Connector Trail

Short path joining the Great Blue Heron Loop.

0.2 mi 10 ft

What you might spot

Plant

Highbush Blueberry

Vaccinium corymbosum

Multi-stemmed shrub to 10 feet; white bell-shaped flowers in May, blue-black fruit July–August, brilliant scarlet fall foliage. The species behind commercial blueberries, but wild fruit is smaller and tangier.

Flowers May; fruit July–August; fall color September–October

📍 Quissett WMA — dense shrub thickets along the East Trail and impoundment edges; fruit ripens in late July when MassWildlife allows incidental foraging.

Beaver Pond Loop (this app)Go Botany — Vaccinium corymbosum

Wildlife

Eastern Box Turtle

Terrapene carolina

High-domed shell with variable orange and yellow markings on brown or black background; hinged plastron allows it to close completely. Moves slowly; often found near berry patches. Massachusetts Species of Special Concern — do not relocate if found on a trail.

Active May through September; most often encountered after summer rain

📍 Mendon Town Forest — dry upland areas away from the wetland trails; most likely to be found in drier oak sections on summer mornings after rain.

MassWildlife — Eastern Box Turtle Mass Audubon — Box Turtle