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| Red-tailed hawks can be seen at the Reservation |
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By the time the Commonwealth acquired the property in 1922,
much of Walden’s forest had been cut down. The woods
have since grown back so that the vegetation resembles the
hard and soft wood mix of Thoreau’s day and includes
mostly berry bushes, sumac, pitch pine, hickory and oak. Above
Thoreau’s house site are stumps of some of the 400 white
pines planted by Thoreau and leveled by the great hurricane
of 1938.
The wildlife of Thoreau’s time can still be
found. Gray squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits are common. Skunks,
raccoons and red foxes are active at night, but can occasionally
be seen shortly before sunset or after sunrise. Kingfishers,
blackbirds, chickadees and red-tailed hawks can often be seen
flying among the trees or over the water. In the spring and
fall, migratory ducks and geese pass overhead and land in nearby
marshes for food and rest. As noted by Thoreau, the pond “is
not very fertile in fish. Its pickerel, though not very abundant,
are its chief boast.” The pickerel disappeared around
the turn of the century and the pond is now stocked annually.
In addition, sunfish, perch and smallmouth bass compete for
crayfish.
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