Amesbury Trails

05/22/2026

Grassland bird breeding season is upon us and caution signs are up at Woodsom Farm. The fields were thick with bobolinks this morning, staking out territory and chasing away rivals. Woodsom Farm is one of the best sites in New England for grassland bird breeding. Please keep pets and humans out of the unmowed grass at this time, to let the birds do their thing! Videos in comments capture a fraction of the activity today. Thanks!

05/10/2026

Work is pretty much done at a first invasive plant mitigation project, this at Woodsom Farm by the north parking lot. The goal is to free up space for the native plants in the same spot to recover. Some plants were pulled up right but most, just cut back. But cutting back means rescuing native ground cover, understory plants, and trees from the very dense stands of invasives. Plants like bittersweet and multiflora rose will engulf and even pull down whole trees. See photo descriptions for more information.

04/19/2026

First invasive plant work party in the books today at Woodsom Farm. This project is removing Asian bittersweet, Asian honeysuckle, buckthorn, and multi-flora rose plants from an area by the north parking lot at Woodsom Farm. Most non-native plants are not considered ‘invasive.’ Invasive plants grow aggressively and crowd out native species that provide food for native insects, animals, and birds, disrupting local food chains and ecosystems. Work will continue into early May.

04/13/2026

ICYMI: Folks in town have come together to create a working group to mitigate the spread of invasive plants in Amesbury, especially in City-owned conservation and recreational areas. A first project will be starting up this month, with a core group working at Woodsom Farm to address invasive honeysuckle, bittersweet, multi-flora rose, and buckthorn in a plot near the parking lot. The group plans soon to launch regular weekend volunteer work parties around town. Invasive plants disrupt food chains for local insects, bird, caterpillars, butterflies, etc by out-competing native plant food sources. Watch this space for more information soon!

AMESBURY — This spring, community members are grabbing their gardening tools and protecting the local ecosystem by ripping out invasive plants.

03/29/2026

Earth Hour is a global movement that encourages individuals, communities, and organizations to turn off non-essential lights for one hour as a symbol of commitment to the planet. Held annually, it’s a simple but powerful way to raise awareness about climate change, energy conservation, and protecting our natural world. To celebrate Earth Hour this year, Amesbury is hosting a special stargazing nature hike at Woodsom Farm (approximately 1 mile).

Saturday, March 28, 2026.
Meet at the Woodsom Farm parking lot at 7:00 PM

To learn more about the event or other ways to participate if you can’t make the hike, visit:

https://shorturl.at/YVNC9

03/13/2026

Please be considerate of our trails….the surfaces will be soft for a while.

02/25/2026

If you are out and about in the snow and wonder what animal made the tracks you see, this might help you with the ID….

Whether you are loving this winter wonderland or swearing off snow for the rest of eternity, take a look around our VERY snowy surroundings for animal tracks! Compare the shape, size, and track pattern to our animal tracks guide to help you make an ID.

Keep in mind that tracks can get distorted as the snow melts. Happy track ID'ing! ❄

02/01/2026

Hello February! The full snow moon hike at Camp Kent is this evening (Amesbury Recreation event) and we’re looking forward to the return of the Red Wing Blackbirds later this month, which will be a real sign of spring 🙂 

February has landed! With it comes Red Fox vixens denning, maple sugaring season, and more.

What are you looking forward to?

Download, print, and screen read our Outdoor Almanac: massaudubon.org/almanac

01/30/2026

Night snowshoe up Whittier Hill to Lake Gardner overlook. With the waxing moon, the trees were flooded with light, no headlamps needed.

01/21/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1E1RU3YwWB/

With snow on the ground across the state, now is a great time to see which animals are making tracks in your neighborhood! Compare the shape, size, and track pattern to our animal tracks guide to help you make an ID.