Royalston's Eagle Reserve

Home to nesting Eagles, as well as beavers, otters, and a host of wildlife, Mount Grace's Eagle Reserve is a 139-acre mix of woods, wetlands, and open water that is now open to the public. The short video below by Paul Rezendes offers a virtual tour of one of the North Quabbin's most breathtaking places.  

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Thanks to a Massachusetts Recreational Trails Program Grant, our new David H. Small Community Trail provides people with limited mobility access to the beauty of this amazing wildlife refuge—a patchwork of ponds and wetlands providing habitat and refuge for wildlife in a sheltered wetland where no signs of human habitation are visible. 

A breeding pair of bald eagles has nested near the waterside in past years.  Rare pied-billed grebes are also found on the reserve, and a visit from the Mount Grace Conservation Committee logged sightings of blue heron, Canada Geese, bald eagles, ravens, mallards, hooded mergansers, black ducks, and a rare juvenile golden eagle. 

The project permanently protects the heart of a vast, isolated wetland situated in the heavily forested landscape of north central Massachusetts, providing an important refuge for migrating waterfowl as well as an exceptional breeding location for threatened bird species. The land also serves as a natural classroom for the nearby Royalston School in partnership with Mount Grace's TerraCorps program. You can click on Jeff Blanchard's amazing eagle nest photos below to expand them.