{{Short description|Pond in Little Compton, Rhode Island}} {{Use American English|date=July 2025}} {{Infobox body of water | name = Quicksand Pond | image = Quicksand Pond.jpg | alt = Quicksand Pond | caption = The pond in 2009 | image_bathymetry = | alt_bathymetry = Map of Quicksand Pond | caption_bathymetry = | location = Little Compton, Rhode Island | coords = {{coord|41.506493|-71.130044|format=dms|region:US-RI_type:waterbody|display =inline,title}} | lake_type = Pond | inflow = Simmons Pond, Cold Brook | outflow = ephemeral outlet to the Rhode Island Sound | catchment = | basin_countries = United States | length = {{Convert|1.5|mi|km|abbr=on}}<ref name="hill">{{cite book |title= The new revised Hill's manual of social and business forms: a guide to correct writing |last= Hill|first= Thomas Edie|year= 1897|publisher= W.B. Conkey Co.|page= 26}}</ref> | width = {{Convert|0.75|mi|km|abbr=on}} | area = {{Convert|158|ha|acres|abbr=on|order=flip}}<ref name="umn" /> | depth = | max-depth = | volume = | residence_time = | shore = {{Convert|7|km|mi|abbr=on|order=flip}} | elevation = {{convert|0|m|ft|abbr=on|order=flip}} | frozen = in winter | islands = 1 | cities = <!-- Map --> | pushpin_map = Rhode Island#USA | pushpin_label_position = | pushpin_map_alt = Location of Quicksand Pond in Rhode Island, USA. | pushpin_map_caption = <!-- Below --> | website = | reference = }}
'''Quicksand Pond''' is a pond in Little Compton, Rhode Island.
It is a major winter flounder spawning area, has Rare Species Habitat and Significant Natural Communities designation,<ref>[http://www.edc.uri.edu/rirpp/images/habitat.jpg Rhode Island Resource Protection Project Open-space, Recreational and Cultural Resources] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723001333/http://www.edc.uri.edu/rirpp/images/habitat.jpg |date=2011-07-23 }}. (JPG image, November 29, 1996) edc.uri.edu</ref> and is part of a proposed natural greenway corridor.<ref>[http://www.edc.uri.edu/rirpp/images/recrimac.jpg Rhode Island Resource Protection Project Habitat Resources] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723001357/http://www.edc.uri.edu/rirpp/images/recrimac.jpg |date=2011-07-23 }}. (JPG image, November 29, 1996) edc.uri.edu</ref> Quicksand Pond is also entirely surrounded by critical habitats, and there are a number of protected areas adjacent to Quicksand Pond.<ref>[http://www.edc.uri.edu/riatlas/Town/Maps/large/lc_biodiv.GIF Biodiversity Resources] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110723001432/http://www.edc.uri.edu/riatlas/Town/Maps/large/lc_biodiv.GIF |date=July 23, 2011 }}. (GIF image) edc.uri.edu</ref> It is part of the Southeastern Coastal Watershed Basin.<ref>[http://www.edc.uri.edu/restoration/images/maps/littlecompton_watershed.pdf Restoration Sites and Watershed Basins in Little Compton, Rhode Island]. (PDF) edc.uri.edu (December 2001)</ref>
It is part of one of the most scenic and undisturbed coastal areas in Rhode Island,<ref name="audubon">{{cite web |url=http://iba.audubon.org/iba/viewSiteProfile.do?siteId=3454&navSite=state |title=Audubon: Birds & Science [-71.12694, 41.4975] – Quicksand/Tunipers Pond – Goosewing Beach |publisher=Iba.audubon.org |access-date=2011-06-12 |archive-date=2012-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314045122/http://iba.audubon.org/iba/viewSiteProfile.do?siteId=3454&navSite=state |url-status=dead }}</ref> and its protection is of high priority.<ref name="fws">{{cite web |url=http://library.fws.gov/pubs5/necas/web_link/33_rhode%20island%20sound.htm |title=33_rhode island sound |publisher=Library.fws.gov |access-date=2011-06-12 |archive-date=2011-09-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927230328/http://library.fws.gov/pubs5/necas/web_link/33_rhode%20island%20sound.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> Approximately half of the shorelines on Quicksand Pond are undeveloped, the remainder are developed as private residences.<ref name="audubon"/>
== Birding == thumb|left|Piping plover and least tern nesting area sign at Quicksand Pond Large, often exposed, mudflats are responsible for the large number of shorebirds that gather on Quicksand Pond during the spring and fall migrations.<ref name="nature1">{{cite web |url=http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/rhodeisland/placesweprotect/quicksand-pondgoosewing-beach-preserve.xml |title=Quicksand Pond/Goosewing Beach Preserve | The Nature Conservancy |publisher=Nature.org |date=2011-02-08 |access-date=2011-06-12 |archive-date=2011-04-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426024434/http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/rhodeisland/placesweprotect/quicksand-pondgoosewing-beach-preserve.xml |url-status=dead }}</ref> When the breachway that usually separates Quicksand Pond from Rhode Island Sound has recently opened, large tracts of fresh wet mud will attract most of the shorebird species in Rhode Island.