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Vol. 3, No. 1
Thursday, April 18, 2002
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Spring has definitely come to Dolan Pond. Green buds are bursting forth. Ducks are on the ponds. Flowers are blooming. Birds are returning. It has been awhile since our last issue but that doesn't mean that things haven't been happening at Dolan Pond Conservation Area.
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There is a meeting of the CDBG West Newton Advisory Committee this evening at the Newton Community Service Center (NCSC, 492 Waltham Street). The meeting will start promptly at 7 PM in the Landry Room at NCSC. If you have attended past meetings, please note the earlier time and different room. The Landry Room is on the second floor of NCSC and is directly up the stairs if you enter the rightmost doorway into the building (closer to CVS). In addition to the other CDBG funded projects, there will an update on the major Dolan Pond Pathway Project given by Dee Spiro, our West Newton CDBG planner. One other notable item is that some new funding has been allocated for improvements to the River Street Playground. Please come and learn about these interesting areas.
There were previous meetings and hearings where the plan was presented and comments solicited. Colors were chosen for the stabilized soil path and bench material, etc. The observation area at Quinn Pond was relocated to provide a more natural view. The plans were reviewed by some members of the Mayor's Committee for People with Disabilities. The plan was put out to bid and apparently there were 9 bidders to do the job. At the end of last month the bids were opened and one company selected after checking references. Apparently the chosen contractor has done some nice work on a project on Brookline as well. Tonight will be an update on where things stand and where the project goes from here. So if you are curious, come on down to NCSC at 7 PM. For questions about the meeting or the Dolan Pond project, please contact Dee Spiro at (617) 552-7136 x 118 or at dspiro@ci.newton.ma.us.
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The Dolan Pond area is awakening. Despite last year's drought and the pond's just about drying up, they did fill again this past fall and winter and Quinn Pond provided skating as it usually has. Ice out may have been a little earlier than usual though. From what I hear, coyote reports seem to be down a bit.
Wood Ducks have been present again this spring and I have seen them on both Quinn and Dolan Ponds. Most recently, I saw just a male at Dolan Pond, which might indicate that the female is on the nest in one of the Wood Duck houses scattered through the area. In addition, there have been resident Mallards and Canada Geese. On Tuesday (4/16/02) the first Palm Warbler was observed. This is a small bird with a lot of yellow that flicks its tail a lot. These are usually the first of the migrating warblers seen passing through on their way north and its always a thrill. Many more warblers will follow including our resident Yellow Warber and Common Yellowthroat. Red-winged blackbirds were heard and Killdeer and Ring-billed Gulls seen flying overhead. There are lots of Grackles (the other blackbirds) who are easily distinguished in flight with their V tails. Robins, Titmice, Chickadees, Cardinals, Bluejays are present in good numbers. Listen for the very loud "quick, quick, quick, …." song of the Flicker, a type of woodpecker. The other loud songster is the Carolina Wren which resides here throughout the year.
It's amazing how many painted turtles we have in all the ponds. The prettiest sight might be the half dozen lined up perfectly on a board at the path end of Quinn Pond in the morning sun. And the toad chorus has been underway - that kind of continuous multifaceted low tone that starts up and is joined by other tones at a slightly different pitch. It's not peepers as many believe but the spring call of the American Toad. These are the tiny toads (about the size of your pinky) that cover the path sometimes in June and grow up to be the larger garden toads. It was also a pleasure to see a Marsh Marigold blooming opposite the Banana Pond bridge, a result of the natural wildflower planting initiative of a few years ago.
So go take a walk at Dolan Pond soon! There are always surprises to be found if you just listen and watch.
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Welcome to the Dolan Pond News, a publication of Friends of Dolan Pond, a local organization that promotes the protection and preservation of the Dolan Pond Conservation Area in West Newton, MA. This rather loose organization has a website, www.dolanpond.org and an email address, "info@dolapond.org". If you are interested in the organization, please contact Ted Kuklinski at 617-969-6222, write to Friends of Dolan Pond, 24 Henshaw Terrace, West Newton, MA 02465, or send email to info@dolanpond.org.
This newsletter is primarily published and distributed by email. If you wish to receive the newsletter or request to discontinue receiving the newsletter by email, please contact us as above. It is also posted in paper form on clipboards at the major entrances to the area. If you have any information, material, photos, poems, writings, etc. concerning Dolan Pond that you would like to share, please send them along. Please forward the email version along to anyone you know who might be interested in receiving it or ask them to send us an email to join our subscription list. Hope to see you at Dolan Pond soon!
Contents | Dolan Pond News | Home
Contents | Dolan Pond News | Home
Hope to see you at Dolan Pond soon!