MARCH 3, 1849

U S. . DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

Great Meadows

National Wildlife

Refuge 

Weir Hill Trail

Red Maple Trail

Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge

73 Weir Hill Road

Sudbury, MA 01776

978/443 4661

978/443 2898 Fax

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/greatmeadows/

Federal Relay Service 

for the deaf and hard-of-hearing

1 800/877 8339

U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service

1 800/344 WILD

http://www.fws.gov/

October 2007

printed on recycled paper with vegetable based inks
ornamental flower, but has since 

become an aggressive invader of 

native wetlands. 

Here at Great Meadows two methods 

of biological control, the release of 

the galerucella beetle (Galerucella 

pusilla) and of the hylobius weevil 

(Hylobius transversovittatus) have 

been used with good success. Both 

insects feed exclusively on purple 

loosestrife, and are thereby able to 

keep the purple loosestrife in control 

without having any adverse effects on 

the rest of environment.

 

You are now walking along the 

edge of Weir Hill. Researchers who 

have studied the area have found 

evidence of human occupation going 

back 11,000 years. Remnants of 

the Wampanoag and Susquehanna 

tribes have been recovered in the 

region. They used the area for 

transportation, hunting, and fishing. 

Tools made from local quartzite, 

rhyolite, and wood have been found. 

The name “Weir Hill” comes from 

the fishing weirs (which resemble 

underwater fences) used by the 

Native Americans who lived in the 

area. The Native Americans named 

the Concord River “Musketahquid”, 

meaning “grassy banks”. When the 

settlers arrived, they named it “Great 

River Meadows”. 

Buttonbush

and Purple

Loosestrife -

From the Deck

Welcome to the Great Meadows 

National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge 

spans 12 miles of the Sudbury and 

Concord Rivers, with a total of more 

than 3,800 acres within the Sudbury 

and Concord units. The trails at 

Weir Hill take visitors on a mile-long 

walk around marshes, upland trails, 

woodlands, fields, pond, and river. 

Please visit us at the refuge 

headquarters with any questions 

you may have about the refuge. 

A good place to start your walk is 

from the observation deck at the 

main building. From here you have an 

excellent view of the Sudbury River 

and its floodplain ‘meadow’ covered 

in buttonbush, a native shrub which 

is a valuable part of the wetland / 

floodplain ecosystem. The submerged 

part of these plants provides habitat 

for many small invertebrates. These 

in turn are a food source for fish, 

frogs, and birds. The seeds of the 

buttonbush are also eaten by birds, 

and the bush itself is used for nesting 

by many bird species.

Wetlands make up 90 percent of 

Great Meadows. These wetlands 

serve many functions, from providing 

crucial nesting and feeding habitat to 

countless species, to playing a critical 

role as sponges which reduce erosion 

and flooding. These wetlands also 

recharge the groundwater supply 

– the water we drink – and filter out 

harmful substances. 

The floodplain before you 

has been invaded by purple 

loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria). 

This invasive plant from Europe 

has tall spikes of purple flowers, 

and was introduced to North 

America in the early 1800’s as an 

This goose, 

designed by J.N. 

Ding Darling, has 

become the symbol 

of the National 

Wildlife Refuge 

System. 

1

Welcome

Purple 

loosestrife

Weir Hill Trail

Weir Hill

History 2
Notice the large deep depression 

on top of the hill. This is a kettle 

hole left by the last glacier to cover 

the region. 15,000 years ago, an 

ice sheet a mile high covered the 

spot on which you’re now standing. 

When it retreated, it left behind 

huge amounts of rocky debris. With 

the debris, some massive ice blocks 

also remained. When one such block 

finally melted, the kettle hole was left 

in its place. 

Here is a slope of evergreen hemlock 

trees. These trees recently suffered 

from an infestation of woolly 

adelgid, a sap-feeding 

insect introduced from Asia 

which now feeds on hemlock 

throughout North America. 

The insects’ egg sacks look 

like the tips of cotton swabs 

on the underside of the 

hemlock’s needles. In order 

to control the insects, 

many of the hemlocks 

were marked and steminjected (spraying and 

soil injection posed a 

threat to the wetland 

down the hill) with 

chemicals to deter the pests 

and save our hemlock grove. While 

some hemlocks have died anyway, 

we are hopeful that many more will 

continue to live.