<ref name="walk">{{cite book |title= Bird Walks in Rhode Island: Exploring the Ocean State's Best Sanctuaries|last= Fry|first= Adam J.|year= 1992|publisher= Backcountry Publications|isbn= 0-88150-218-9|pages= 22–26}}</ref> Quicksand Pond was named number one of the Top Five Must-See Migrations for Rhode Island.<ref name="number1">{{cite web |url=http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/rhodeisland/explore/rhode-island-top-five-must-see-migrations.xml |title=Rhode Island Top Five Must-See Migrations | The Nature Conservancy |publisher=Nature.org |date=2011-03-01 |access-date=2011-06-12 |archive-date=2012-01-12 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112053732/http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/rhodeisland/explore/rhode-island-top-five-must-see-migrations.xml |url-status=dead }}</ref>
There are a number of birds that spend time at Quicksand Pond. On September 2, 1882, a ''Symphemia semipalmata'' was seen on Quicksand Pond.<ref>{{cite book |title= The birds of Rhode Island|url= https://archive.org/details/cu31924090262613|author= Howe, Reginald Heber|author2= Sturtevant, Edward|name-list-style= amp |year= 1899}}</ref> There are swans in Quicksand Pond.<ref>{{cite book |title= Annual report – Division of Fisheries and Game Volume 25 of Public document|year= 1920|publisher= Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Game |page= 47}}</ref> The Quicksand Pond area provides an excellent breeding habitat for the least tern,<ref name="nature1"/> a rare shorebird, which arrives in May. Other shorebirds, including sanderlings, great and snowy egrets, dunlin, greater and lesser yellowlegs rest on the mudflats and the shoreline.<ref name="number1"/> A black rail is a rare sight at Quicksand Pond.<ref name="audubon"/><ref>{{cite book |title= American birds, Volume 43|author= National Audubon Society, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service|year= 1988 |publisher= National Audubon Society}}</ref>
The barrier beach habitat of Quicksand Pond is a potential suitable nesting site for the American oystercatcher.<ref name="audubon"/> saltmarsh sharp-tailed sparrows have also been seen.<ref name="audubon2">{{cite web |url=http://iba.audubon.org/iba/profileReport.do?siteId=3454 |title=Site Report: Quicksand/Tunipers Pond – Goosewing Beach |publisher=Iba.audubon.org |access-date=2011-06-12 |archive-date=2012-03-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120314050752/http://iba.audubon.org/iba/profileReport.do?siteId=3454 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Waterfowl residents and migrants include Canada geese, canvasbacks, American black ducks and scaups. Quicksand Pond has been called one of the most significant migratory waterfowl concentration sites of New England.<ref name="fws"/> There are also historical records of sea-beach pigweed and sandplain gerardia.<ref name="fws"/>
=== Piping plover === left|thumb|Piping plover The piping plover, Rhode Island's rarest shorebird, comes to Quicksand Pond each April. The plovers arrive from the Gulf Coast and Bahamas.<ref name="number1"/>
Quicksand Pond is one of only five known breeding sites in Rhode Island for the piping plover. <ref name="nature1"/> It contains one of the largest population of this species in Rhode Island, and has fledged an average of 11.3 young per year over the last 6 years.<ref name="audubon"/><ref name="fws"/>
== Goosewing Beach == Goosewing Beach is a {{Convert|1.4|km|mi}} long cobbly barrier beach<ref name="umn">{{cite journal|author1=Goldin, Meryl R. |author2=Regosin, Jonathan V. |name-list-style=amp |url=http://sora.unm.edu/node/52231|journal=Journal of Field Ornithology| volume=69|issue=2|pages=228–234|title=Chick Behavior, Habitat Use, and Reproductive Success of Piping Plovers At Goosewing Beach, Rhode Island}}</ref> at the southern end of Quicksand Pond.<ref name="nature1"/> Its dunes are dominated by beachgrass and seaside goldenrod.<ref name="fws"/>
thumb|right|Goosewing Beach from a drone, with Quicksand Pond on the right and Tunipus Pond in the background
The Goosewing Beach Preserve, a {{Convert|75|acre|m2}} preserve consisting of shore, ponds and dunes created 12,000 years ago by retreating glaciers, is considered one of Rhode Island's most scenic places.<ref name="patch">{{cite web|last=Sanderson |first=Matthew |url=http://tiverton.patch.com/listings/quicksand-pondgoosewing-beach-preserve |title=Quicksand Pond/Goosewing Beach Preserve – Tiverton-Little Compton, RI Patch |publisher=Tiverton.patch.com |access-date=2011-06-12}}</ref> It is overseen by The Nature Conservancy.
