| Delaney WMA is actually on the border of several towns: Stow, Bolton
and Harvard. It is north of Rt. 117. On the east it is bordered by
Harvard Road, which goes north from 117 just west of where Wheeler Rd.
hits 117 on the south.
If you go up this way, you'll follow a winding road (beautiful country
residential area) and eventually pass the main entrance on the left.
There's a sign and a parking lot for maybe 20 cars there, plus a boat
ramp. Going farther on Harvard Rd., there's a road to the left, whose
name escapes me, which crosses the area; then a bit farther north on
Harvard Rd. you hit Old Harvard Rd. which forms the northern boundary.
Both of these roads hit East End Rd. on the west, which you can follow
down to 117. If you're coming from the west, this is the road to take
to get there but you have to learn where to turn since you won't be
passing any signs. I suggest approaching from the main entrance the
first time.
I hope that isn't too confusing! Besides the main entrance, you can
get good marsh views on the north from Old Harvard Rd. (just park along
the road). You can also take a trail from there, but it's usually not
passable thru all the way to the rest of the property unless the water
is frozen or very low.
Another entrance is from the middle road that crosses the property.
There's a not very well marked entrance with a little pulloff area for
a few cars. From here you can go north to the big cattail marsh/pine
woods areas, or south to the area near the lake.
I like Delaney because of its varied habitat: nice sized lake, big
cattail marsh, pine woods, deciduous woods, a few open brambly meadows,
and a little bit of open grassland. It's small enough to walk through
comfortably, big enough to get away from other people if you want, and
has plenty of birds. Even though there are a lot of residences in the
area, the town is still heavily wooded (it's _expensive_ residential)
and so there is enough cover for a variety of wildlife. The area is
open for hunting in the fall, though, which impedes walking a bit.
Good birding!
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