Burrage Pond used to be a cranberry bog that was turned into a wildlife management area by Massachusetts. It is a good place to see birds like Song Sparrows, Field Sparrows, Red-Winged Blackbirds, and Great Blue Herons, which are almost always present. On Tuesday I was able to stop by in the morning, and I explored more of the area than I have before, which is deceptively large. I encountered my first
Brown Thrashers of the year, which is long overdue, and also saw my first
Belted Kingfisher.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsjqF2MIpUv7B4yM6Ec2UsXeiLtCdEx18x6DX6uEhFTDtqHiX310X1vahONV-anoEqYULotFsiyeUUiFn4BclzHOPmJXkhURq-a4VUO5t8SIkJ1uR8lTN7nRdLn6rOAFantFYKYErT8Cvq/s320/100_7876.JPG) |
I think these are empty Common Snapping Turtle eggs |
I counted 19
Tree Swallows perched on telephone wires, in addition to 5+ flying around in the area. I think that most if not all the ones perched on the telephone wires were juveniles because most stayed perched for the 5 minutes or so that I was watching, and a few adults brought food to some of them.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicoFFEbrPgZxqo_2TizykBixcF5NkyZbQF7Az7IZFW4CyMOk0JbSFsGhqiqqgon4kUcQbzBRydeqg0icW1VgW7G0v8nM50_i-KM7_fymVZ2ty02IhI71X4mznXwnx_MM25_aiOGOwwU3Kr/s320/100_7883.JPG) |
View of Burrage Pond |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJX6q8gRqj73iYj8t4m_uAGwCoGbfkmCgDFtHCM0UnsJa-jxmSTpC1fv4X8L_MX5MU6flBqQ3qJEae2GKsosnpqEhAyxgKNkKS1Mg_y94itYQDHDr-J1HvyETsq28uc6enGAAvTCy-4j3t/s320/100_7884.JPG) |
View of one of the 2 lakes |
I always see
Great Blue Herons here, and this day I saw at least 4, and possibly as many as 6, including one that was struggling to eat a fairly large fish. I was somewhat surprised to find a
Great Egret in one of the former irrigation channels, and I flushed him/her 3 times causing him to fly further down the channel. Didn't have much of a choice, only one path on that side.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBpafJQMtfkAuy-bko6Zcy6gg5ope456cY3IF4K-tLJYq9QqKyV7xb71aan8kJ5gYjrwnCYGkiZ6aLeJr3BqJU-MlCbl0LsYKof5dbXmtiBmUf9ex_z4STTXmmSfzxhNs-P1T4VSWG-WO/s320/100_7914.JPG) |
Great Egret flying away from me |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBgIxWfndxM3-deUIAvvRRNtnTvlMbx51bFMfOQ5PzW717nUVJIdfE0HAf1TgwbpPcgouPPMsaHd-RCDK427AUReYnlbLab3dEtL-tVLBbFNRbjuTSin92INl_PtdWdmgXn36sQK7qWYu7/s320/100_7922.JPG) |
Great Egret |
There were only a few dragonflies today, which was a little surprising, but most of them were ones that never land, so no photos of them.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg80rVPebhJ_mIamzF2nb_2ugauxeAaT-GXpNSuBKu5OcY6sJQD7R3udX4-c96Kv2EtPaK6bfB-0qZ67V53ld6srdUqoLlimvOR3y3GzoKJjq9qFNRCZYE_uzBYrC_kF11eSXxd9kW38MC1/s320/Eastern+Pondhawk+6.28.11.JPG) |
Eastern Pondhawk on turtle eggs |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQ9RtP1lLZQdKR9P36tESo0-8IuLuuL7RZGJq6BVsekPp3U5S9wiALnkUExS1nKuFsSOQeGM4k4PoGG9EEiSF5yz_RLsgRbZk8N1NLoHrRGVmgzRPiQNAbH6ARGq1H8p0SwAzx798YQkkF/s320/Widow+Skimmer+Female.JPG) |
Widow Skimmer female |
As I was heading towards the exit to leave, I saw a huge orange butterfly, which then perched on these purple flowers to sip nectar. I then saw another, and another, and another. 6 of them. I knew just by their shear sized (clearly bigger than a Monarch or Viceroy, possibly as big as a Swallowtail) that they must have been
Great Spangled Fritillaries. They certainly lived up to their name, they're huge! When I got home I confirmed that they are indeed Great Spangled and not Atlantis or Aphrodite Fritillaries.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisTZI3-H0158vkw869F3Y4etmsPWvTjMT2uwWtj39O-cfyz8PHGHQ5dYsI8rT30xWx4_N6OWQaNYwQWN1cRdqWhhLxdedy3ZR77orUODQW5f-c-5FCPPTKzWcG-c6wU3gcJTtJdWNinbFr/s320/3+Great+Spangled+Fritillaries.JPG) |
3 Great Spangled Fritillaries |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhk3gNSXFn6bVbSgRa1Q2YqG22ip66pqedokVeeCRujn7bwLjElZM1w9lnAlOxMp1k0p08PzDHQbXCZ1EJLezAOAP-8A9iPqv8EcLm7VMbkH42S4KCGMrdVTWt-RyJYJZvCcCKdUEaPQItW/s320/Great+Spangled+Fritillary.JPG) |
Great Spangled Fritillary |
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9yg5xW1ASLhP2_CTZgwIRjnIscX1sIVJrt7Rz8ALuv4Cxklm_guNDArB2z43so9YSjEA_neEWJzEdSLATfA1v5mfIzqcAKcy1OlHBZu3_9xPuHg4z8xKBapl20V01pfSD3sV8DxMcMD-v/s320/Great+Spangled+Fritillary+2.JPG) |
Great Spangled Fritillary |
Burrage Pond solidified itself as a great place to visit in the summer, not just in the fall. I'll certainly be posting more pictures from there in the near future.