Horn Pond and Concord

 

Last week Laurie Lynn and I went up to Concord. We really just went because we both have National Park passports and we wanted to get the stamp. We've obviously been to Concord dozens of times but since we decided to go, we made a day of it. Before we went to the places we usually go, we went up to Woburn and explored a pond I'd heard about for years.

   There is a pond in Woburn name Horn Pond. I've read bird reports for years and I know that it is a hotspot for birders/birds. We decided to check it out. We put Horn Pond Recreation Area into the GPS. Parking was along the street at the pond and there is a 2.8 mile trail that circles the pond. Considering this area is in the Rt 128 corridor in suburban Boston it was still really pretty. The walk is partial woods walking and partially shoreline walking. Though the entire area is public you walk through three parklike areas. We walked by a boat ramp with a couple dozen parking spots and a restroom.

Horn  Pond is pretty famous for its winter waterfowl. Quite a few good rarities also show up in the spring. I didn't expect to see too many birds during our walk on a hot summer day. From what I understand, the pond has the normal bass, perch, and sunfish that you'd expect. Perch are the most numerous fish caught according to Mass Wildlife. It is also stocked with trout. All in all, our walk was pleasant. 

    After we left Woburn we took the short trip to Concord. The first stop was the Visitor Center at the Minuteman National Historic Park. We watch the little multimedia presentation  and got out passport stamped.

   After we left the visitor center we went to the North Bridge. I took another photo of the bridge and "The Minuteman" statue by Daniel Chester French. After we left the North Bridge we went to Great Meadows.

   The goal at Great Meadows was to see snakes and Leopard Frogs. We saw plenty of frogs. Leopard Frog were hopping along the path everywhere there was shade. Getting a photo proved impossible. The grass was tall enough so that we couldn't see them until they were hopping right off of the trail at our feet. We did see one large Garter Snake too. I lifted a rock and we saw it but it slithered to the high grass also. 

We had planned on having a picnic but it was so hot and muggy cooking on the grill did not seem like fun. So we stopped at a store and got a cold drink and a snack before heading home.