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HTMLText_195DCEAD_3D15_7C2F_41C8_E509D0BD3231.html = The Massabesic Audubon runs many outdoor programs including bird walks, tree identification, plant identification, opportunistic walks, amphibian adventures, animal tracking, and many others.
These walks tend to take breaks here at our outdoor teaching area at Milne pond. One of our more popular walks, Birds & Bagels, ends here at the pond with bagels and fresh coffee or hot chocolate waiting for you upon arrival.
Join our public programming to stay engaged with our natural world!
Today, Lake Massabesic serves as the main drinking water reservoir for Manchester, New Hampshire. The lake covers 2,500 acres and the watershed itself covers 42 square miles (~27,000 acres). Most of the land within the watershed is undeveloped with about 9,200 acres classified as conservation, deed restrictions, and fee ownership protecting the land indefinitely. Enjoy the stunning views, the clear water, and the healthy ecosystem within the lake.
In 1896 the Manchester Coal and Ice Company began mining ice from Lake Massabesic. This ice was shipped to the southern United States, South America, and even to India! Manchester Water Works bought the land from Manchester Coal and Ice in 1929. Ice harvesting ultimately ended in 1962 when a heavy snowstorm destroyed the ice house. Imagine standing at Battery Point, bundled up on a clear winter day, watching the ice blocks getting chiseled out of the lake and moved down a conveyor belt for shipping. To immerse yourself more fully in these historical reveries, visit here!
Today, Lake Massabesic serves as the main drinking water reservoir for Manchester, New Hampshire. The lake covers 2,500 acres and the watershed itself covers 42 square miles (~27,000 acres). Most of the land within the watershed is undeveloped with about 9,200 acres classified as conservation, deed restrictions, and fee ownership protecting the land indefinitely. Enjoy the stunning views, the clear water, and the healthy ecosystem within the lake.
In 1896 the Manchester Coal and Ice Company began mining ice from Lake Massabesic. This ice was shipped to the southern United States, South America, and even to India! Manchester Water Works bought the land from Manchester Coal and Ice in 1929. Ice harvesting ultimately ended in 1962 when a heavy snowstorm destroyed the ice house. Imagine standing at Battery Point, bundled up on a clear winter day, watching the ice blocks getting chiseled out of the lake and moved down a conveyor belt for shipping. To immerse yourself more fully in these historical reveries, visit here!
Milne pond provides habitat to many amphibians and reptiles. In the spring and early summer you can find frog and salamander eggs.Visit throughout the next few weeks to watch the tadpoles hatch and grow into adults!
Don’t be afraid to look down in the low grass for small snakes that find their food from the pond. Lots of painted turtles can be found throughout the summer basking in the hot sun as well. The pond is home to a family of beavers; without them, the pond would not exist, as they built a dam nearby which allowed the pond to form.
Sign up for a Pond Discovery program at the Massabesic Center to explore Milne Pond with one of our educators!
The junction of Audubon Way and Deerneck Trail (part of Manchester Water Works trail system) quickly leads you to the North Hayfield Loop. This trail’s southern segment is the only dog-friendly portion of the fields, allowing for a shortcut to the wooded Yellow and Red Trails, where dogs, equestrians, and mountain bikes are permitted.
The North Hayfield Loop is a hidden gem of the Massabesic Audubon Center. This trail is an extension of our bluebird trail, providing more field habitat for nesting Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallows.
Remember to always keep your dogs out of the fields during bird breeding season. Leash laws are enforced year-round on all NH Audubon properties.
Please see the virtual field trip map to see where dogs are allowed on the property.
Today, Lake Massabesic serves as the main drinking water reservoir for Manchester, New Hampshire. The lake covers 2,500 acres and the watershed itself covers 42 square miles (~27,000 acres). Most of the land within the watershed is undeveloped with about 9,200 acres classified as conservation, deed restrictions, and fee ownership protecting the land indefinitely. Enjoy the stunning views, the clear water, and the healthy ecosystem within the lake.