Working with the Little Compton Agricultural Conservancy Trust and the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management, the Goosewing Beach Preserve was purchased in 1989 by The Nature Conservancy and its partners. Conservancy staff have actively managed breeding populations of piping plover and least tern since then.<ref name="nature1"/>
Goosewing Beach Preserve was listed as one world's best eco-friendly beaches by CNN,<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/TRAVEL/07/17/ecofriendly.beaches/index.html?hpt=C2 |title=World's best eco-friendly beaches |publisher=CNN |date=2010-07-17 |access-date=2011-06-12}}</ref> as a “Don’t Miss" by the ''Boston Globe'',<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.boston.com/2011-05-15/travel/29546205_1_private-beach-luxury-hotel-commons-lunch |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120406092406/http://articles.boston.com/2011-05-15/travel/29546205_1_private-beach-luxury-hotel-commons-lunch |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 6, 2012 |title=New England summer travel in Rhode Island - Boston.com |publisher=Articles.boston.com |date=2011-05-15 |access-date=2011-06-12}}</ref> and as one of the 500 places to see before they disappear by Frommer's.<ref>{{cite book|author=Holly Hughes|title=Frommer's 500 Places to See Before They Disappear|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mCihZY3rXOcC&pg=PA230|year=2009|publisher=Wiley|isbn=978-0-470-43162-7|pages=230–}}</ref>
=== The Benjamin Family Environmental Center === thumb|The Benjamin Family Environmental Center at the Goosewing Beach Preserve The Nature Conservancy of Rhode Island opened The Benjamin Family Environmental Center on July 11, 2010.<ref>{{cite web|author=MrBwclosson |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GWpu4evblXQ |title=The New Benjamin Family Environmental Center! |publisher=YouTube |access-date=2011-06-12}}</ref> The Benjamin Family Environmental Center has programs and exhibits about the many types of habitats that make up the Quicksand Pond and Goosewing Beach Preserve areas.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/the-nature-conservancy-in-rhode-island-introducingthe-new-benjamin-fami.xml |title=The Nature Conservancy in Rhode Island – Introducing...the new Benjamin Family Environmental Center | The Nature Conservancy |publisher=Nature.org |access-date=2011-06-12 |archive-date=2012-10-04 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121004143908/http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/the-nature-conservancy-in-rhode-island-introducingthe-new-benjamin-fami.xml |url-status=dead }}</ref>
The Nature Conservancy hires a Plover Warden and a Goosewing Beach Preserve Manager during nesting season (mid-April to early-September) to monitor and protect the species and to help educate beach-goers about the sensitive wildlife that inhabit the area.<ref name="nature1"/>
A study at Goosewing beached provided evidence that mudflats are preferred brood-rearing habitat for piping plovers.<ref name="umn"/>
== The Gut == On the east side of the pond, there is a section called "The Gut".<ref>[http://www.dem.ri.gov/maps/mapfile/gw/jpg/tiverton.jpg Groundwater Classification and Well Head Protection Area 2010] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928233023/http://www.dem.ri.gov/maps/mapfile/gw/jpg/tiverton.jpg |date=September 28, 2011 }}. (JPG image). dem.ri.gov</ref>
== Fishing == Fish species include winter flounder, perch, American eel, soft-shelled clam, hard-shelled clam or quahog, and American oyster.<ref name="fws"/> Herring have been caught in Quicksand Pond.<ref>{{cite book |title= Gleason's literary companion, Volume 5|year= 1864 |publisher= F. Gleason}}</ref>
=== Shellfishing === [[File:Oyster anatomy.jpg|left|thumb|Drawing of oyster anatomy]] In June 1853, the General Assembly of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, amended the "An Act for the preservation of Oysters and other Shell Fish within this State" as follows:
