Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/30/10 Observation Time: 4:30 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Highbush blueberry Scientific Name: Vaccinium corymbosum Comments: The northern highbush blueberry, is a North American species of blueberry which has become a food crop of significant economic importance. It is native to eastern Canada and the eastern and southern United States, from Ontario east to Nova Scotia and […]
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Observer: Josh Simons Observation Date: 11/20/07 Observation Time: 9:00 a.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Parkway Common Name: Sharp-Shinned Hawk Scientific Name: Accipiter striatus Comments: Male is much smaller than the female. The female is about the size and appearance of a Cooper’s hawk. This web page is helpful for distinguishing between these two species of hawks: https://feederwatch.org/learn/tricky-bird-ids/coopers-hawk-and-sharp-shinned-hawk/ More Information: Cornell Lab of Ornithology “All About Birds”
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Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/2/11 Observation Time: 1:40 p.m. Observation Location: near Gavins Pond Common Name: North American Harvester butterfly Scientific Name: Feniseca tarquinius Comments: The harvester is the only North American butterfly with carnivorous larvae, usually feeding on aphids. More Information: Tree of Life
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Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 4/4/11 Observation Time: 1:15 p.m. Observation Location: 4 Gavins Pond Road Common Name: Groundhog Scientific Name: Marmota monax Comments: This individual probably just emerged from hibernation. More Information: Mass Audubon Society
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Observer: Keevin Geller Observation Date: 8/5/13 Observation Time: 5:00 p.m. Observation Location: Saw Mill Pond, Sharon Common Name: Green Heron Scientific Name: Butorides virescens Comments: Green Herons are common breeders in coastal and inland wetlands. They nest along swamps, marshes, lakes, ponds, impoundments, and other wet habitats with trees and shrubs to provide secluded nest sites. They may even nest in dry woods and orchards […]
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Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 1/20/10 Observation Time: 4:30 p.m. Observation Location: Ward’s Berry Farm Common Name: Greater White-fronted Goose Scientific Name: Anser albifrons Comments: Note the white at the base of the beak, the mottled breast and the orange legs that differentiate the white-fronted goose from the Canada geese with which it was mingling. More Information: All About Birds: Greater White-fronted Goose
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Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 12/14/09 Observation Time: 1:50 p.m. Observation Location: Wolomolopoag Pond Common Name: Greater White-fronted Goose Scientific Name: Anser albifrons Comments: White-fronted geese, barnacle geese, and snow geese, which summer in the arctic, depend on Sharon’s open spaces for winter refuge. Catching a glimpse of one is a reminder of the role Sharon’s open spaces play in global ecosystems. Scan flocks of […]
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Observer: Will Sweet Observation Date: 2/22/09 Observation Time: 9:30 a.m. Observation Location: Ward’s Fields Common Name: Greater White-fronted Goose Scientific Name: Anser albifrons Comments: The Greater White-fronted Goose I saw was with about 180 Canada Geese. This is at least the second individual this winter. The other one was seen from November to mid December More Information: All About Birds: Greater White-fronted Goose
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Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 8/21/12 Observation Time: 5:30 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Great Egret Scientific Name: Ardea alba Comments: The great egret, symbol of the National Audubon Society, is almost as big as a great blue heron, but it is pure white. The legs are black and the beak is yellow. They summer in North America, where they nest, and winter in Central and […]
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Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/26/10 Observation Time: 3:10 p.m. Observation Location: Moose Hill Audubon Wildlife Sanctuary Common Name: Great Blue Heron Rookery Scientific Name: Ardea herodias Comments: Comments: The great blue heron nest shown in the photos below was part of a rookery consisting of many heron nests clustered in a pine grove. While walking in the woods on a summer afternoon, we heard […]
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Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 11/11/12 Observation Time: 4:25 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Dam Common Name: Great Blue Heron Scientific Name: Ardea herodias Comments: These magnificent birds are often seen wading in shallow ponds looking for a meal of fish, frogs, snakes, and even small mammals. More Information: All About Birds
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Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/26/10 Observation Time: 5:15 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Great Blue Heron Scientific Name: Ardea herodias Comments: Great blue herons primarily feed on small fish, but they are opportunistic feeders and will eat whatever comes within striking distance. They occasionally snack on shrimp, crabs, small mammals, amphibians, small birds, rodents, and insects. More Information: All About Birds
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Observer: Alison Siegel Observation Date: 4/16/10 Observation Time: 6:00 a.m. Observation Location: Common Name: Great Blue Heron Scientific Name: Ardea herodias Comments: Great Blue Heron was walking across beach off of Lakeview Street in shallow water. More Information: All About Birds
