Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife sanctuary located in

Sharon, Massachusetts Sharon is a New England town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 18,575 at the 2020 census. Sharon is part of Greater Boston, about southwest of downtown Boston, and is connected to both Boston and Providence by ...

. The property is the oldest property of the

Massachusetts Audubon Society The Massachusetts Audubon Society, commonly known as Mass Audubon, founded in 1896 by Harriet Hemenway and Minna B. Hall and headquartered in Lincoln, Massachusetts, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "protecting the nature of Massachusetts ...

, established in 1916. It is adjacent to

Moose Hill Farm Moose Hill Farm is a open space preserve and historic farm complex located in Sharon, Massachusetts near the summit of Moose Hill. The property, acquired in 2005 by the land conservation non-profit organization The Trustees of Reservations, i ...

, which is owned by the

Trustees of Reservations The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest land conservation nonprofit orga ...

. The nature center on Moose Hill Parkway was acquired in 1990. The center displays rotating exhibits throughout the year. The sanctuary consists of habitats including forest,

freshwater marsh A freshwater marsh is a non-tidal, non-forested marsh wetland that contains fresh water, and is continuously or frequently flooded. Freshwater marshes primarily consist of sedges, grasses, and emergent plants. Freshwater marshes are usually found ...

meadow A meadow ( ) is an open habitat, or field, vegetated by grasses, herbs, and other non-woody plants. Trees or shrubs may sparsely populate meadows, as long as these areas maintain an open character. Meadows may be naturally occurring or artifi ...

esker An esker, eskar, eschar, or os, sometimes called an ''asar'', ''osar'', or ''serpent kame'', is a long, winding ridge of stratified sand and gravel, examples of which occur in glaciated and formerly glaciated regions of Europe and North Amer ...

s and kettle holes. Over 160 species of birds have been observed on the property.

Programs

Moose Hill has many public programs. There is an outdoor summer day camp for children 3 - 14. Additionally, for adults, there are various clubs and programs. For example, instructors are available to demonstrate how to make maple syrup during

maple sugar Maple sugar is a traditional sweetener in Canada and the northeastern United States, prepared from the sap of the maple tree ("maple sap"). Sources Three species of maple trees in the genus '' Acer'' are predominantly used to produce maple ...

ing season.

Trails

The of trails in Moose Hill include the Summit Trail, the Vernal Pool Loop, the Billings Loop, and the Bluff Trail. The

Bay Circuit Trail The Bay Circuit Trail and Greenway or Bay Circuit is a Massachusetts rail trail and greenway connecting the outlying suburbs of Boston from Plum Island in Newburyport to Kingston Bay in Duxbury, a distance of . Landmarks include Henry David ...

and the

Warner Trail The Warner Trail is a New England hiking trail which extends from Diamond Hill in the northeast corner of Rhode Island northeast through Norfolk County, Massachusetts to Canton, south of Boston. Description Its route winds through what has ...

cross the property.

Gallery

File:Warner Trail, Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary, Sharon MA.jpg, Warner Trail and Bay Circuit Trail through the sanctuary File:Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary P1080636.jpg, Boardwalk File:P1080641 r1.jpg File:Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary P1080644.jpg, Remains of a cistern File:Moose Hill Wildlife Sanctuary P1080647.jpg, View from Bluff Overlook

References

External links

*
Bird checklist
* {{Protected Areas of Massachusetts 1916 establishments in Massachusetts Massachusetts Audubon Society Nature centers in Massachusetts Protected areas established in 1916 Protected areas of Norfolk County, Massachusetts Sharon, Massachusetts Wildlife refuges in Massachusetts