Important Bird Area: Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary and West Meadows

Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary has a diverse array of habitats, as well as an important location. Habitats include exemplary floodplain forest, the Mill River (slow flow, sandy substrate), a large freshwater marsh, buttonbush marshes, an abandoned oxbow, an abandoned Mill River channel, vernal pools, red maple swamps, lowland oak-maple-pine-hemlock forest, old apple orchard, crabapple orchard, shrubby hedgerows, cultural grasslands (including native grassland restoration fields), agricultural fields, and weedy fields. In particular, the Ibis Pool is a depression that holds water in spring and is surrounded by weedy fields, grassland, and shrubby habitats in close proximity to Arcadia Marsh. The depression itself also has wetland plants (knotweed, narrow-leaved cattail, bur-reed, canary-grass).

In addition to the variety of habitats, Arcadia is located in close proximity to the Connecticut River (it abuts the Oxbow of the Connecticut River), the Mount Tom and Mount Holyoke ranges, the East Meadows of Northampton, and large tracts of forest to the west in Northampton and adjacent towns. This location places Arcadia in an important migration route as well as a vital wildlife corridor. Because of the many unusual species recorded in Arcadia Meadows (the West Meadows) and the Ibis Pool, the area is widely known and visited by birders. The crabapple orchard, Arcadia Marsh, and the Mill River with its exemplary floodplain are also significant habitats. The habitats and the geographic proximity to other important areas make Arcadia a valuable location. Six nearby colleges also make the sanctuary a good site for research opportunities.