Rochester Land Trust Newsletter

August, 2003

Save these Dates


 Saturday, August 23rd, 2003             

The Rochester Land Trust will have a booth at the Rochester Country Fair at Plumb Corner.  Join us during the day to learn about land conservation efforts and what you can do to help preserve the best of Rochester.

We will raffle items donated by local businesses, including Lloyds, Cervelli Farm, Sunnynook Farm, Movies & More, Bennett Farm, Rochester Golf Club, Mattapoisett Inn, Still Waters Therapy and others.  Raffle tickets will be sold starting at 10 a.m. Winning tickets will be drawn at 4 p.m., just before the pie baking contest.  

We will also have a Silent Auction, with items on display and available for bidding all day thanks to supporters like Koczera Oil, Sperry Air Tours and Marion Chiropractic.  The auction will close at 7 p.m. during the Pig Roast. 

 

Saturday, August 23rd, 2003

RLT’s 7th Annual Pig Roast!

 

The Rochester Land Trust is having its annual pig roast at the Rochester Country Fair this year.  Join us at 6 p.m. under the tent at Plumb Corner for great food, including homegrown tomatoes and home made desserts, and good conversation.  The silent auction closes at 7 p.m., after dinner and before dessert. 

 

Tickets: $18 adults; $9 children; kids under 5 are free.  Pick up tickets at Lloyds Market, the library, Bev Loves Books, or call Mo Sperry: 763-4741.


Thursday, September 25, 2003

Join Laurene Gerrior, a member of the board of directors of the Rochester Land Trust, on Thursday, September 25th from 6:30 to 8 PM at the Plumb Library on the Commons.  Laurene and other members of the Land Trust will lead a discussion on plants and animals at the end of summer as they prepare for winter.

 

Saturday, September 27, 2003

Join the Rochester Land Trust and the Shadow Farm Homeowners Association to search out plants and animals on the Shadow Farm conservation area at 1 p.m.  Park on Mendell Road and walk in to the circle at the end of Shadow Farm Lane.   

Cathy and Henry Roberts donated 9+ acres of land to the Rochester Land Trust in 1998.  The land, which includes a dam, pond and mixed hard wood forest, is NOT open to the public except at events organized by the land trust. 

The walk will be through a field and on woodland trails. The path would be difficult for strollers.


In the News

 

Protecting Eastover Farm

 

The Rochester Land Trust and The Trustees of Reservation announced on Monday, February 10th, 2003 their joint effort to permanently protect the core parcels of Eastover Farm. 

At the special town meeting March 24th, Rochester residents voted overwhelmingly  (366 to 16) to support borrowing $1,750,000 toward the $6 million project that would acquire land and conservation restrictions on nearly 800 acres of Eastover Farm in Rochester and Marion.  The Land Trust members appreciate the enthusiasm of those who came out for town meeting and especially the Boy Scouts who set up so many extra chairs. 

The annual election on April 9th confirmed strong community support for acquiring the land and conservation restrictions.  The vote was 798 to 300 in favor of overriding proposition 2 ˝.

What is happening now?

 

The Trustees of Reservation have worked out a time line for acquiring the land or conservation restrictions.  There are about 400 acres in Marion that will be purchased by the end of summer 2003.  This fall, Rochester and the Trustees will buy land or conservation restrictions on an additional 103 acres in Rochester.  The remaining land will be protected during 2004.  The exact timing depends in part upon private fund raising of $3 million and the successful receipt of public funds from the Self Help Grant Program of the Massachusetts Division of Conservation Services.

If you or friends are interested in contributing to this project, please call Steve Sloan at the Trustees of Reservation:  781/ 828-9524.  You may contribute online at www.thetrustees.org. 

 

Natural History

 

On the evening of June 26th, RLT Board member Laurene Gerrior led a discussion about the birds of Rochester that generated the list below.  A Saturday morning nature walk in Haskell Swamp followed the discussion.  They spotted a half dozen birds that day. 

