Category Archives: Albany County Rail Trail

Autumn’s Last Will and Testament, Part One

Albany County Rail Trail, Autumn, birds, Brant Geese, Colt State Park, Fall, Foliage, hawks, Nature, New England, New York state, Redtail Hawk, , , , , , , , , , , ,
All the leaves brown and the sky is grey.  The Mamas and Papas song seems to sum up perfectly the end of November and beginning of December. So, I thought you might enjoy a look back at some of autumn’s leafy glory to tide you over until the soft blues and pristine whites of winter take over.

One new place Yang and I visited was the Albany Rail Trail in New York.  The trail starts on an uphill slope, but once you get to the top, it levels off and is smooth sailing till the end.  We ended up doing 18 miles of beautiful fall scenery along a river and through the woods.

 

 

Then, returning, after a flat ride, we sailed downhill at a feisty clip – but not before I stopped a few times to get some gorgeous shots of the brilliant fall colors, especially gorgeous along the sides of the valleys that sloped into the river, with that goldening light of the setting sun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s your liquid moment of Zen, in video format: 

 

Yang and I also made our autumn pilgrimage to Colt State Park – after lunch at the Beehive in Bristol, RI – Yum, their pumpkin spice latte!  The day was brisk and sunny.  We had the pleasure of all kinds of  fauna.  Walking up a road that cut through the woods and emerged into the open with two large, stone-fenced fields on either side, we caught sight of these guys on our right.  Since we were on foot and not in a car, we had no fear of another fatal collision.  The deer were chill, too.

 

 

A little further down the road, what should swoop past us to disappear on the other side of the stone wall but a Red Tail Hawk!  Clearly, her eagle, err hawk, eyes had spotted something edible scurrying through the leaves on the far side of that wall.  Unfortunately for her, but fortunate for the mouse, vole, rabbit, or whatever, our hawk hunter emerged and tromped down on the wall with nothing to eat in her claws.  Apparently she was a tad embarrassed because her look here clearly says:  “What are YOU lookin’ at?”

 

Finally, we also made it out of the woods and onto the shore to make our first sighting of Brant Geese. They kind of look like stocky Canada Geese, but they are quite different.  They also may have a black head, but that’s marked by a white band around their necks, plus, they lack the brown feathers of the Canada Geese. These guys always swim in tight formation and have the most adorable vocalization – not the rowdy honks of their North of the border brethren.

 

Below is a video where you can hear them almost quacking, rather than honking, but you have to listen carefully!