Home»Photo Walks»2016-03-20 Rocky Hill Wildlife Sanctuary, Groton MA

Right in our backyard (a few towns over) is the Rocky Hill Wildlife Sanctuary with an entrance nestled in a quite small neighborhood. Who knew?! A spectacular location to hike! When we left that morning, I said to Sherpa Dave, "today, we will see and owl!" We had not found one all Spring! We hiked about 1.5 miles deep into the forest and came upon a swampy pond which was home to a number of Great Blue Heron nests. They were high upon the trees at about 200 yards. Sherpa Dave, with his keen eyesight (and powerful Nikon binoculars) spotted a next with an odd shape - and there it was, a Great Horned Owl had taken over a heron's nest! The owl photos were taken at 200 yards, with a Sigma 150-600 mm Sports lens on my Nikon D750 and then super cropped for posting resulting in photos that are a bit rough. Rough photos aside, it was a thrill to see! We certainly will return to see how nesting season progresses! Photos or no photos, the forest is a beautiful area to hike and take in all that nature offers.