Category Archives: birds

Halibut Point Feathered Friends

American Black Duck, birds, Cape Cod, Ducks, Eider ducks, Great Scaup, Halibut Point, Harlequin Duck, Long Tail Duck, Loon, massachusetts, New England, Rockport, scoter, Seal, , , , , , , , , , , ,
Two Fridays back, Yang and I happened to be on the North Shore, so we stayed overnight in order to make an early visit to Halibut Point State Park.  We’d been meaning to get there since November, after hearing about all the cool water fowl hanging out there.  Unfortunately, the opportunity hadn’t come up before this.  So, after our breakfast of bagels and cream cheese (yum!), we headed out to the state park.  We were not disappointed.  In the quarry, we spotted a Scaup, Black Ducks, and Mallards.  When we headed for the ocean, we got an even bigger treat.  Here you see me peering out at the ocean’s wonderland – or wonderwater- of ducks. Isn’t that point beautiful?

At first, we  saw only a couple of pairs of Harlequin Ducks, looking absolutely adorable.  All the FB bird groups to which I belonged extolled the plenitude of Harlequins out here.  So, we were happy to spot this couple chilling along.

 

 

 

 

Mrs. Harley seems to be finding a snack while her husband looks on.

Neat as this sighting was, things got MUCH better.  Looking all around and out to sea, we saw flocks of Harlequins diving, chilling, and looking good.  There were so many that we couldn’t always get them all in one picture.  I would say we saw several flocks ranging from 9-15 Harlequins.  And that’s not counting the friendly-neighbor Long-tail Ducks who joined the party.  Counting the ducks was never easy, because, all of a sudden, the whole kit and kaboodle would take a dive on a hunt for food.  So, Yang had to time his shots carefully to catch them.  I guess it’s true that these ducks love rough waters, because that’s exactly what they got here and in the other place we saw them, Sachuest Point, RI.  This was the biggest contingent of Harleys that I had seen. Though the ducks are hard to pick out in these pictures, if you just click on them you will get a better look.

Then we saw this Loon way off above the group of Harlequins.  It’s the white figure in the upper left corner.

Wouldn’t you know, we also saw plenty of flocks of Scoters. 

 

 

 

Here’s a closeup of a female Scoter.  I believe these are all Black Scoters.

 

 

When we moved onto the harbor at Rockport, Yang also got a shot of a male Eider Duck.  Usually we see big flocks of these guys, especially at Cape Cod (check out this older blog).  Today, we saw this guy all by his lonesome.

 

 

 

 

Then, finally, what should we espy on the other side of the point in the harbor in Rockport?  We thought we it was a brown female eider – except, Yang said that once the critter dived  he could see her  walking under water.  Huh?  Then “she” came up.

 

Yup, a seal!  So I hope this critter can be a “seal” of approval for today’s blog.

 

 

Gooseberry Island Redux – or Reducks?

birds, Ducks, horned grebe, Long Tail Duck, Loon, massachusetts, Nature, New England, Oldsquaw Duck, scoter, Uncategorized, winter, , , , , , , , ,
Yang and I returned to Gooseberry island on a sunny day for a change last Saturday – celebrating my birthday over the weekend.  This time, no fog and plenty of sunshine.  Also, plenty of water fowl!

One of the first sightings I want to discuss are the shore birds.  since we could actually get to the shore this time, we walked along the beach and saw a flock of shore birds whip around in tight and angular formation.  When we came around some rocks, we got a good look at these cuties.  I was surprised to find that we had a mix of Dunlins and Sanderlings together.  This time, I didn’t mistake their tummies for seaside rocks, so perfectly had they blended in with sand and sea-smoothed stones, when I saw them in December.  The Dunlins are brownish on top, with  buff tummies and long, slightly curved beaks.  The Sanderlings are grey on top with white tummies and shorter and straight beaks.  They were fun to watch scurrying about in search of dinner, all while seeming quite at home with one another. These images might look tiny here, but if you click on the pictures to enlarge them, you can see the birds much more clearly.

Apparently, the pickings were getting kind of slim, for Yang managed to snap a shot of some of these guys taking it on the wing for better dining.

