Osprey Marsh is a property near and similar to Howland Marsh but with a substantially longer trail (although still only about 3/4 of a mile round-trip). As we write this, the PDF trail map at the above link shows one loop of the trail as 'proposed'. It is actually open. That section is a beautiful boardwalk that is handicap accessible down to an observation deck.
The observation deck overlooks Planting Island Cove and Planting Island.
While standing in the marsh, we could hear the water bubbling in the mud. We could also see a large number of small critters such as Fiddler Crabs and snails.
In the above picture, note the small balls that litter the ground around the crab. These are mud balls that the crab has spit out, after extracting food such as algae. (This National Park Service page, although for a different part of the country, talks about their feeding habits.
Another small critter was this relatively large and rather colorful Red and Black Carpenter Ant. Although carpenter ants aren't anything you want in your house, they serve a very useful purpose in nature, decomposing decaying trees. This gorgeous fellow seems to have had pollen on him, making him even more colorful.
True to its name, Osprey Marsh does have Osprey nests visible, although they were not particularly close.
This next picture gives a good feel for what the area looked like. It is also a puzzle for you: find the Egret and the Osprey.
There were many Buffleheads (a type of duck) and most of them decided to take off at the same time:
Sippican Lands Trust, which runs this preserve and others in the area, were running a challenge to get people out and walking in the spring of 2021. This pretty little box was next to the boardwalk and contained a rubber stamp with the image of an animal. People could stamp a card to reveal the animal on that particular stamp. (Plus if you collected at least 5 of the 6 you could send it in for a drawing of a hat.)
We will leave this preserve with a fiddlehead picture:
Back to the Marion Preserves page
Back to the Preserves main page
Updated April 2021