A field guide to one of the world's premier birding locations, this volume makes it easy to take this sublime pastime to the next level. With a breakdown of the Cape into regions, towns, and favorite birding areas, the guide includes a section on pelagic birding, detailed maps that indicate items of interest, birding hot spots, and even parking locations. A section on the descriptions of Cape Cod specialty species is also included as are explanations of when to bird, what to look for, and in which habitats to find birds. A useful checklist of the birds of the Cape, ...

Birding Western Massachusetts features over 26 great birding locations in Western Massachusetts. Every site has been chosen either for diversity and volume of bird life, or for its unique and rare birds. All sites are easily accessible and open to the public year-round. Whether you are an avid birder looking for specific birds, or a casual nature enthusiast with an interest in seeing different kinds of birds, this guide will provide you with everything you need to make every birding experience a success. Author Robert tougias presents a "habitat" approach to birding, showing how to use the awareness of habitat ...

As Darwin found on the Galpagos, an island provides the perfect laboratory in which to chart new finds and learn universal truths. With the enthusiasm of the devotee, columnist E. Vernon Laux documents a year in the life of the Martha's Vineyard bird population and provides a bird's-eye view of the seasons on New England's most celebrated island. He reports on the characters that watch and the creatures that are watched in the skies and waters, beaches and mudflats, fields and forests of the Vineyard. Laux also lovingly describes his own discovery: the chickmouse, a hybrid of two common species. ...

This book is a Who’s Who of Cape and Island nature writers. A Guide to Nature on Cape Cod and the Islands explores the behavior and life cycles of the plant and animal species that are common to each, and describes what to look for and where to find it. Written by some of New England’s foremost naturalists and scientists, each chapter covers one type of wildlife family and is accompanied by an informative question and answer section. Included are essays by, among others, John Hay on the secrets of nature, Robert Finch on woodlands, Richard LeBlond on wetlands, John ...

Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, and Nantucket are justly known for their history, their beautiful beaches, and their superb waterways. But the Cape and Islands, crisscrossed by countless dirt roads and trails, are also beloved by walkers and hikers. Walking the Cape and Islands is the first comprehensive guide to the area's walking trails, covering the entire length of the Cape, from Bourne to Provincetown, as well as Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket. Most of the walks described in this book are on lands protected by federal, state, and local agencies, including Cape Cod National Seashore, Nickerson State Park, Martha's Vineyard Land ...

In 1974, the Massachusetts Audubon Society and the Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife launched a five-year survey to map the distribution of all the birds that breed in the Commonwealth--the first such comprehensive effort in North America. Nearly 600 volunteers spent countless hours in the field collecting data. This landmark volume presents the results of their efforts. The book includes distribution maps showing possible, probable, and confirmed breeding areas for 198 Massachusetts nesting species on a grid of 989 ten-square-mile blocks. Opposite each species map is a summary account giving historical perspective, relative abundance, habitat, seasonal schedule, nest, egg, ...

Covering the most popular Massachusetts hiking destinations, this is the hiker's guide to finding the best trails throughout the state. Foghorn Outdoors Massachusetts Hiking guides hikers through the Cape Cod National Seashore, the Berkshire Hills, the Appalachian Trail, the Metacomet-Monadnock Trail, and the Midstate Trail. Families, day-trippers, and seasoned hikers looking for a change of pace will all find the perfect trail among the options selected by outdoor enthusiast and hiking expert Michael Lanza. This guidebook provides updated, easy-to-use region and trail maps, photographs, illustrations, complete information on fees, permits, user groups, contacts, and driving directions for every possible hike. ...

A fascinating look at the people, politics, and technology behind the massive landfill project that filled Boston's Back Bay . ...

The seventy-fifth anniversary edition of the classic book about Cape Cod, “written with simplicity, sympathy, and beauty” (New York Herald Tribune)A chronicle of a solitary year spent on a Cape Cod beach, The Outermost House has long been recognized as a classic of American nature writing. Henry Beston had originally planned to spend just two weeks in his seaside home, but was so possessed by the mysterious beauty of his surroundings that he found he “could not go.”Instead, he sat down to try and capture in words the wonders of the magical landscape he found himself in thrall to: the ...

The true story of an incredible disaster and heroic rescue at sea told by two masterful storytellersIn the winter of 1952, New England was battered by the most brutal nor'easter in years. As the weather wreaked havoc on land, the freezing Atlantic became a wind-whipped zone of peril.In the early hours of Monday, February 18, while the storm raged, two oil tankers, the Pendleton and the Fort Mercer, found themselves in the same horrifying predicament. Built with "dirty steel," and not prepared to withstand such ferocious seas, both tankers split in two, leaving the dozens of men on board utterly ...

