Nagog Hill and Grassy Pond in Acton MA 4/18

[rocksnrolls]

A few months ago I picked up a copy of the "Guide To Conservation Lands" for the town of Acton. It's a nice spiral bound book with colorful maps and descriptions for more than a dozen different little areas.

I met up with Dugan after work, and despite some dark clouds hovering above we decided to head off to explore a pair of them that border each other.

First up was Nagog Hill. The parking area is next to the Hi Bid Farm horse corral and we were able to enjoy the sight of many beautiful horses grazing and a couple young girls learning to ride. The well-blazed trail wonders through some peaceful woodlands and by many stone walls. Near the beginning is a large rectangular pile of rocks which the guide claims might date back to pre-settlers times. Shortly after that, the trail passes by a large glacial erratic called Egg Rock.

After sloping downhill a bit, a side trail/herd path leads to the southern edge of Nagog Pound. If you've ever driven down Rt 2A in Littleton, this is the large body of water you've seen across from Scupper Jacks and Bickfords. The trail approaches at the far end from the road and we were able to get a glimpse of some waterfowl, including a pair of birds that Dugan tentatively ID'd as being buffleheads.

Heading back uphill on the trail we soon came to the red-blazed connecting trail over to Grassy Pond (a boggy kettle hole). Near the intersection there was a place where we spotted some trash - some bones, sea shells, broken glass, and some rusted metal pieces. I guess someone felt this was a good place to dump some trash . Crossing the road we headed through the parking area for this second parcel. We passed along the edge of a field that Dugan commented would be a great place to spot ground birds when it's grown up some more. After the field we wandered through some more quiet woods. This area was a little more wet and had more stones on the trail to walk on. We encountered a lady and her dog out for a walk and while Dugan chatted with her, I moved on a bit - there were alot of bugs in the area and I was starting to get bit .

We soon came to Grassy Pond, which has a nice viewing platform on a short pier jutting out into it. We stood there for a while listening to and watching a large variety of birds - some ducks, swallows, red winged blackbirds, woodpecker, etc. It was a very nice, peaceful spot that I'm sure must be popular with birders.

We continued on our way, enjoying the woods and rocky trail. After heading back over to the Nagog Hill area to finish our figure-8 loop, we came across a surreal spot where large vines covered many of the trees, choking them and creating thick canopies. After that the ground started getting very wet and muddy, but luckily the worst of it was traversed by a long, snaking boardwalk.

We soon returned to the parking area, refreshed by our little 3 mile jaunt into the woods. I'm planning to go back there later in the spring to see the new plant growth. If anyone is interested in checking these areas out, or other Acton Conservation Lands, go to the EMS on Rt2A and pick up the guidebook. Or get in touch with me if you might want to do an after-work hike there sometime.

 

[Dugan]

Just when I was sure everything east of Worcester was industrial city-scape, someone shows me a spot like this. Sure, you can see houses and hear cars, from time to time but it's still woodsy enough to see a wide variety of plants, and see and hear many different bird species. It was a nice little three mile loop. A great way to let go of the work day, and even better, let the commute thin out.

Checked my field guide, one of the waterbirds was definitely a male Bufflehead. This would be a great loop for bird watchers, especially Grassy Pond. The other birds we spotted were more typical - red winged black birds, black capped chickadees, a hairy woodpecker, some sort of sparrow, and several other water birds I couldn't see well enough to id. There were swallows - probably tree swallows - swooping over Grassy Pond eagerly gobbling up the spring bugs.

The field struck me as a good place to see ground nesters, if the grass is allowed to grow. Not very big, but enough to add some diversity to the environment to draw in some different birds.

Yes, yes, I continue to suffer from hiker-dog-withdrawal. She had a 10 year old Doberman. We talked for several minutes of dogs and dog health problems. In an unfortunate coincidence, we discovered that we've both had dogs with similar health issues over the years. Wishing each other luck with our pooches, we resumed our walks.

The vines were very interesting and must've been old. I think maybe grape, but I've never seen vines with such a large diameter. They formed fascinating patterns, corkscrewing around each other. It was here I saw enough cover to step off trail for a break. Should've looked closer - all thorns. Ouch!

Definitely a spot to revisit. Gotta bring binoculars, and bug dope later in the season.

 

[Raymond]

It's been many years since I visited either of those areas.

Years ago a friend and I walked across Nagog Pond when it was frozen, but we entered from a cove on the 2A side and walked to the Littleton side, passing over that island. I recall that there was evidence of a campfire on the island.

We may also have swum in the cove one summer day, although that's actually not permitted as the water is somehow Concord's water supply.

Some of my friends used to swim there when we were all wee tads, and they told me once they had been chased out by some official in a motorboat. Who was doing more polluting, do you suppose?