Sure didn’t take long to fall behind on this. And by making the list up ahead of time, I was hoping to draft things in advance and just have to publish. Maybe soon.
Places 3 and 4 are very close together: the Lyman Estate and Lyman Pond. The Lyman Estate is right at the Beaver St. rotary in Waltham, there’s a pulloff right next to Lyman St. I only go on weekends when the gate is closed, in which case parking is along the short road that borders the rotary. If the gate is open, you can drive in. The area to cover is quite small, one field, and then all the bushes and trees along Beaver Brook. I can’t say I’ve been here often, and have never found much of anything, but it’s worth a stop on the CBC.
Lyman Pond on the other hand, is a very good stop. Since it’s technically on private property between Gardencrest and Bentley, I won’t give directions. Way down to the left (actually bordering the Lyman Estate) is a slight widening of the brook. This spot often has Wood Ducks and is where a pair of Eastern Screech-Owls appeared to have bred in 2007.
The stream is not overly interesting (although both my records of Harvester are along the stream), but the main pond can be excellent. This is where I first discovered the Goose. In late summer, it also supports the only mud flats I’ve found in Waltham. Most shorebirds are peep, but I’ve seen Lesser Yellowlegs and Solitary Sandpiper occasionally. Green Herons, Spotted Sandpipers, and Wood Ducks all appear to breed somewhere right nearby. In late summer, the Wood Duck numbers can be huge (40+).
Plenty of dragonflies can be found on the pond. They’re pretty much all the common ones, but they put on a good show here and I did have my only Lilypad Forktails from here. It’s also interesting to walk along the edge and note how the species variety changes in different spots.
I almost always find something of interest at the pond. Even in the middle of winter, the water is often open and there’s a good duck or two around. Always worth a stop passing by.
And one more place and I’ll be caught up and can start writing more detailed descriptions.