Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge, Sleepy Hollow And The Emerson House, A Day Exploring Concord, Massachusetts

As usual on my travels, I awoke early my second day in the historic town of Concord.   I had already learned there is so much to see and  explore in this town, settled in1635, and the  surrounding area. Historical, natural and literature attractions are everywhere.The ‘shot that was heard around the world” which  started the Revolutionary War and our Independence was fired here. Henry Thoreau and his love of nature began the conversationalist movement here.  And Concord may best know for it’s  writers.  Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Louisa May Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne and William Ellery Channing wrote their bests works here. The American   Transcendentalism was founded here. It emphasized inherent human goodness, the divine connection found in nature, and the supremacy of intuition over organized religion and rationalism.

I knew I couldn’t see everything when I decided to return to Concord on the 46th anniversary of my last and only visit to this famous town. I was last here when Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18 1980. It was Spring and the birds that spent the Winter in our southern States, Central and South America and the Caribbean were migrating back north. I was  thinking of  visiting the Great Meadows National Wildlife Reserve.  My conversation with the world famous naturalist Peter Alden at Walden Pond on Thursday confirmed my choice, He recommended it as the best place in the area to see the migrating birds.

After a couple of cups of coffee at the hotel ( And one for the road. I love coffee.) I drove the 2 miles through the sleeping town of Concorn around 6:30 a.m.  There was no traffic  on the tree lined roads. All of the well kept homes and gardens had colorful flowers blooming.

It was overcast with a brisk northwesterly wind and a chilly 50 degrees when I arrived at the parking lot just off of Monsen Road in Concord. There was only one other car in the parking lot but I was greeted by this colorful male rose breasted grosbeak singing in the trees. I love hearing and seeing these birds that spend the Winter in Central and South America, often flying across the Gulf of Mexico in a  single night. It was a wonderful welcome to Great Meadows.

I walked under the cloudy skies  on the Main Dike Trail. There were many silver maple and hazel alder trees at the start of the trail,

where I saw a few migratory northern yellow warblers,

and  year long resident blue jays. I love the friendly colorful warblers and their cheerful songs. I am not a fan of the  just as colorful blue jays and their loud, disturbing calls. They are the “bullies” of the bird world and are known to invade other bird nest for the eggs and young.

I followed the trail that splits  the two ponds in the 252 acre Concord section of the Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge. The entire refuge consists of 32oo acres of mostly wetlands. The Concord section was once a grassy meadow along the Concord. Native Americans hunted and grew crops in the meadows for over 10,000 years .   In colonial times hay was harvested from the meadows. The meadows became flooded when mills dammed the river upstream creating a wetland that attracted migrating wildlife. Thoreau often visited and wrote about the wetland.

In 1928 Samuel Hoar purchased the meadows and built some earthen dikes to create the ponds and create a private hunting club. The land was purchased by the Federal government in 1964 creating the National Wildlife Refuge. I walked on the Main Dike Trail under the cloudy skies,  observing dozens of male red-winged blackbirds calling from their perches on the reeds in the ponds,

there were a few female red winged blackbirds too.

Swamp sparrows,

 and common grackles also sang from their perches on the  reeds.  I am familiar with all of these birds from my hikes in the wetlands along the ancient Susquehanna River near my home in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

One bird I do not see in the wetlands near my home was this marsh wren that was singing loudly along the trail.

There were also some birds swimming in the waters of the ponds, I saw  this great blue heron,

a few hooded mergansers,

a wood duck ,

and this beautiful, but invasive  tundra swan. This invasive species is very  destructive to the natural vegetation.

I also encountered this family of Canada geese and walked with them for awhile.

It was  about a 1/2 mile hike across the dike which took me to to the banks of the Concord  River.

The 16 mile Concord River begins a few miles south at the confluence of  the Subury and Assabet River at Egg Rock in Concord. The first battle of the Revolutionary War began on it’s banks. Thoreau often visited the river and wrote about it in his books.As I often do on my hikes along the Susquehanna River, I reflected on the first Native Americans, the first European explorers and settlors, and the many generations since those early times canoed, walked  and visited this famous river. 

Near the river I saw a few American robins an

a mourning dove.

I followed the  Dike Trail south   which took me between the river and ponds. Silver maple, white ash, river birch and American elm trees grew along the trail .

There were many familiar wildflowers and plants growing along the trail including common milkweed,

sensitive ferns and

cuckoo flowers.

I also saw some I hadn’t seen before. I believe this is a smooth carrionflower,

and this tower rock-cress.   I am not an expert on identifying flora and fauna. I rely mostly on my iPhone apps and Google images.  Please feel free to correct any misidentifications I make. All of  the above plants are native to the Northeastern United States.

I  also  saw some invasive plants and wildflowers,including white mullein ,

ground ivy and,

common wintercress.

I followed the Dike Trail for about another 1/2 mile seeing a few birds along the way, including  common yellow throats,

 northern yellow warblers,

and rose-breasted grosbeaks.

I also saw a lot more common grackles, song sparrows, red-winged blackbirds and , this year long resident, a male American goldfinch.

The trail continued, but it was posted as private land so I turned back on the Dike Trail.

I  followed the trail back to  the Main Dike Trail, and continued on  the Dike Trail.

There was more of a marsh on the river side of the trail,

and here I heard and saw   a colorful Baltimore oriole,

and an eastern warbling vireo both migratory song birds.

There was a steady wind blowing and temperature was dropping when, after another mile, I came to the Timber Trail. I followed this trail into a woodland of mostly large eastern pines trees.