We also saw plenty of birds in the water that day. With perfect visibility and trusty binoculars, we could sight dozens of Long-tailed ducks near the shore and way out in the bay.  Yang got some neat pictures of a few near us.  This male is a handsome specimen.  You can even see a little of his long tail in these photos.  Apparently, these ducks can dive as deep as 95 feet and can stay under water longer than any of the  diving ducks.  Wouldn’t Lloyd Bridges be impressed?  Yang took these pictures as we we heading toward the island along the causeway.

 

 

 

Coming back along the causeway, we found this Long-tail extremely close to shore.  I think it’s a nonbreeding female, but sometimes they are difficult to distinguish from an immature male.  I didn’t see a long tail on this duck, so I’m going to take a flyer and say this is a female.  She was quite unimpressed by the humans walking by.  She also didn’t seem to be much worried about the rocks towards which the surrounding waves  were shoving her.  Still, she did just fine for herself, bold duckess!

Another aquatic bird of which we saw tons were Scoters.  We saw Black Scoters, White-winged Scoters, and Surf Scoters.  Again dozens and dozens throughout the bay.  Yang was only able to photograph some of the Surf Scoters, but he got some good shots.  As we were coming back along the causeway, there was a trio: a male, a female, and an immature male (I believe). the female is brown with a white spot on either side of her head.  The males all have that unique pink beak with a white spot on the forehead, white on either side of the beak,  and one on the back of the head.  You can see that one of the males doesn’t have the white spots on his face.  We wondered if he were a Black or White-winged Scoter; however, neither type has a white patch on the back of the head like this fellow.  So maybe the younger males take time to get all their patches in?

You can see from this shot that the Scoters weren’t alone.  Here’s a  Loon photo bombing the Scoters.  We noticed him hanging out with this group from another species.  We also have a nice picture of the Loon by him= or herself.  I believe this is a Common Loon in winter plumage, but if I’m wrong, feel free to set me straight.

Another, smaller, diving water bird joined the show.  A horned grebe!  We saw one or two popping up (and back down again) amongst the various flocks of Scoters and Long-tails. Again, let me know if I misidentified the type of Grebe.

Last but not least, here comes the Bufflehead!  Usually there are big flocks of these guys around in the winter, but today, this chap seems to be swimming solo.  Well, it’s a big ocean and there’s room for everybody.  So where are the Harlequins?

Happy Harlequin Hunting: Only Shooting with a Camera!

birds, Deer, Ducks, Eider ducks, Harlequin Duck, mergansers, Nature, New England, , , , , , , , ,
For the past month, I’ve been seeing nothing but posts about all the Harlequin Ducks flocking down the coast of Massachusetts from Plum Island to Westhaven.  Never having seen one, I was eager to make a sighting.  Three trips to the coastal waters, and I was still a Harlequin virgin.  That is until Yang and I visited Sachuest (don’t ask me to pronounce it) in Rhode Island.  Of course, my prayers for a sighting weren’t answered at once.

We went down to a cove and saw two huge flocks of Buffleheads bobbing and diving in the waves.  They are adorable with their big white spots on the sides of their heads that look like ear muffs.  But no Harleys!  Then, coming back to the parking lot, to start the trail leading around the other side of the point, we saw four deer grazing nonchalantly in the marsh field.  Beautiful in their heavy winter coats – but not ducks.

 

We later even found a family of Eider Ducks, one adult male, one juvenile male and two females – joined by a Bufflehead, who popped up out of nowhere – but no Harlequins.

So, we made our way down onto a rocky beach after we spied some Lesser Scaups ( a first sighting, ever!),  some Surf Scoters, and a female Redbreasted Merganser, but no …wait!  What’s that black and white thing bobbing and diving out there? 

See the tiny white and black thing in the middle of the screen?  It was clearer and bigger with the binoculars.  I said to Yang, “It’s, wait , I think it’s, yes!  It’s a male Harlequin.”  Now before you say, “Hey, I can’t see a darned thing, wait, big deal,” it gets better.  After watching this guy and some Redbreasted Mergansers for a while, we moved on  – and came across another Harlequin chilling with some Scaups.  A little later, we came across a lone pair of Harlequins.  These shots are better, but not our top prizes.  I just love this one of the male flapping at us.  Camera shy or a show off?  You judge.

 

 

 

 

It’s really interesting to me that when the males look at you head on, with the light colored beak and the white stripe on their face, they appear more white-faced than they actually are.  When we got to another spot, Yang got some gorgeous shots that show off all their glorious markings. So, here you go with a set of photos of another  Harley pair from much closer up.