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Observer: Faith Berkland Observation Date: 10/13/12 Observation Time: 3:00 p.m. Observation Location: 302 Mansfield Street Common Name: Gray Tree Frog Scientific Name: Hyla versicolor Comments: In the crux of a spruce that has a divided trunk. But the story is, we just thought it was a toad, however I went to Franklin Park zoo this past Saturday 10/27, and there was a picture of the exact same type of […]
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Observer: Will Sweet Observation Date: 7/19/08 Observation Time: 9:00 a.m. Observation Location: Back yard garden Common Name: Gray Tree Frog Scientific Name: Hyla versicolor Comments: While watering the garden, this tree frog revealed itself in a bush. More Information: Learn what a gray tree frog call sounds like at: music of nature, so you don’t wrack your brains trying to figure out what kind of bird it […]
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Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 3/12/09 Observation Time: 7:45 a.m. Observation Location: Soccer field by Gavins Pond Road Common Name: Canada x Greylag hybrid goose Scientific Name: Comments: This morning I saw a strange goose among the Canada geese at the Gavins Pond soccer field nearest to Gavins Pond Road. It had a distinct white line all the way around the base of its dark […]
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Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 9/12/09 Observation Time: 11:25 a.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Common Name: Goldenrod Scientific Name: Solidago sp. Comments: Goldenrod gets a bad rap as a cause of autumn allergies. The real culprit is ragweed. In fact, goldenrod has medicinal properties. More Information: Great Plains Nature Center
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Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 9/27/14 Observation Time: 4:15 p.m. Observation Place: Gavins Pond Dam Common Name: Fishing Spider Scientific Name: Dolomedes tenebrosus Comments: Fishing Spiders get their name from their hunting behavior and occasional food source. They are adept at ambushing insects and other food items on land, but they are also able to submerge their bodies just under the surface of calm water and […]
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Observer: John Baur Observation Date: 6/24/11 Observation Time: 5:30 p.m. Observation Location: Sharon Train Station Common Name: Giant Leopard Moth Scientific Name: Hypercompe scribonia Comments: Also called Eyed Tiger Moth, this is a moth of the family Arctiidae. It is distributed throughout the Southern and Eastern United States from New England to Mexico. The obsolete name Ecpantheria scribonia is still occasionally encountered. More Information: Wikipedia
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Observer: April Forsman Observation Date: 9/24/10 Observation Time: 10:15 a.m. Observation Location: DPW Common Name: Black and Yellow Garden Spider Scientific Name: Argiope aurantia Comments: Males range from 5 to 9 mm; females from 19 to 28 mm. Like other members of Argiope they are considered harmless to humans.The female of the species grows much larger than the male. Females have large rounded bodies that may […]
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Observer: Regen Jamieson Observation Date: 8/11/09 Observation Location: Moose Hill in the meadow at the end of the “unnatural trail”. Common Name: Black and Yellow Garden Spider Scientific Name: Argiope aurantia Comments: Males range from 5 to 9 mm; females from 19 to 28 mm. Like other members of Argiope they are considered harmless to humans.The female of the species grows much larger than the male. […]
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Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 5/17/13 Observation Time: 11:30 a.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Dam Common Name: Galerucella beetle Scientific Name: Galerucella calmariensis Comments: The Neponset River Watershed Association introduced these European beetles in Fowl Meadow in Canton and Norwood to control invasive purple loosestrife. They have spread to Sharon, where they are having the desired effect of keeping the invasive purlple loosestrife in check so native plants can […]
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Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 6/17/11 Observation Time: 5:05 p.m. Observation Location: Gavins Pond Dam Common Name: Galerucella beetle larvae Scientific Name: Galerucella calmariensis (or G. pusilla) Comments: Galerucella beetles eat only purple loosestrife, an invasive exotic weed that has been displacing native wetland plants and reducing biodiversity. The Neponset River Watershed Association has been “ranching” and releasing Galerucella beetles, and they are now showing up in Sharon. More Information: […]
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Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 10/18/12 Observation Time: 10:00 a.m. Observation Location: 4 Gavins Pond Road (basement) Common Name: Funnel Weaver Spider Scientific Name: Agelenidae family, Coras genus Comments: Spiders give me the creeps, especially big ones like this specimen, but I could not resist taking a photo and getting an identification from bugguide.net. More Information: BugGuide
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Observer: Paul Lauenstein Observation Date: 7/9/10 Observation Time: 4:40 p.m. Observation Location: outflow pool below Gavins Pond Dam Common Name: Freshwater Mussel Scientific Name: Elliptio complanata Comments: Mussels are filter feeders that cleanse water. Of the 12 species native to Massachusetts, 7 are in trouble because of pollution and/or dried up ponds and streams. Elliptio complanata mussels are relatively common, but well pumping for human use, threatens […]
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