We are really excited for this post. I’ve recently created a map of all of the Wildlife Sanctuaries that Barry has visited. When you click on each indigo bunting icon, the name of the sanctuary, date of his visit, and link to the blog post will appear. Click on the link for each post to follow Barry as he sketches and paints at different Mass Audubon Sanctuaries in the state. ENJOY!!!!
This is from a series of posts by MABA resident artist Barry Van Dusen
Eagle Lake Wildlife Sanctuary, Holden, MA on May 11, 2015
It’s a warm, humid morning at Eagle Lake Wildlife Sanctuary in Holden. From the trailhead (as I’m applying bug repellent and sunscreen), I can hear black-throated blue, black-throated green and pine warblers, ovenbirds, a scarlet tanager and a red-eyed vireo.
Black-throated Blue in Birch, in Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook, 9″ x 12″
As I hike in along the Appleton Loop Trail, it becomes obvious that black-throated blues are the most abundant warblers at this site. Every quarter mile or so, I encounter another BTB singing from the sweet birches that arch above the mountain laurel thickets.
Black-throated Blue in Song, watercolor on Arches Fidelis (en tout cas), 9″ x 8.5″
Pausing along the trail, a female Black-throated Blue circles and scolds me – I must be near a nest, so I move on…
sketchbook study, 3″ x 5″
Crossing over Asnebumskit brook on the pipeline right-of-way, I notice that the streambed is looking quite dry for early May. It’s been an exceptionally dry spring so far.
The Asnebumskit Loop Trail skirts down along the stream, and as I near the area where the brook flows into Eagle Lake, I hear the distinctive notes of a blue-gray gnatcatcher (Peterson used the word “peevish” – the perfect adjective to describe their voice!)
field sketchbook page, 9″ x 12″
The small plot of forest here has the feeling of a wet bottomland – just the right habitat for these birds. Sure enough, the pair is building a nest high in a red maple branch directly over the water! I watch as one member of the pair gathers the sticky webbing from a caterpillar nest and takes it to the nest site.
Gnatcatcher in red Maple, in Stillman & Birn Delta sketchbook, 9″ x 12″
On my way out of the Sanctuary, I park my car and stroll out onto the causeway between Stump Pond and Eagle Lake. It’s a pleasant spot, and I admire the soft colors of the early spring foliage across the water. Looking down, I see sunfish guarding nests in the shallow water along the shoreline. The red spot on their gill covers identifies them as pumpkinseeds. The males are in bright, breeding colors – their fin margins (which they wave like fan dancers) are a striking aqua blue!