In 1896 the Manchester Coal and Ice Company began mining ice from Lake Massabesic. This ice was shipped to the southern United States, South America, and even to India! Manchester Water Works bought the land from Manchester Coal and Ice in 1929. Ice harvesting ultimately ended in 1962 when a heavy snowstorm destroyed the ice house. Imagine standing at Battery Point, bundled up on a clear winter day, watching the ice blocks getting chiseled out of the lake and moved down a conveyor belt for shipping. To immerse yourself more fully in these historical reveries, visit here!
Today, Lake Massabesic serves as the main drinking water reservoir for Manchester, New Hampshire. The lake covers 2,500 acres and the watershed itself covers 42 square miles (~27,000 acres). Most of the land within the watershed is undeveloped with about 9,200 acres classified as conservation, deed restrictions, and fee ownership protecting the land indefinitely.
Enjoy the stunning views, the clear water, and the healthy ecosystem within the lake.
In 1896 the Manchester Coal and Ice Company began mining ice from Lake Massabesic. This ice was shipped to the southern United States, South America, and even to India! Manchester Water Works bought the land from Manchester Coal and Ice in 1929. Ice harvesting ultimately ended in 1962 when a heavy snowstorm destroyed the ice house.
Imagine standing at Battery Point, bundled up on a clear winter day, watching the ice blocks getting chiseled out of the lake and moved down a conveyor belt for shipping. To immerse yourself more fully in these historical reveries, visit here!
Animal Habitats
Okay, Nature Detectives, make sure your observation eyes are ready to find some hidden animals in the following habitats: the field, the forest, and the pond!
Remember, many of the animals that find their food, water and shelter needs in these habitats may not be immediately visible or easy to spot. Some of them stay hidden so they can safely hunt for food or avoid being eaten as prey.
Instructions: When you open the Map, you will notice 3 locations marked by BLUE dots. Within each of these locations we have hidden 3 animals who use that particular habitat to find their essential needs of food, water and shelter. Are you ready to think like an animal and discover who is hiding in each of the habitats?
Scroll your mouse around each scene until you find all 3 animals. Then click on the animal and up will pop a box showing you an image of the animal and information about that animal and how it survives! Have fun discovering who is hiding around the NH Audubon Massabesic Center’s sanctuary!
Good luck!
Massabesic Today
The Massabesic Audubon Center is a hot spot for school field trips, weddings, birthdays, and nature excursions. Nature-lovers from all walks flock to the grounds all year long, especially birders, hikers, and gardeners. We host seasonal nature camps, educational and fun outdoor programs for all ages and abilities, and we’re a perfect setting for either family picnics or corporate meetings.
While the center’s main building has exhibits, event space, and offices, the historic farmhouse building is used only for picturesque backdrops. The adjacent barn is home to a maternity colony for bats, monitored by NH Fish and Game. The fields are home to nest boxes that house breeding eastern bluebirds, tree swallows, and other bird species.
As you walk along the fields, you’ll discover an audio tour, a plethora of pollinator information, and various other interpretive features along the way. Enjoy over 5 miles of mostly flat trails through fields and forests, to gorgeous lakeside views.
This virtual field trip will allow you to visit many of these locations, and learn so much more!
Historic Massabesic
The first people known to live on and steward the land were the the Abenaki People. To learn more about the Indigenous history of New Hampshire, visit IndigenousNH.com, or enjoy this story map of Indigenous History in New Hampshire.
After European colonization, the land was used to support the industrial revolution, found fame as a tourism haven, and eventually became a farm owned by the Brown Family. The land was sold and incorporated into the Parker Estate in 1908, with the original buildings serving as a boarding house and the manager’s residence. Farming stopped in the 1970’s and Jim Wood purchased the house.
NH Audubon purchased the property from the Milne family in 1993. Construction on the new Massabesic Center building began in 1998, and opened to the public in 1999. Lake Massabesic itself has served as the drinking water reservoir for the city of Manchester since 1870.
Green frogs lay their eggs in permanent water bodies, like ponds or lakes, in mid-July. These tadpoles need 1 year to complete their life cycle, or metamorphosis, when they become adult green frogs.
Life as a tadpole means constantly finding algae and other plant matter or decaying material under the water to grow, avoiding predators like turtles, raccoons and other mammals.