 

Birds of Rochester

Common Loon                   Cattle Egret

Double-crested Cormorant

Great Blue Heron            Mute Swan

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Snow goose                     Canada Goose

Wood Duck                     Mallard 

Greater Scaup                Oldsquaw

Hooded Merganser           Common Merganser

Red-breasted Merganser   Turkey Vulture

Osprey                          Bald Eagle

Northern Harrier           Sharp-shinned Hawk

Cooper’s Hawk                Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk              American Kestrel

Merlin                           Ring-necked Pheasant

Ruffed Grouse                Wild Turkey

Northern Bobwhite          Killdeer

Spotted Sandpiper           American Woodcock

Laughing Gull                  Great Black-backed Gull                           Mourning Dove

Eastern Screech-Owl      Great Horned Owl

Snowy Owl                    

Northern Saw-whet Owl 

Whip-poor-will                Chimney Swift

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Belted Kingfisher           

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Downy Woodpecker          Hairy Woodpecker

Northern Flicker                        Eastern Wood-Pewee

Eastern Phoebe              

Great Crested Flycatcher

Eastern Kingbird             Purple Martin

Tree Swallow                  Bank Swallow

Barn Swallow                  Blue Jay

American Crow               

Black-capped Chickadee    Tufted Titmouse

Bed-breasted Nuthatch   

White-breasted Nuthatch

Brown Creeper                Carolina Wren

Golden-crowned Kinglet    Eastern Bluebird

Veery                            Wood thrush

American Robin               Gray Catbird

Northern Mockingbird      Cedar Waxwing

European Starling           White-eyed Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo                Yellow Warbler

Magnolia Warbler            Pine Warbler

Black-and-white Warbler  Ovenbird

Common Yellow throat      Scarlet Tanager

Northern Cardinal          

Rose-breasted Grosbeak   Indigo Bunting

Rufous-sided Towhee        Chipping Sparrow

Field Sparrow                 Fox Sparrow

White-throated Sparrow 

White-crowned Sparrow   Dark-eyed Junco

Bobolink                         Red-winged Blackbird

Common Grackle             

Brown-headed Cowbird      Northern Oriole

Purple Finch                   House Finch

American Goldfinch          House Sparrow

 

Do you have birds to add to our list?  Please tell us about them:  where you saw them (on the ground, in the water, in a tree, in the forest), when (morning, mid-day, evening or night), and what made you notice the bird (song, color, flight).  To keep adding to the list, contact Laurene Gerrior 508-763-4223 or arethusa@comcast.net. 

 

Do you have a Special Place in Rochester?  Would you tell us about it?  Send your contribution to RLT, PO Box 337, Rochester MA 02770, fax it to:  508/763-2640 or e-mail to: sbptrsn@comcast.net

 

 

 

                                                                                                


Join the Rochester Land Trust!   Cut here and send it in!

 

********************************************

Rochester Land Trust                                                                2003

PO Box 337                                                                  Membership Invitation

Rochester, MA 02770   

 

                                                                                    Life Member                             $1000

YES, I want to protect                                                   Friend of Rochester                   $250

Rochester’s rural character                                            Supporting Member                   $100

and natural beauty.                                                        Business Member                      $  25

                                                                        Family Member                         $  15

                                                                        Individual Member                     $  10

Name ______________________________________

 

Address ____________________________________

 

___________________________        ____________         

                                                            zip

Telephone __________________________________           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rochester Land Trust                                                                           NONPROFIT ORG

Post Office Box 337                                                                             STANDARD A

206 High Street                                                                                    ROCHESTER, MA

Rochester, MA 02770                                                                          Permit No. 12

 

 

 

 

                                                            ECRWSS

                                                            Postal Patron

                                                            Rochester, MA  02770

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rochester Land Trust Board of Directors 2003-2004

 

President:  Maureen Sperry                         Vice President:   Susan Adams
Treasurer: Michael Costa                 Clerk:  Susan Peterson

Mary Bessey   Richard Cutler   Laurene Gerrior   Russ Keeler  Norene Hartley

Daniel Kennedy   Robert Lawrence   Gil Lafrance Rod McCollester