Nature Sightings | Sudbury Valley Trustees

Our Nature Sightings images depict the many species of wildlife that make their homes in the SVT region.

SVT protects and cares for some of this region’s most important forests, wetlands, and grasslands—natural areas that provide homes to the wildlife we see on walks, in our back yards, and in fleeting glimpses on roadsides.

SVT is grateful to the many members and friends who share their photographs and videos with our Nature Sightings page for everyone to enjoy.

We also post selected images to our Facebook and Instagram pages, and we send a monthly Nature Sightings e-newsletter to interested subscribers.

Each year, we collect some of our favorite images into an online photo album:

Best of 2025 Best of 2024 Best of 2023 Best of 2022 Best of 2021 Best of 2020

Interested in submitting a photo or video?

Please send it as an email attachment to Dan Stimson, [email protected]. (Please read our Nature Sightings Disclaimer before sending any images.)

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Species

A yellow-crowned night heron in a vernal pool at the Desert Natural Area in Hudson, photographed by Chris Renna.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron at the Desert Natural Area

Chris Renna photographed this yellow-crowned night heron at the Desert Natural Area in Hudson.

Life on the bark of an apple tree in Southborough, photographed by Debbie Costine.

Nature in Southborough

Debbie Costine photographed this closeup of life on the bark of an apple tree in Southborough.

A common garter snake eating an American toad in Stow, photographed by Jon Turner.

Garter Snake Eating a Toad in Stow

Jon Turner photographed this common garter snake eating an American toad in Stow.

A red-tailed hawk and a blue jay in Boxborough, photographed by Web Gordon.

Red-tailed Hawk and Blue Jay in Boxborough

Web Gordon photographed this red-tailed hawk and a blue jay in Boxborough.

A yellow-crowned night heron in a vernal pool at the Desert Natural Area in Hudson, photographed by Chris Renna.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron at the Desert Natural Area

Chris Renna photographed a yellow-crowned night heron at the Desert Natural Area in Hudson.

An orchard oriole at Bruce's Pond in Hudson, photographed by Jim DeLuco.

Birds in Hudson

Jim DeLuco photographed an orchard oriole, a great blue heron, and a mute swan at Bruce's Pond in Hudson.

Mute swans at Bruce's Pond in Hudson, photographed by Jim DeLuco.

Mute Swans in Hudson

Jim DeLuco photographed this family of mute swans at Bruce's Pond in Hudson.

A gray catbird at SVT's Smith Conservation Land in Littleton, photographed by Jon Turner.

Birds at SVT's Smith Conservation Land

Jon Turner photographed a gray catbird, a hermit thrush, a red-winged blackbird, and tree swallows at SVT's Smith Conservation Land in Littleton.

A mallard at Horse Meadows Knoll in Harvard, photographed by Jon Turner.

Birds at Horse Meadows Knoll in Harvard

Jon Turner photographed a mallard, northern flickers, and a song sparrow at Horse Meadows Knoll in Harvard.

Mute swans at Mainstone Farm in Wayland, photographed by Huaibin Lu.

Mute Swans at Mainstone Farm

Huaibin Lu photographed these mute swans at Mainstone Farm in Wayland.

A gray catbird in Harvard, photographed by Jon Turner.

Catbird in Harvard

Jon Turner photographed this gray catbird in Harvard.

A red-tailed hawk in Harvard, photographed by Jon Turner.

Red-tailed Hawk in Harvard

Jon Turner photographed this red-tailed hawk in Harvard.

A hermit thrush in Harvard, photographed by Jon Turner.

Hermit Thrush in Harvard

Jon Turner photographed this hermit thrush in Harvard.

A great crested flycatcher in Bolton, photographed by Jon Turner.

Great Crested Flycatcher in Bolton

Jon Turner photographed this great crested flycatcher in Bolton.

A common grackle at Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge in Maynard, photographed by Jim DeLuco.

Birds at Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge

Jim DeLuco photographed a common grackle, great blue herons in their nest, and a red-winged blackbird at Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge in Maynard.

