Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary (Mass Audubon)

The land here belonged to the Nauset before anyone thought to protect it. In the 19th century it grew asparagus and turnips. In 1929, ornithologist Oliver L. Austin established a research center on 366 of its acres; after his death in 1957, Mass Audubon purchased that land and has since added more than 800 acres around it. Today the sanctuary covers 1,183 acres of salt marsh, pine woodlands, and sandy barrier beach overlooking Wellfleet Harbor — five miles of trails, at least 309 bird species recorded, and volunteers who move diamondback terrapin hatchlings to safety each season.