Here in New Hampshire, they will stay active under the ice in winter, searching for shallow warmer areas to feed.
This beautiful reptile graces the permanent ponds and lakes, and is often seen basking or sunning on a log or rock. The painted turtle’s nickname, "sun turtle", is a perfect name for this sleek animal with the red and yellow facial and limb markings.
They are omnivorous, eating a variety of aquatic insects, vegetation and crayfish. Come winter, they hibernate under the soft mud at the bottom of ponds and lakes, waiting for those warm days of spring to reclaim their basking log once again!
This herbivore is a master of creating new wetland habitat by damming up small streams resulting in a vibrant body of water in which they build lodges, designed to protect them from predators such as coyote and bear.
Beavers enter the solid lodge, made from sticks and mud, by swimming underwater and climbing up through an entrance hole. Dry and safe in their lodges, a beaver family will stay active all winter, swimming under the ice to access the branches they cached or stored in the fall for food during the dark, cold winter months.
Imagine how they anticipate the fresh greens and sunlight upon the return of spring and thawed ponds!
The memorial garden is the first major hotspot you will find when they first arrive at the New Hampshire Audubon Massabesic Center. This beautiful space in front of our center provides a space to sit and reflect in nature. Enjoy the scent of the fresh flowers and the magical sounds of the birds and other critters. Come relax and let your mind run free in our restored memorial garden here at the center.
This graceful butterfly, with the visible pattern of red, orange and black, needs the host plant of the milkweed for its caterpillar stage of the life cycle. Toxins in the milky substance of the leaves, eaten by the caterpillar, provide protection from predators, such as birds.
It takes 4 generations of monarchs to complete their migration from Mexico and back again-- 3 generations to arrive North, and the fourth generation of Monarch butterflies are the ones who migrate in the fall down to Mexico where they overwinter to begin the generational journey in early spring.
This migratory raptor arrives each spring from warmer climates like Mexico to nest in our forests, where the large deciduous and evergreen trees provide excellent habitat for nests and hunting.
The hawks prey upon small mammals, amphibians and snakes by perching in trees, watching for a meal. They fly down and capture their prey quickly and fly back to a safe branch to eat their food.
Broad-winged hawks form large “kettles”, or groups of other migrating hawks in September as they soar high in the sky on warm air currents, heading south along mountain ridges. For the winter, the forest mammals are safe from this fierce avian predator!
This year-round resident bird in our forests tends to be tame and acrobatic as it flits about, searching the underside of leaves for insects or plucks seeds from various wildflowers. Chickadees brave our winters by adding extra downy feathers, which they fluff up to trap the heat, and shiver to create warmth. They will form cooperative flocks with other birds like the titmouse and nuthatch to search for food and shelter.
Come spring, chickadee pairs search for dead trees where they excavate or dig a small nest cavity to lay eggs and raise their brood of little nestlings.
This high-energy rodent, sporting stripes down its back and cheek pouches full of acorns and seeds, darts about collecting food for the fall where it will store vast quantities in underground burrows and chambers.
The chipmunk can store around 2 pounds of seeds, nuts and fruit in these elaborate underground tunnel systems as they prepare for a winter. Chipmunks enter torpor or deep sleep to survive the cold and snowy winter weather.
While gathering food, they must keep eyes open for predators on the ground, such as foxes, as well as winged predators like hawks. No wonder they are always racing around!
Picture yourself standing in the field, close your eyes and you can imagine the chirping call of the field cricket, especially on those warm, late summer evenings!
This abundant insect plays an important role in the field ecosystem, as it hides in the grass and tall vegetation. Many species prey upon the cricket, such as birds, toads, snakes, fox and numerous other mammals. Crickets provide these animals with a rich source of energy!
The cricket plays an important role as a decomposer of dead insects and plants. It also consumes or eats seeds such as crabgrass and ragweed.
Welcome to the
New Hampshire Audubon
Massabesic Center
Located on a historic farm site, the Massabesic Center is a pristine wildlife sanctuary just minutes from downtown Manchester. The sanctuary encompasses a diverse array of upland habitat that includes rolling fields, marshes, mature deciduous forest, and woodland wetlands, such as Milne Pond. The property is adjacent to thousands of undeveloped acres managed by Manchester Water Works and Southeast Land Trust of New Hampshire.
