Morse Pond

Decided to explore the Claire Birtz Wildlife Sanctuary in Southbridge, MA. I first tried to find the trailhead and parking area located just north of Morse Pond. From route 169 I took Tipton Rock Road heading west.. I saw some trail markings on some trees, and a housing for pamphlets off the road some, but did not see the parking area. So I turned around to at least find another spot mentioned that offered parking. This was a launch site for non-motorized boats and had no access to the trails.

The launch area was near the south end of Morse Pond. The wind was fierce and blew continuously from the north while I was there. It left me feeling chilly. The terrain climbed upwards looking to the west and to the east, but was comparatively level in the north-south direction where the pond was spread out at its widest. This was most likely the reason for such a constant wind at the time. Snow and ice was still visible on top of much of the pond, but was not present closer to the shore.

The water at the south side of the pond exits out becoming the Saw Mill Brook. There is a bit of stone work there on both sides of the brook, and evidence that a footbridge or something crossed the top of the brook there at sometime. The were two rusted circular rings each standing upright, next to each other, perhaps more than a foot apart. They were each about 3 feet in diameter. I imagine they might have been wheels for a cart in days gone by, left for trash. Closer to the road, I spotted a broken piece of tile, thinking that it also was left as trash.

From there I drove one last time to try to find the trailhead. I pulled the car to the side of the road just after the area where I spotted the pamphlet dispenser. Apparently, the dispenser was in the parking area and I missed seeing it the first time. The parking area was rather small, so I left my car where it was and began the hike.

I started along the blue trail. It heads south, and for the most part is just west of Morse Pond. The trail was easy to walk and clearly marked. There were views of the pond among the trees. I heard geese and saw them in flight just over the water, and later heard some other water bird.

I later left the blue trail and headed onto the silver trail (on the park map as black). The silver trail continued further south, but brought you closer to the west shore of Morse Pond. At one point I was right at the pond, at an inlet. This gave a wonderful view of the pond. There was also a large beaver dam nearby.

I follow the silver trail to its end, and from there it met at the end of the blue trail and also the end of the yellow trail. I decided to take the yellow trail back.

The yellow trail started off with some steepness. It was the only real degree of steepness that I encountered through the entire hike. From up there, I could spot a large nest that was up high in a tree. I saw a similar one earlier when I was closer to the water, at least I think they were not the same one. I heard some crows and later heard (what I would guess was) a bird making a noise I had never heard before. The noise was kind of a squeaky screech, and high pitched. A blue jay flew quickly through the trees at about the height of my shoulder. I continued the slow decent and came back onto the blue trail, following it back the way I came and calling it a day.