Discover fifty pockets of wilderness bursting with flora and fauna on scenic trails within an hour of Boston. Ideal for families, nature lovers, and hiking enthusiasts, AMC's Best Day Hikes Near Boston leads explorers to the area's most intersting woodlands, reservations, and nature preserves from the North Shore to Concord and the Lincoln Woods, from the Middlesex Fells to the Blue Hills Reservation, and south to the Cape. This handy guide includes directions, trail maps, photos, and Nature Notes that highlight the natural history of the area, including rare bird species and ancient trees. Each trip description includes a summary ...

Discover fifty pockets of wilderness bursting with flora and fauna on scenic trails within an hour of Boston. Ideal for families, nature lovers, and hiking enthusiasts, AMC's Best Day Hikes Near Boston leads explorers to the area's most intersting woodlands, reservations, and nature preserves from the North Shore to Concord and the Lincoln Woods, from the Middlesex Fells to the Blue Hills Reservation, and south to the Cape. This handy guide includes directions, trail maps, photos, and Nature Notes that highlight the natural history of the area, including rare bird species and ancient trees. Each trip description includes a summary ...

10 b/w photos 65 maps Complete descriptions of 170 great day hikes on the AT Easy-to-read topographic maps and elevation profiles for each hike Plants, wildlife, and historical points to see along the way From the spruce forests of Tennessee and the leafy gorges of Virginia to the rolling Pennsylvania hills and the rocky heights of New England, the Appalachian Trail offers 2,200 miles of hiking opportunities. The five books in this series present accurate, detailed information for 170 day hikes (and a few overnighters), all recommended by AT experts. Where to start and finish, water sources and shelters, early ...

Now completely revised and updated, the Massachusetts Trail Guide is the most comprehensive guide available to the trails of the Bay State. ...

This book is an ambitious and highly successful guide to many regions of Cape Cod as they were once traveled over by Henry David Thoreau. Each section is designed in such a way as to suit the needs of a variety of hikers, those who choose the long trails, and those who prefer the shorter walks. Liberally sprinkled with Thoreau’s observations, the book goes into closely followed descriptions of its various routes and of their historic significance. It is a challenge for all of us to leave the highway and the car, and to get out and walk over these ...

Ideal for anyone who enjoys walking quiet beaches, paddling ponds and bays, or biking miles of scenic roads and bike paths. Martha's Vineyard makes for the perfect getaway. Detailing the best outdoor activities Martha's Vineyard has to offer, this completely updated and revised book also includes information on the Island's best hiking and biking, as well as a new section devoted to kayaking. Each hike description includes detailed maps, distances, and estimated hiking time as well as access information and natural and local history. ...

Thirty nature treks, selected for their natural, stand-alone beauty, are enhanced by tangible silhouettes of a fascinating past, from early Native Americans and Colonial settlers to the Industrial Revolution and Victorian-era grand hotels. Hike to waterfalls, mountains, escarpments, lakes, sculpted rocks, ponds, rivers, islands, caves, balanced rocks, geysers, and deep gorges while visiting the sites of famous battles of the Revolutionary War, ghostly industrial ruins, a Moorish-style castle, views and vistas made world-famous by America’s greatest painters, vanished Shaker communities, great estates of the "Gilded Age," a working lighthouse, and "New York’s Mount Rushmore." ...

This popular guide, now in its 3rd edition, describes 30 of the best areas to hike in one of the most beautiful regions of Western Massachusetts. Since its first publication in 1991 (over 18,000 copies in print), Hiking the Pioneer Valley has been relied upon by both long-time residents and visitors alike as the best guidebook available for exploring the beauty and natural resources of this region. Together, the 30 hikes represent the best selections from the wide variety of scenery, terrain, and hiking challenges that the 'Valley' has to offer. Each hike described here includes detailed maps and trail ...

This popular guide, now in its 3rd edition, describes 30 of the best areas to hike in one of the most beautiful regions of Western Massachusetts. Since its first publication in 1991 (over 18,000 copies in print), Hiking the Pioneer Valley has been relied upon by both long-time residents and visitors alike as the best guidebook available for exploring the beauty and natural resources of this region. Together, the 30 hikes represent the best selections from the wide variety of scenery, terrain, and hiking challenges that the 'Valley' has to offer. Each hike described here includes detailed maps and trail ...

Conservation professional Edward Henry, acclaimed author of Catskill Trails and Gunks Trails, leads the way to the best vistas and scenic sites of the Berkshire and Taconic mountains of Massachusetts, New York, and Vermont, providing scientific interpretation along the way and insights into the region s geology, wildlife biology, botany, forest ecology, meteorology, and human history. The book features Maps, Photographs, GPS Coordinates, Keys to Hikes, & Detailed Directions to: Lenox Mountain and Yokun Seat; Saddle Ball Mountain; Mount Greylock; Spruce Mountain and Crum Hill; Spruce Hill; White Rocks and the Snow Hole; Berlin Mountain; Dorset Peak; Mount Equinox; Alander ...