There are more than five miles of trails that lead to multiple scenic overviews of Lake Massabesic. The site is also home to an extensive array of luscious gardens, cared for by a volunteer force coordinated by the UNH Extension Master Gardener program.
The trails, managed jointly by all three landowner partners, as well as the gardens, are open 7 days a week, from dawn to dusk. Please note that dogs, equestrians, and wheeled vehicles are not permitted at the main entrance, in the fields, or in the gardens; however the parking lot provides nearby access to the woodland trails, which are located just a short walk down the main road.
The main building features a large conference room, available for rentals, a nature center with live animal ambassadors and hands-on educational exhibits, and a small gift shop. Building hours vary seasonally.
Come visit and enjoy all that we have to offer!
The Eastern Bluebird uses bird boxes or nest cavities (holes in small trees excavated by another bird like a woodpecker) to build its nest. This snug box provides a wonderful shelter for the 4-5 young nestlings as they grow. The parent bluebirds can easily perch from a nearby tree and hunt over the fields for insects hidden in the grass.
Image: Bluebird on post; Staff photo
Along the front right side of the center is our scent garden. Walk through the beautiful archway onto the path and your senses will be overloaded with the smells of some native plant species. These species include Dwarf Mayflower Viburnum, Wolf-eyes Dogwood, False cypress, Oriental Lilly, Common Purple Lilac, and Summersweet.
Follow the gravel ahead and around the corner, and you will stumble on the Massabesic Sound Garden.
Ospreys in New Hampshire were once on a steep population decline. Man-made nests were designed to help increase their numbers, with one installed at the Massabesic Center in 1997. By 1999, a nesting pair settled in, and this blind was built to help visitors quietly view their progress. The osprey population in New Hampshire has rebounded dramatically in recent years, although sadly, the osprey nest at the Massabesic Center blew over and was destroyed in a storm. The blind is now home to nesting songbirds and insects, and serves as a reminder of the power of conservation efforts.
Sit inside for a few moments and enjoy the views. Keep your eyes peeled for eagles, ospreys, and herons while you listen to the songbirds in the trees. Was that flash of light a fish jumping? The lingering ripples give him away!
About 550-650 million years ago the proterozoic epoch came to an end. However, in the late proterozoic epoch massabesic gneiss was formed. This metamorphic rock consists of pink, foliated (thin layering) biotite granite intruding into slightly metamorphosed sedimentary and volcanic rocks.
Massabesic Gneiss is very common here at Lake Massabesic and throughout Southern New Hampshire.
The geologic maps show the bedrock that appears at the surface, or buried beneath the soft sediments and water at the surface.
Lake Massabesic is located towards the South-East (lower right) corner of the state, and is inside the yellow circle.
In the zoomed-in map, details of the massabesic gneiss are included. The rocks here are about 623 million years old, and were formed as Pangaea was coming together. The rock is made from ocean sediments and some volcanic rocks that were compressed between 2 colliding continents, and due to the heat and pressure were baked into this very strong metamorphic rock.
* To see more details of the map, open the other info button for a PDF.
Blueberry Point is the first major point lookout over the lake. In the early summer months the high blueberry bushes become loaded with berries.
This popular spot is a great area to stop, relax, enjoy the views and pick some berries. You may even spot the Osprey if you’re lucky!
When you enter the center, take a look around the main office and you will see a small nature store and a large window for wildlife viewing.
When you head down the hall you may enter the Nature Lab, which is home to the only captive Timber Rattlesnake in New Hampshire. In the Nature Lab you will also find a number of aquatic turtles, box turtles, snakes, frogs, and insects! Once you are finished up in the Nature Lab head out back to visit our Ambassador, Raven.
Enter the center and take a look around the main office! Our front desk welcomes you into thenature store, next to large windows perfect for wildlife viewing. Enjoy the wildlife displays and artifacts while you relax with a field guide from our library. Try to identify the animals you have seen outside during your visit!