{{blockquote | Quicksand Pond, in the town of Little Compton, shall be deemed and taken to be a free and common Oyster fishery in the waters of this State, and as such shall be subject to all the provisions of the act hereby amended.}}<ref>{{cite book |title= Acts and resolves of the General Assembly of the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations|year= 1853}}</ref>
In 1965, "[l]ittle change was noted in the supply of wild oysters from" Quicksand Pond.<ref>{{cite book |title= Digest of annual reports of State agencies, Volume 2|year= 1965}}</ref> In 1968, the ''Shellfish survey of Quicksand Pond, Little Compton, R.I.'' was published.<ref>{{cite book |title= Shellfish survey of Quicksand Pond, Little Compton, R.I. Issue 23 of Leaflet (Rhode Island. Division of Fish and Wildlife)|author= Kovach, Kenneth M.|author2= Canario, Manuel T.|name-list-style= amp |publisher= Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife}}</ref>
==== Norovirus scare ==== right|thumb|Transmission electron micrograph of Norovirus particles in faeces On May 17, 2007, the FDA reported signs of norovirus in oysters distributed by Bridgeport Seafood in Tiverton, Rhode Island. The Rhode Island Department of Health investigation determined the oysters were collected by a single fisherman from Quicksand Pond.<ref name="projo">{{cite web|author=Lord, Peter B. |url=http://www.projo.com/news/content/shellfishing_ban26_05-26-07_1P5P2CM.34c4ecf.html |title=A sea change | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal |publisher=projo.com |date=2007-05-26 |access-date=2011-06-12}}</ref> As the Health Department continued to investigate the Quicksand Pond case, it found no evidence to support the initial FDA alarm. There were no reports of anyone getting sick, and further testing failed to show any significant signs of bacteria from human waste in the pond.<ref name="projo"/> 50 bushels of oysters were embargoed and destroyed.<ref name="projo"/> Quicksand Pond is currently listed as Un-assessed – Shellfishing Prohibited.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dem.ri.gov/maps/mapfile/shellfsh.pdf |title=RI DEM/Water Resources- Notice of Polluted Shellfishing Grounds, May 2011 |format=PDF |access-date=2011-06-12}}</ref>
== Artistic inspiration == Quicksand Pond has inspired at least two pieces of music: one is "Quicksand Pond" by Noreen Inglesi.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.broadjam.com/artists/songs.php?artistID=14384&mediaID=92848 |title=Noreen Inglesi's Song: Quicksand Pond |publisher=Broadjam.com |date=2011-06-06 |access-date=2011-06-12}}</ref>
== References == {{reflist|colwidth=30em}}
== External links == *[http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/rhodeisland/placesweprotect/quicksand-pondgoosewing-beach-preserve.xml Goosewing Beach Preserve ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110426024434/http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/rhodeisland/placesweprotect/quicksand-pondgoosewing-beach-preserve.xml |date=2011-04-26 }} at The Nature Conservancy *[http://library.fws.gov/pubs5/necas/web_link/33_rhode%20island%20sound.htm USFWS 1991 Northeast Coast Areas Study (NECAS) Site No. 33] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927230328/http://library.fws.gov/pubs5/necas/web_link/33_rhode%20island%20sound.htm |date=2011-09-27 }} *[https://ribirds.blogspot.com/2010/01/ivory-gull-quicksand-pond.html Ivory Gulls at Quicksand Pond] *[http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/topo/rhode_island/ Rhode Island Historical Topographic Maps]
{{Waterbodies of Rhode Island}}
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Category:Lakes of Rhode Island Category:Bodies of water of Newport County, Rhode Island Category:Little Compton, Rhode Island