Nature Sighting Species

American Bittern

American Black Bear

American Black Duck

American Bullfrog

American Carrion Beetle

American Goldfinch

American Kestrel

American Lady Butterfly

American Tree Sparrow

American Wigeon

American Woodcock

Annual Fleabane

Arrowhead Spiketail

Arrowhead Violet

Autumn Meadowhawk

Bald-faced Hornet

Baltimore checkerspot

Baltimore Oriole

Baskettail Dragonfly

Beaked Hazelnut

Bee-mimic Robber Fly

Belted Kingfisher

Birdfoot Violet

Black Swallowtail

Black Trumpet Mushroom

Black-and-white Warbler

Black-capped Chickadee

Black-eyed Susan

Black-shouldered Drone Fly

Black-shouldered Spinyleg

Black-throated Blue Warbler

Black-throated Green Warbler

Blackpoll Warbler

Blandings Turtle

Blue-fronted Dancer

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher

Blue-headed Vireo

Blue-winged Teal

Blue-winged Warbler

Broad-winged Hawk

Bronze Cutworm Moth

Brown-headed Cowbird

Brown-hooded Owlet

Cardinal Flower

Cauliflower Mushroom

Chalk-fronted Corporal

Chicken of the Woods

Chickweed Geometer Moth

Chipping Sparrow

Citrus Flatid Planthopper

Clamp-tipped Emerald

Clouded Sulphur Butterfly

Common Garter Snake

Common Goldeneye

Common Green Darner

Common Merganser

Common Nighthawk

Common Whitetail

Common Yellowthroat

Cotton-tailed Rabbit

Dark Paper Wasp

Dark-eyed Junco

Delta-spotted Spiketail

Double-crested Cormorant

Downy Woodpecker

Eastern Bluebird

Eastern Brook Trout

Eastern Carpenter Bee

Eastern Chipmunk

Eastern Forktail

Eastern Kingbird

Eastern Pondhawk

Eastern Tailed-Blue

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Eastern White Pine

Eastern Wood-Pewee

Eastern Yellowjacket

Eastern-tailed Blue

Ebony Jewelwing

European Starling

Flying Squirrel

Four-spotted Skimmer Dragonfly

Four-toothed Mason Wasp

Fringed Polygala

Giant Leopard Moth

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Grass-carrying Wasp

Great Black Wasp

Great Blue Heron

Great Blue Skimmer

Great Crested Flycatcher

Great Golden Digger Wasp

Great Horned Owl

Great Spangled Fritillary

Greater White-fronted Goose

Hairy Woodpecker

Halloween Pennant

Hare's Foot Inkcap

Harris' Three-Spot

Hooded Merganser

Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

Jack-in-the-pulpit

Japanese Beetle

Japanese Primrose

Juniper Haircap Moss

Lancet Clubtail

Large Milkweed Bug

Large-flowered Trillium

Leaf-footed Bug

Least Sandpiper

Lesser Yellowlegs

Little Wood Satyr

Long-tailed Weasel

Magnolia Warbler

Maple-leaf Viburnum

Marbled Salamander

Milkweed Leaf Beetle

Monarch Butterfly

Multiflora Rose

Northern Bobwhite

Northern Cardinal

Northern Flicker

Northern Goshawk

Northern Harrier

Northern Leopard Frog

Northern Mockingbird

Northern Paper Wasp

Northern Parula

Northern Pintail

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Northern Shoveler

Northern Water Snake

Northern Waterthrush

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Painted Lady Butterfly

Painted Skimmer

Pearl Crescent Butterfly

Peregrine Falcon

Pied-billed Grebe

Pileated Woodpecker

Pincushion Moss

Pink Lady's Slipper

Raspberry Slime Mold

Red admiral butterfly

Red-banded Leafhopper

Red-bellied Woodpecker

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Red-headed Woodpecker

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-spotted Admiral Butterfly

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-winged Blackbird

Ring-billed Gull

Ring-necked Duck

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Ruby Meadowhawk

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Ruby-throated Hummingbird

Rusty Blackbird

Sand-loving Wasp

Savannah Sparrow

Scarlet Tanager

Sessile Bellwort

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Silver-spotted Skimmer

Silver-spotted Skipper

Smooth Rock Tripe

Snapping Turtle

Snowberry Clearwing Moth

Solitary Sandpiper

Spicebush Swallowtail

Spotted Cucumber Beetle

Spotted Lanternfly

Spotted Salamander

Spotted Sandpiper

Spotted Wintergreen

Stinkhorn Mushroom

Striped Sweat Bee

Swainson's Thrush

Swift River Cruiser

Tan Jumping Spider

Tawny Cotton Grass

Thick-headed Fly

Tufted Titmouse

Twelve-spotted Skimmer

Twin-spotted Spiketail

Wedge-shaped Beetle

Western Tanager

White M Hairstreak Butterfly

White Turtlehead

White-breasted Nuthatch

White-tailed Deer

White-throated Sparrow

Willow Flycatcher

Yellow Forest Violet

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Yellow-crowned Night Heron

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-throated Vireo