Exploring Coventry, RI (and vicinity)

Last week I came up with a short list of ideas for things to do on my day off in November. The time

Ponaganset  Road

period between striper migration being over and real winter weather begins is usually boring for me. The first thing I had planned on doing was a Mass Audubon trip to Parker River NWR. There was a program today focusing on ducks. However, I could not force myself to take the 200 mile round trip. The more times I take the ride to Newburyport, the longer it seems to get. I'm going to have to make it up there again since many sea ducks can be seen, that I can't see where I live.

Today, instead of going to Plum Island, I explored a part of Rhode Island I knew nothing about. By area, Coventry is the largest town in the littlest state.Inside of its borders are two Audubon wildlife Sanctuaries and the pond where the state record largemouth bass was caught (allegedly). As far ar I can remember, the only place I have ever been to in Coventry is Lake Tiogue.

I started my day off doing some scouting out Ponaganset Road in Foster. This road for whatever reason is one of the best birding locations in Rhode Island. During the spring all kinds of colorful migrants show up. There wasn't a lot to see there today. I just wanted to find the road and look for potential hot spots. I drove up Ponaganset Road and the Ram Trail making a couple of stops. All told, I only wasted about an hour.

After I left the area, I headed down Route 102 to George Parker Woodland. Parker is a very large

It's tough to get lost at Parker. Trails are well marked

property. It is 860 acres of woods. There are over seven miles of trails. There are two loops that almost figure eight. I did the closer loop to the parking lot. I considered doing the entire seven miles, but chose not to do the Foster Loop. The entire sanctuary seems to be forest habitat. I couldn't justify burning an hour of precious daylight to walk through the woods. There were very few birds (I saw a total of six) and only one squirrel. So I decided to limit my hiking to about four miles.

Parker was cool. One section of the blue trail in the Coventry loop had about one hundred rock cairns. No one seems to know when or why they were built. In another spot I found the foundation to a house from the early 1800's. On the trail that I chose not to do, there are two stone quarries and a site of an old farmhouse.

From Parker I kept going south on Route 102 and then took a right onto Route 117. My next stop was Carbuncle Pond. The state record largemouth is supposed to come from this pond However most people in the know, believe it was caught elsewhere. Either way I wanted to see this pond. It is in the Nicolas Wildlife Management Area, which allows hunting. Because of this fact, I chose not to do any

Foundation to a very old historic house

exploring of the trails since it is deer season. I took a few quick pictures of the pond. It is very pretty. Because it is in the WMA, it is devoid of development. There is a boat ramp and a very large handicapped accessible dock. Carbuncle is a trout pond, so I suspect it is quite busy in the spring.

After I left Carbuncle, I drove back to 102 and continued south to the Maxwell Mays Sanctuary. In this 265 acre sanctuary is a the seventeen acre Carr Pond. I walked the trails around the pond and in the woods. I found another foundation (this one not on the map) and plenty of stonewalls. The pond had four species of ducks. There were mallards, ring necked, 3 wood ducks and many buffleheads. I watched the ducks for fifteen minutes. I also came across a toad that was hopping across the trail. I don't ever recall seeing a toad in mid-November before. Other than the ducks and the toad, like Parker, there really wasn't much around in terms of wildlife.

I enjoyed my day exploring. If interested in either of the Audubon sanctuaries, a quick google search

About 100 cairns can be seen on this hillside
They vary in size from  a foot to six feet.
Three are in this picture

will get you maps and directions along with a brief explanation of what to expect. Next week, I'm gonna take the long drive to Plum Island. I really want to see old squaw and red throated loons.

Boat Ramp in front, Handicapped Dock in back
at Carbuncle

I came across this old cemetery  at Maxwell Mays

There was one flag. Based on the year, this soldier
may have died in the Spanish-American War

Ring necked ducks

A very cooperative toad