Head down the hall and admire the murals painted by skilled local artists. Peek in on the Peregrine Falcon Camera, which offers a live view of the action in the nest on the Brady Sullivan Tower. You’ll find bathrooms, water fountains, brochures, and displays here. Catch a glimpse of the conference room, which regularly showcases local artists’ works, and the adjacent kitchen, included with rentals.
Step into the Nature Lab, which is home to the only captive Timber Rattlesnake in New Hampshire. You’ll find more reptiles, amphibians, and invertebrates living here as important animal ambassadors for their species. Get hands-on with animal artifacts - touch mammal furs, discover wildlife anatomy, and view an extensive variety of bird plumage on display. Once you’ve filled up on knowledge, head out through the hallto visit our star ambassador animal Raven.
The Sound Garden is a magical wonder of the Massabesic Audubon Center. Enjoy the flowering Catalpa tree, the Morning Light Grass, Silver Light Grass, and the wind chime in the Catalpa tree.
The wide bench next to the Catalpa tree acts as a xylophone! You can make soft sounds with this bench following the flow of the winds and the natural sounds around them.
Our resident Ambassador Raven resides in a large enclosure at the back of the center. Believed to be the victim of an automobile strike, he has a permanently broken wing and would not survive in the wild.
Raven helps teach visitors about his wild relatives, the dangers that roads can pose to wildlife, and ways that we can help be better stewards of the land we all share.
Over the years, our gardens have gone through many changes. They were once a 4-H teaching garden for groups to come and learn about native pollinators and other wildlife supported by these gardens. Once the gardens were well established, our strong base of volunteers began to take care of them, and In 2019, the Pollinator Garden was designed and installed under the direction of Master Gardeners George and Audrey Vargish.
During the spring, summer, and fall, the gardens are used for weddings. The beautiful backdrop of our wedding garden provides bright vibrant colors for the wedding ceremony. Another added bonus of our wedding gardens--and gardens in general--is they are filled with native plants, which provide pristine habitat for our native pollinators.
If you are looking for a beautiful and peaceful spot for your wedding feel free to give the center a call to book your wedding today!
On Earth Day in 1998, Cub Scouts broke ground and began work on the Bluebird Trail we see today. Then,100 bluebird boxes were constructed and installed by New Hampshire Parks Americorps members. By 1999 the trail was finished and opened to the public. Since then our Bluebird Monitoring Project team of volunteers have been collecting data on the bluebirds, tree swallows, and wrens that nest in the boxes. Highly visible, the boxes are protected from predators with nest shields installed on their bases.
The Bluebird Trail, which loops through all of our large fields, was originally designed to support declining populations of Eastern Bluebirds. The installation of managed bluebird boxes throughout NH Hampshire has been immensely successful over the years, leading to a rebound in bluebird population numbers.
Without the help of our amazing volunteers, this citizen science project wouldn’t be as effective nor comprehensive as it is today. Our volunteer base allows us to grow and expand in projects such as this one. Get involved!
Today, Eastern Bluebirds can be found relatively easily throughout the Massabesic Audubon’s fields throughout the year. On your walk listen and try to hear them calling to one another.
This geologic map shows the bedrock that appears at the surface, or buried beneath the soft sediments and water at the surface.
Lake Massabesic is located towards the South-East (lower right) corner of the state, and is inside the yellow circle.
In the zoomed-in image, details of the massabesic gneiss are included. The rocks here are about 623 million years old, and were formed as Pangaea was coming together. The rock is made from ocean sediments that were compressed between 2 colliding continents, and due to the heat and pressure were baked into this very strong metamorphic rock.
* To see more details of the map, open the other info button for a PDF.
Once you arrive at Battery Point you will find the remnants of an old foundation. This is the foundation for an old tea house that was here _______. The tea house was used during the twentieth century where people would be able to listen to music, dance, and observe the beautiful lake scenery while enjoying a warm cup of tea in the mid afternoon.
When you arrive at Battery Point you will find the remnants of an old foundation along the shore. This is the foundation for an old tea house which was present during the twentieth century. For several decades people would listen to music, dance, and take in the beautiful lake scenery while enjoying a warm cup of tea in the mid afternoon.