Two kinds of oak dominate this 

wooded area: red and white oak. Red 

oaks have pointed leaves, while white 

oaks’ leaves are rounded. Wildlife, 

as did the Native Americans, tends 

to prefer the white 

acorns to the red, 

as they are sweeter. 

Those from the red 

oak are bitter due to 

the tannins in the tree. 

If there appear to be 

more red than white 

oaks, it is probable 

that the squirrels eat the white 

acorns first, leaving fewer to grow 

into trees. 

Every spring, American Woodcock 

can be seen and heard in this field at 

dusk engaging in their spectacular 

courtship display in which the male 

birds give a “peent” call and fly up 

from the ground in a spiral. These 

little birds are forest-dwelling shore 

birds with a long flexible bill used to 

probe soft ground for earthworms 

and insects. 

Come and watch by the fence some 

spring evening at dusk, and you 

might very well see and hear the 

courtship display of this otherwise 

secretive little bird. 

Hemlock 

and the 

Woolly 

Adelgid

4

5 Nuts

Meadow 

and 

Woodcock

6

3 Kettle Hole

Great

horned 

owl

Woodcock 

in flight

Red oak

Woodcock in nest
Great Meadows

National Wildlife 

Refuge

NORTH

Weir Hill Trail

Red Maple Trail

Private

Residence

Shelter

Maintenance 

Area

1

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

8

Trail

Trail Stations

Roads

Seasonal Road

Refuge Headquarters

Parking

Canoe Landing

Marsh

Water

Pantry Brook Wildlife 

Management Area

Sudbury Valley Trustees 

Round Hill, public and 

dogs welcome on

SVT trails

Kettle

Hole

Sudbury River

Legend

Weir Hill Road
Red-winged blackbirds are some 

of the most often seen and heard 

residents of wetlands. They are also 

very easy to identify by their glossy 

black plumage and unmistakable 

scarlet and yellow shoulder patches. 

Red-winged blackbirds establish 

territories early in the year, and so 

are harbingers of spring.

Wood ducks are shy, beautiful birds 

which nest in tree cavities near water. 

Look for trees with cavities in them. 

You may not see a duck itself, but 

this is their ideal habitat. When the 

ducklings are ready to come out into 

the open, they jump down from their 

nest hole – which can be quite high 

off the ground – to the water or soft 

ground below. 

Walking through the Red Maple 

Swamp, you may find yourself 

trekking through mud and being 

harassed by more insects than at 

other parts of the trail. In springtime, 

the rivers overflow their banks and 

cover the floodplain. This floodplain 

is not only an ideal habitat for those 

species we enjoy, but also to those 

that “bug” us. 

Although they may be pests to us, 

many insects play an integral role in 

a habitat’s health. They serve as 

food for many species of birds; 

they break down dead leaves, 

branches, and other plant matter, 

speeding up the return of nutrients 

to the soil. While some insects, like 

grubs, damage plants, others like 

butterflies, ants, beetles, wasps, and 

bees are indispensable as pollinators. 

Bugs and 

Birds 7

Red Maple Trail

Dragonfly

Swallowtail

Red-winged blackbird

Wood duck swimming
This pond, originally created as a 

swimming hole, is now only available 

to wildlife. Native plants are allowed 

to grow freely around the pond, while 

birds, frogs, fish, and turtles use it for 

food and cover.

Take a careful look at the shrubs 

and trees surrounding this pond. 

Can you tell the difference between 

native black alder and invasive glossy 

buckthorn? The two are remarkably 

similar in appearance. While both 

have slender stems with smooth 

speckled bark and medium sized oval 

leaves, the two can be distinguished 

in part by the serrated edges of alder 

leaves (and the presence of catkins) 

in contrast with the smooth-edged 

leaves of the buckthorn. 

The battle against buckthorn is 

ongoing. In this area, refuge staff 

are pulling young buckthorn plants 

and killing others through targeted 

herbicidal application. Control of 

buckthorn is a long-term effort 

which will need constant vigilance to 

keep the buckthorn from becoming 

the dominant plant in this forest 

community.

We hope you have enjoyed the Weir 

Hill and Red Maple Trails. Please 

come again soon!

For further information, contact:

Refuge Manager

Great Meadows 

National Wildlife Refuge

73 Weir Hill Road

Sudbury, Massachusetts 01776

978/443 4661

Once a 

Swimming 

Hole

8

Green frog

Painted turtle

Alder