Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge

Facility Activities

Mashpee National Wildlife Refuge provides visitors with many wildlife-oriented recreational opportunities. Visitors can hike the nature trails and observe, photograph, and study wildlife and plants. Hunting various species of birds, such as American coot and American woodcock or mammals such as white-tailed deer and coyote is a tradition many enjoy. The Friends group love to host programs for the public to learn more about the importance of coastal ecosystem, migratory birds, and conservation.

Hunting

Approximately 290 acres of the refuge is open to hunting in accordance with applicable State and Federal regulations as published annually by the Massachusetts Division of Fish and Wildlife (MassWildlife). This area is divided between two parcels: Bufflehead Bay parcel (284.4 acres) and Conboy...

Wildlife watching

Enjoy birding within the early successional habitats of the Partnership Boundary. A common site to see and hear are Eastern towhees. Grouped in the “songbird” category, they are infamous for their song “Drink your teeeaaaaa”. They can be heard and seen in spring through early fall during their...

Hiking

Hike through the upland forests, marshes, cranberry bogs and Atlantic white cedar swamps, which provide support for a variety of habitats and wide-ranging biological diversity.

Photography

Perhaps the fastest growing activity on public lands has been wildlife photography. That’s not surprising – the digital camera population explosion and cell phones with ever-improving picture-taking abilities are increasing the number of nature photographers at a rapid rate.