The trees towered above the pine needle covered trail. The smell of pine filled the air.  I loved this trail.

Here I saw a few birds including,  gray catbirds,

a red bellied woodpecker,

and this migratory Canada warbler. Here is a  link to a gallery on my blog web page with some more photos of the birds I saw on my 5 mile hike. Concord Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge birds May 15 2026.

I also saw some wildflowers of the  deep forest along the  trail including, wood anemone,

star flowers,

marsh blue violets,

and wild oats.   It amazed me,  again, as it did on my hike at Walden Pond how so much of the same plants and birds inhabit the woodlands  here and at my home in Northeastern Pennsylvania.

There were also skunk cabbages growing in the wet areas along the trail.

The Timber Trail looped back to the pond,

and I followed the wider Edge Trail back to the parking lot. I loved this 5 mile  hike and the many, wildflowers and plants I saw. However, there there was a nearby local airport and there were a lot of jet airplanes taking off, disturbing the peace and quiet of the trails.

It was now around 11 a.m.. I was going to find a place to have breakfast, but, as I drove toward the downtown I passed the Sleepy Hollow Cemetery.  I had read about this cemetery and that the graves Ralph Waldo Emerson,  Henry Thoreau,  Nathanial  Hawthorne  and  Louisa May Alcott were located here. I had to stop and visit.

Before the cemetery was established in 1855 this hilly and wooded section of Concord was a popular hiking and picnicking area. Ralph Waldo Emerson gave the dedication speech on September 29 1855. I parked along Bedford Street and entered the cemetery walking on Union Avenue,

past the  Melvin Memorial,   a memorial  designed  by Daniel Chester French. He is buried in the cemetery.  He  also designed   the famous statue of Lincoln sitting in the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. I after stood in front  of this statue when I was a law student in Washington.

I  walked  through  the beautiful cemetery and up to  “Author’s Ridge” where ,

I visited the graves of Emerson,

Alcott and

Thoreau. It was a moving experience.  I reflected on the lives of these famous writers and their influence on my life and the life of our nation and the world. The conservation movement began with Walden Pond and it is still a Mecca for environmentalists everywhere   I wish had more time  explore the beautiful and historic cemetery I hope to return to Concord, and spending more time in Sleepy Hollow will be a priority. I left the cemetery and drove to downtown Concord.  Here is a  link to a gallery on my blog web page with some more photos of the birds I saw on my 5 mile hike. Concord Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge birds May 15 2026.

I had hoped to  have breakfast at  Helen’s Restaurant  in downtown Concord.  However, after my visit to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery and  finding a place to park it was almost noon and they stopped serving breakfast.  I wasn’t disappointed when I was served a delicious bowl of New England clam chowder.

and a grilled salmon wrap. 

It started to rain again in the afternoon but I still wanted to see some more of the history of Concord. Around 3 p.m. I decided to visit the home of Ralph Waldo Emerson, a mentor and friend of Thoreau, Alcott and Hawthorne.  I had used many of his quotes and sayings on my social media post the last 15 years but did not know much about him, his works or life. Isure  did after the wonderful visit and tour of his house.   I have so much more  respect for this great man now.  I was the only one on the 40 minute last tour of the day.

I learned he was a great  writer , lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionist,  poet and lover of nature. The guides talked about his career, his family, and his travels.  He was a remarkable human being  and one of our Nation’s greatest writers.  He essentially  created    New England transcendentalism  which  emphasized inherent human goodness and  the divine connection found in nature.   Unfortunately photographs were not t allowed inside the home.  There were so many personnel items, books and objects  items I wish I could share.   A couple of my  favorites were the a  painting of Le Tre Parche (The Three Fates) a copy of the origianl painted by  Francesco Salviati which Emerson saw while traveling in Italy.  It depicts the mythological deities of destiny—Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos—as they spin, measure, and cut the fragile thread of human life.  I saw a painting while traveling in Rome which inspired me and  I had it reproduced for my home., Simon Vouet’s Allegory.

My second favorite was a painting of Mount Etna erupting  given to Emerson by a friend which he said was like Emerson’s mind, “on fire”. It also reminded me of my first visit to Concord when Mt. St Helen’s erupted in May of 1980. There is so much more to tell but this blog is long enough already. I srongly recommend a visit to Concord, and to make sure you stop in this amazing home.

After my visit to the Emerson house  I drove the short distance to downtown Concord, in a heavy rain, and being very lucky, and finding a parking space, walked to the Main Street Market Cafe, where I had another delicious meal, starting with a tomato bisque,

and a roasted red beet salad with grilled salmon.

And of course I had to try the New England version of my Florida favorite desert, Key lime pie. It was delicious and I was full. I loved the friendly folks at the restaurant.  It was now early evening and I drove through the rain in the heavy traffic back to my hotel.  It was another long but informative and enjoyable day. I now had to edit the photos of the migratory birds I  came to see and found at Great Meadows.  I retired early again, looking forward to another day exploring historic Concord.  And this time I knew where I would hike, the Minute Man National Historci Park.  The forecast was for sunshine and I was hoping the forecasters would be right.

“In the woods, we return to reason and faith…”
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Like a confiding child, she asked no questions, but left everything to God and nature, Father and Mother of us all.”  Lousia May Alcott 

“See with what natural skill she has made those simple flowers adorn her! Had she gathered pearls, and diamonds and rubies, they could not have become her better.”  Nathaniel Hawthorne 

“Books are the treasured wealth of the world and the fit inheritance of generations and nations.”
― Henry David Thoreau