Here’s the male by himself.  Take a gander at that gorgeous splash of chestnut on his side, the way the white stripes demarcate the patches of black, and look carefully for that line of chestnut down the back of his head.

 

 

 

Here is the pair together.    Sometimes they point those short but sharp tails upward. Notice how the female has those lovely three white spots on the side of her head.  

 

 

I think they must have had an argument.  Yang and I noticed that the female did most of the diving/hunting.  Maybe she got sick of her hubbie posing for the papparazzi when she was doing all the work. Anyway, they briefly went separate ways.

Well, deers, er, dears, that’s all for now.

Mallard, Mallard, Merganser?!

Autumn, birds, Ducks, female mallard, mergansers, Nature, Worcester, , , , , , ,
The nature trail through the marsh/river across from Holy Cross has presented us with many an interesting critter.  We’ve seen deer, black snakes, muskrats and turtles.  Our avian sightings have included Great Blue Herons, Kingfishers, Red-winged Blackbirds, and assorted warblers.  Once, we even met up with a Bob White strolling back and forth in front of us along the promenade.  There hasn’t been a shortage of aquatic birds, mostly Canada Geese and Mallards.  However, for the past week, we noticed a Mallard flock of about 15-20 had an interesting guest!

What was an adult male Hooded Merganser doing in that flock?  There he was, swimming up and down the river with the flock – just one of the guys.  Occasionally, he’d disappear in a dive for food.  Then, back up he’d pop to join the crowd.  He seemed especially to bond with a Mallard couple.  Yang thinks that he was adopted as a duckling.  Who knows?  What do you think?  He is quite the beauty.  If only people could be as welcoming to the “different” as these birds.  After all, we’re all ducks.

 

Fairhaven, Fair Gothic

architecture, Autumn, birds, gargoyles, Gothic, massachusetts, medieval, Nature, New England, , , , , , , , ,
At the end of September, Yang and I finally made it back to Fairhaven, Mass. for a fun bicycle ride.  We didn’t see loads of critters; however, passing by a marsh we did come across a Great White Egret convention.  Yes, take a closer look: those white blobs in the trees are  EGRETS!  And there was one Great Blue Heron.  Master of ceremonies.  We were especially happy to discover that the trail had been extended and is supposed to reach the next town in November.  It’s a sweet spot for a long ride through trees, fields, marshes, and along the ocean.

 

 

All that said, what we found especially intriguing was our walk through the town of Fairhaven, where we came across some absolutely delightful gothic architecture!  The person responsible for this gorgeous architecture was nineteenth-century millionaire, Henry Huttleston Rogers.  He not only funded the design and construction of the Town Hall, seen to the left, but the library and the Unitarian Universalist Church.  The Town Hall was dedicated by none other than Mark Twain, and the library, still a free public library, was  designed “in 1893, [as} a memorial to his beloved daughter, Millicent, in the form of an Italian-Renaissance palazzo” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairhaven,_Massachusetts).  Here’s the library below:

The “Italian-Renaisance design” certainly explains the outside relief on the building.  Notice the  cherubs peeking on either side of the column.

And who’s that poking his head right out front?  Why it’s Dante himself!  I had conjectured to Yang, when I saw that kisser, that it must be Dante.  And now I understand why the library is called The Millicent Library.  A beautiful memorial to a daughter taken from her father too soon.  We didn’t get a chance to  explore the inside of the building; however, as I said to Yang, here’s a library to put on my list for trying to do a reading. Next spring or fall?  I may have another novel out by then!

 

Yet the most spectacular of the edifices was The Unitarian Church.  We’d spied the tower through the trees as we walked along checking out these other buildings.  We were drawn like iron filings to a magnet to discover what kind of Gothic delights this building might hold.  Gosh!  We were more than delighted with what we found!

 

 

We were expecting a Catholic, or at least an Episcopal. cathedral. So imagine our surprise that this ornately appointed church  turned out to be a Unitarian/Universalist place of worship.  Even the Parish house of the Unitarian Memorial Church was replete with gargoyles and saints.

 

We not only found gargoyles on all the corners, but saints and patriarchs beneath the gargoyles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And even a few patriarchs and saints on their own.

