarks. If you don't have your field notebook with you,
carefully make mental notes of all of these things.
4) Fill out a field form as soon
as possible. Standardized field forms are found on the NHESP web site at...
http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/nhrprare.htm
Be as thorough as possible when
filling out this form. The NHESP does not have adequate field staff to follow up on public observations, so it's very important to give biologists
enough information to confidently varify your observation, locate you observation on a map, and determine the extent of the
habitat used by that species. Photos are great, but the text is also very, very useful. Fill out the form as if
you were describing an animal that the reader will never see in a place they will never visit - there's a good chance that this will be the case.
5) Sign the form, include your
photo and a clearly marked copy of a topographical map, and send it all in to the Natural Heritage Program at ...
Natural Heritage & Endangered
Species Program
attn: rare species form
Massachusetts Division of
Fisheries & Wildlife,
Rte 135, Westborough, MA 01581
6) Feel
good about yourself for your part in helping this species to remain a part of our landscape for our, and its, future generations.
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| A nice profile shot of a Wood Turtle |
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| A ventral shot showing the diagnostic underside |
How do I know if it's rare or endangered?
If you're able to identify the species that you're looking at, the easiest
way of knowing whether or not it's state-listed is by looking at the NHESP's list of state-listed species at...
http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/nhrare.htm
This is a great list, because
most of the species are linked to fact sheets describing their identification, life history and status.
If you're
not immediately able to identify the species that you're observing, here's a quick filter to consider:
1) If your animal is a TURTLE that you haven’t seen
before, you might be on to something. Rare turtles are the taxa of state-listed species that the public most often encounters.
There are three Species of Special Concern turtles in the area:
Wood
Turtle: Dark, semi-terrestrial turtles with orange necks and a distinctive shell with pyramid-like ridges. Found
in forests, meadows and crossing roads in the vicinity of perennial streams.
Spotted
Turtle: A mostly aquatic turtle similar in size and shape to our common Painted Turtle, but marked with distinctive yellow
spots on an otherwise dark shell. Found basking in wetlands and crossing roads.
Eastern
Box Turtle: A striking terrestrial turtle with a high-domed shell that's usually yellow with subtle to bold markings.
Notice their orange eyes. This is a species of dry, open woods and sandy pastures.
2) If your animal is a BIRD, then chances are the species is not state-listed. However, one group, marshbirds, include
several state-listed species: American Bittern, Least Bittern, Pied-billed Grebe, King Rail and Common Moorhen.
Others, such as Sora and Marsh Wren are growing increasingly rare and should also be documented with Heritage. Collectively,
this group is often referred to as the "Secretive Marshbirds", meaning that they are seldome seen, but instead documented
by their distinctive calls. Bellow are audio links to their calls;
| Virginia Rails are somewhat common in the area |
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| They are smaller than King Rails and have a less guttural call |
American Bittern
Least Bittern
Pied-billed Grebe
King Rail
Virginia Rail (compare with King)
Common Moorhen
Sora
Marsh Wren
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| Twelve-spotted Tiger Beetle is Special Concern |
4) Other Species: Invertebrates
and Plants are important components of our ecosystems, and central Massachusetts is home to a significant
number of rare and endangered invertebrates and plants.
Various dragonfly species account for most of our state-listed insects.
Identifying dragonflies can be a rewarding challenge, and with practice, most every species is identifiable in the field with
a net, a hand lens and a copy of the NHESP publication The Dragonflies and Damselflies of Massachusetts
Most of our state-listed invertebrates and plants are associated with unusual habitats
and landscape features, such as bogs, talis slopes, high energy streams or sandplain communities. A complete list of
state-listed species can be found at http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/nhrare.htm .
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| Arethusa is a Threatened species of bogs |
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| Purple Clematis is a Special Concern Species associated with rocky summits |
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| A classic woodland vernal pool |
Vernal Pools
What are Vernal Pools:
- Vernal Pools are temporary bodies of
water found across our landscape that provide critical habitat for a suite of vulnerable species. The typical, or classic Vernal
Pool of our area is often considered to be a woodland depression filled by winter snowmelt and spring rains. A
number of amphibians such as the state-listed Blue-spotted and Jefferson's Salamanders, as well as the Spotted Salamander
and the Wood Frog are completely dependant upon these temporary pools for their entire breeding success. Other species,
such as the Fairy Shrimp, are found only in Vernal Pools throughout their entire lifecycle.
The key to the Vernal Pool is its fleeting annual
existence. Though pools need to hold water for at least two months beginning in early spring to ensure the survival
of the amphibian larvae born to them, it is critical that the pool dry out each year to assure that fish can not
establish a population in the pool. It is in this temporary environment, free from the predatory nature of fish,
that the pools' occupants have evolved.
But unfortunately, it 's also the pools' fleeting
existence that make them vulnerable habitats in the modern day as they are often overlooked and lost to development.
And it's not only the immediate pool that's critical. The surrounding natural landscape supports many of these creatures
outside of the breeding season and is of equal importance. While the Vernal Pool acts as a central feature in many of
these species lives, it is only half of the story of their small universes.
What You Can Do:
- Happily, there are good laws protecting Vernal
Pools and their occupants, and this protection begins with a pool's Certification. Once certified, a Vernal Pool
can not be destroyed, or even altered, and often a buffer zone will be established around the pool. Anyone can certify
a Vernal Pool, but there is a specific, though often interesting process for documenting a site. Certification
is done through the Massachusetts Natural Heritage and Endangered Species Program, and consists of the completion
of an official Field Form. The Field Form, along with more of Natural Heritage's Vernal Pool information can
be downloaded at http://www.state.ma.us/dfwele/dfw/nhesp/nhvernal.htm . Certifying a Vernal Pool is a relatively easy way to make an
important and lasting contribution to local conservation. Once you locate a pool, all it takes is about an hour in the
field, a camera to photograph the pool, and a few minutes to fill out the paperwork.
Locating a Pool:
- Finding Vernal Pools can become fairly
easy to do, and after you have found a few you'll often end up coming across them without even trying. In winter, look
for shallow depressions in the forest that have a layer of ice on them, but no obvious inlet or outlet. You also may
find small areas where the vegetation is markedly different (wetland plants growing in an upland basin), or small areas where
the leaf litter appears bleached and compressed. Both scenarios suggest annual inundation and are good candidates for
re-checking in the spring. Spring is a great time to find your first pools as they are often obvious. Visually,
most pools are a simply a shallow depression filled with water. Often you will see the ripples left behind by Wood Frogs
as you approach, or you may even see the egg masses of frogs and salamanders within the pool. Another great way to find
pools is to listen for the calls of Wood Frogs, often at dusk and at night, though they will call throughout the day.
The call has been likened to the quack of a duck, and if there is an active group of Wood Frogs, the noise can be
near deafening.
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| Spotted Salamanders grow to 8" and live to 20 years |
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| Spotted Salamander eggs in a woodland pool |
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