Quicksand Pond
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Quicksand Pond is a pond in Little Compton, Rhode Island. It is a major winter flounder spawning area, has Rare Species Habitat and Significant Natural Communities designation, and is part of a proposed natural greenway corridor. Quicksand Pond is also entirely surrounded by critical habitats, and there are a number of protected areas adjacent to Quicksand Pond. It is part of the Southeastern Coastal Watershed Basin. It is part of one of the most scenic and undisturbed coastal areas in Rhode Island, and its protection is of high priority. Approximately half of the shorelines on Quicksand Pond are undeveloped, the remainder are developed as private residences.


Birding

Large, often exposed,
mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...
s are responsible for the large number of shorebirds that gather on Quicksand Pond during the spring and fall migrations. When the
breachway A breachway is the shore along a channel, or the whole area around the place where a channel meets the ocean. The Rhode Island coastline has many breachways on its map. Today's permanent breachways have rock jetties that line the sides of the ch ...
that usually separates Quicksand Pond from Rhode Island Sound has recently opened, large tracts of fresh wet mud will attract most of the shorebird species in Rhode Island. Quicksand Pond was named number one of the Top Five Must-See Migrations for Rhode Island. There are a number of birds that spend time at Quicksand Pond. On September 2, 1882, a '' Symphemia semipalmata'' was seen on Quicksand Pond. There are
swan Swans are birds of the family (biology), family Anatidae within the genus ''Cygnus''. The swans' closest relatives include the goose, geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form t ...
s in Quicksand Pond. The Quicksand Pond area provides an excellent breeding habitat for the least tern, a rare shorebird, which arrives in May. Other shorebirds, including sanderlings, great and snowy egrets,
dunlin The dunlin (''Calidris alpina'') is a small wader, formerly sometimes separated with the other "stints" in the genus ''Erolia''. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from ''dun'', "dull brown ...
, greater and lesser yellowlegs rest on the mudflats and the shoreline. A black rail is a rare sight at Quicksand Pond. The barrier beach habitat of Quicksand Pond is a potential suitable nesting site for the American oystercatcher.
saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrow The saltmarsh sparrow (''Ammospiza caudacuta'') is a small New World sparrow found in salt marshes along the Atlantic coast of the United States. At one time, this bird and the Nelson's sparrow were thought to be a single species, the sharp-taile ...
s have also been seen. Waterfowl residents and migrants include Canada geese, canvasbacks, American black ducks and scaups. Quicksand Pond has been called one of the most significant migratory waterfowl concentration sites of New England. There are also historical records of sea-beach pigweed and sandplain gerardia.


Piping plover

The
piping plover The piping plover (''Charadrius melodus'') is a small sand-colored, sparrow-sized shorebird that nests and feeds along coastal sand and gravel beaches in North America. The adult has yellow-orange-red legs, a black band across the forehead from e ...
, Rhode Island’s rarest shorebird, comes to Quicksand Pond each April. The plovers arrive from the Gulf Coast and Bahamas. Quicksand Pond is one of only five known breeding sites in Rhode Island for the piping plover. It contains one of the largest population of this species in Rhode Island, and has fledged an average of 11.3 young per year over the last 6 years.


Goosewing Beach

Goosewing Beach is a long cobbly barrier beach at the southern end of Quicksand Pond. Its dunes are dominated by
beachgrass ''Ammophila'' (synonymous with ''Psamma'' P. Beauv.) is a genus of flowering plants consisting of two or three very similar species of grasses. The common names for these grasses include marram grass, bent grass, and beachgrass. These grasses ar ...
and seaside goldenrod. The Goosewing Beach Preserve, a preserve consisting of shore, ponds and dunes created 12,000 years ago by retreating glaciers, is considered one of Rhode Island's most scenic places. It is overseen by The Nature Conservancy. Working with the Little Compton Agricultural Conservancy Trust and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the Goosewing Beach Preserve was purchased in 1989 by The Nature Conservancy and its partners. Conservancy staff have actively managed breeding populations of piping plover and least tern since then. Goosewing Beach Preserve was listed as one world's best eco-friendly beaches by CNN, as a “Don’t Miss" by the '' Boston Globe'', and as one of the 500 places to see before they disappear by
Frommer's Frommer's is a travel guide book series created by Arthur Frommer in 1957. Frommer's has since expanded to include more than 350 guidebooks in 14 series, as well as other media including an eponymous radio show and a website. In 2017, the company ...
.


The Benjamin Family Environmental Center

The Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island opened The Benjamin Family Environmental Center on July 11, 2010. The Benjamin Family Environmental Center has programs and exhibits about the many types of habitats that make up the Quicksand Pond and Goosewing Beach Preserve areas. The Nature Conservancy hires a Plover Warden and a Goosewing Beach Preserve Manager during nesting season (mid-April to early-September) to monitor and protect the species and to help educate beach-goers about the sensitive wildlife that inhabit the area. A study at Goosewing beached provided evidence that mudflats are preferred brood-rearing habitat for piping plovers.


The Gut

On the east side of the pond, there is a section called "The Gut".


Fishing

Fish species include winter flounder, perch,
American eel The American eel (''Anguilla rostrata'') is a facultative catadromous fish found on the eastern coast of North America. Freshwater eels are fish belonging to the elopomorph superorder, a group of phylogenetically ancient teleosts. The America ...
, soft-shelled clam, hard-shelled clam or quahog, and American oyster.
Herring Herring are forage fish, mostly belonging to the family of Clupeidae. Herring often move in large schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate waters of the North Pacific and North Atlantic Oceans, i ...
have been caught in Quicksand Pond.


Shellfishing

In June 1853, the General Assembly of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, amended the "An Act for the preservation of Oysters and other Shell Fish within this State" as follows: In 1965, " ttle change was noted in the supply of wild oysters from" Quicksand Pond. In 1968, the ''Shellfish survey of Quicksand Pond, Little Compton, R.I.'' was published.


Norovirus scare

On May 17, 2007, the FDA reported signs of norovirus in oysters distributed by Bridgeport Seafood in
Tiverton, Rhode Island Tiverton is a New England town, town in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 16,359 at the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. Geography Tiverton is located on the eastern shore of Narragansett Bay, across the Sa ...
. The Rhode Island Department of Health investigation determined the oysters were collected by a single fisherman from Quicksand Pond. As the Health Department continued to investigate the Quicksand Pond case, it found no evidence to support the initial FDA alarm. There were no reports of anyone getting sick, and further testing failed to show any significant signs of bacteria from human waste in the pond. 50 bushels of oysters were embargoed and destroyed. Quicksand Pond is currently listed as Un-assessed – Shellfishing Prohibited.


Artistic inspiration

Quicksand Pond has inspired at least two pieces of music: one is "Quicksand Pond" by Noreen Inglesi.


References


External links


Goosewing Beach Preserve
at The Nature Conservancy
Rhode Island Historical Topographic Maps
{{authority control Lakes of Rhode Island Bodies of water of Newport County, Rhode Island Little Compton, Rhode Island