Broadmoor Wildlife Sanctuary

Knowing that it was going to be hot all week and that Monday would be the coolest day by far, I decided to go for a nature walk/hike instead of going fishing or to a movie. It seemed to make sense to be out enjoying the relatively cool weather and save the less energetic activities for a hot day that was surely coming (and is now here!)


I have been to Broadmoor before but it has been many years. I had forgotten how pretty it is. There are many types of landscapes from small mill ponds, frog ponds, white pine woods, open meadow and overgrown orchards. The sanctuary also borders the Charles River for a few hundred yards. It is a beautiful place. I challenge anyone to find a prettier place in Eastern Massachusetts that does not involve ocean views.

I started my hike pretty late because I thought it would take a lot less time to get there. I finally got out of my car at about 6:15. I walked for around two hours. I stopped a lot to look at animals, but I also walked at a quick pace. I guesstimate that I walked a total  of about 6 miles.

Leopard Frog

I did see quite a bit of cool wildlife. I saw a whole bunch of cedar waxwings. At first I saw a pair along the Charles, but then found a whole bunch in the overgrown orchard. In the field right near the parking lot, a bluebird family was feeding its young. One highlight of the night was a leopard frog. A frog may not sound like much of a highlight, but seeing a lot of frogs these days is becoming a rarity. I was happy to see my first leopard frog in quite some time.

 I saw four deer. The first two were does in a field near a frog pond. The other two were a little more special. I saw a mother with her month old fawn. The spotted little baby couldn't have been eighteen inches tall. They saw me near the orchard. The mother stared at me for ten seconds then they bounded across the field. There wasn't anything I could do not to scare them. I was actually going in the other direction when I saw them.

The admission to Broadmoor is five dollars for non-member adults. This seems a bit steep to me for a walk in the woods. However for a Mass Audubon member it is free, I apologize for my pics. I left my camera at home so I was resigned to use my phone. I would have loved to have had my zoom lens for

the leopard frog and deer.