The Sterling Peat and Muddy Pond area, in Sterling, has in the past decade become a favorite stop for Central Massachusetts birders. The area gets its name from the company, Sterling Peat, which used the location as a source of peat moss and gravel a few decades ago. Peat moss was excavated from the pond’s east side and gravel from the west side. Although Sterling Peat and Loam still operates from the adjacent property on the northeast side of Muddy Pond, their products are now trucked in from elsewhere.

The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) acquired the Muddy Pond area for watershed protection of the Wachusett Reservoir. The area’s proximity to Worcester and Route I-190 makes it accessible for local birders. The area is also a nice add-on to a Wachusett Reservoir trip. Shorebirds and herons have been the primary attraction to area birders during the summer months. However, the site has been productive for other families of birds such as waterfowl, swallows, roosting robins, and blackbirds.

From I-190, take Exit 5, and then take MA-140 north for 0.25 miles. Take the first right on Dana Hill Road and follow it for 0.5 miles until it becomes Muddy Pond Road. Continue on Muddy Pond Road for another 0.25 miles, and you will reach the Sterling Peat area. Muddy Pond is on the left (north) side of the road. A hayfield just to the northeast can be viewed by proceeding up Muddy Pond Road another 0.25 miles, and also from Boutelle Road, by taking the first left.

From Muddy Pond Road, a complex of short unmarked trails or herd paths leads to the pond (beware of ticks). The pond has two sections, one to the east, which tends to retain water quite well during dry months, and another to the west which can become muddy and then dry even under modestly dry conditions. The harvesting of peat shaped the east side some three decades ago and gravel mining formed the west side. The west side has no outlet stream but loses water directly into the gravelly bottom; twice in five years, the west was reduced to a few small puddles.