Hop Brook Wetlands - February

 Right after I failed my road test, My family went for a walk at Hopbrook Wetlands, in Sudbury MA. After I struggled to parallel park, We went towards a frozen pond. My dad and I crossed it. We then walked to a bridge that crossed the brook. Near the bridge is a Pine Barren (a type of forest that requires forest fires to maintain itself. SVT members conduct "Prescribed Burns" to maintain the forest, without creating a hazard.

There was a great view of the brook from the little wooden bridge. I had a decent landscape photo of each habitat. Freshwater Marsh and Pitch Pine Barrens.

The pine barrens are the only habitat that the Whip-or Will can use in nesting. Pine barrens are the closest thing in Massachusetts to a desert.

I also saw along the brook that Eastern Skunk Cabbage flowers were beginning to rise up from the ground. This plant is special because it generates its own heat, to prevent freezing. This allows it to bloom so early in the spring.

                                    

                                      I will do an update when the skunk cabbages make progress.