 

 

 

 

 

The Church, itself, was  designed by architect Charles Brigham of Boston (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unitarian_Memorial_Church), and is decorated with so many fascinating types of gargoyles on its corners and cornices.  There were owlgoyles.

 

 

 

 

Cat-or-pumagoyles

 

 

 

 

 

As well as your standard flying dragony-type things, maybe with one have a hint of the leonine.

Particularly interesting, were the head sculptures adorning the outer walls of the church.  I wondered if some of them reflected the founding members of the Church – not all of them, though.  You’ll see what I mean when you take a gander at some of their visages.  Here is a solemn  dame, who seems right at home in a Medieval world. 

 

 

Here is a beautiful young girl, who would seem at home in a world of Medieval romance.

 

 

 

 

This chap looks as if he would have been one of the better fed pilgrims to Canterbury.

 

 

 

 

This guy has a perfect 1960s-style flip.  Must be the early inventor of Dippity-Do.

 

 

 

What can I say?  St. Theresa of Avila stuck next to Pickle Puss!

There were also other fascinating sculptures adorning the church.  An angel holds a book of good works or devotions or philosophy.

Another angel stands guard.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Four women represent the celestial power of music.

 

Here, Yang stands before one of the entrances, Mr. Pudgy Pilgrim looking over his shoulder.

 

 

 

For the official website for this church click here.

 

Finally, we found another intriguing building, though not nearly so ornate, right where the trail enters the town.  I’m not sure what this abandoned brick building once was, now overgrown with trees, holes in its roof.  A factory?  A school?  Who knows.  I don’t, but I wonder what story it could tell us.

 

 

Return to Colebrook Reservoir

Autumn, birds, Colbrook Reservoir, Common Mergansers, comorants, Connecticut, CT, Ducks, egret, Fall, Gothic, Greater Yellow Legs, hiking, mergansers, New England, Spotted Sandpiper, , , , , , , ,
Two years ago, Yang and I made our first trip to Colebrook Reservoir on a brisk Halloween afternoon.  What a treat!.  After at least a year of drought, the old Rte. 8 was completely clear and dry of the water.  We even saw part of the “ghost bridge” and the stone walls marking the boundaries of farms in what had once been a community displaced by the formation of the reservoir.  That day, we saw our first slate-colored juncos of the season, while the fall colors were still in bloom.  (Check out an earlier blog on our adventure here).

We came back last year, after an extremely rainy summer and discovered just how quickly a reservoir can fill up!  Not even a trace of the road we traveled between a slope of boulders and the water.  We were lucky the parking lot wasn’t swimming!

Ah, but 2022 brought another summer drought – and maybe the only good thing about the dearth of precipitation was that the way at Colebrook became so much clearer – though not nearly as clear as two years ago!

So, here’s my report, with photographic evidence!  On a gorgeous September afternoon, we were able to take the road (old Rte. 8) down from the parking lot for a bit of a stroll, until the inundation of the low road cut us off.  Were we daunted?  Not we two Yangs!  We scrambled over 1/8 to 1/4 of a mile of boulders flanking the waters.  You can get a bit of a picture from this photo, though you can’t see quite how steep the slope was – it was too hard to take pictures and scramble at the same time!

 

Where the road rose on higher ground, it was clear of water.  Unfortunately, there were gaps of low lying road that were inundated.  So, we managed to circle around the submerged road through rock-strewn mud flats, where we saw all kinds of fauna tracks:  deer, lynx, big herons.  We also saw some neat flora, as well.  I was taken with these nettles, some of which were accompanied by red berries.  Anybody recognize them?  We kept an eagle eye out for ticks!  Also, for fellow MSTKies, we did watch out for snakes.  None sighted – not even in the water.

It was fascinating to see how the wash of waters over the past few years had covered what was left of some of the road with gravel and how the flooded areas created islands of what had once been  roads.  Yang and I were both struck by how torn up the exposed blacktop had been since the last time we’d walked this road.  When we went through a stand of trees, we found some big trees down that we had to climb over.  No riding our bikes here the way we did two years ago when we had returned the day after Thanksgiving.

Last time we were here,  we had walked out to a highway bridge from the 1950s that crossed a stream emptying into what was originally a river (now the reservoir).  There was even a jetty to walk out on a little further along.  Well, at least the bridge was still there, but water was almost even with it.  Still we had a nice walk there and a little beyond, until the road dipped and the water filled in everything.  As you can see, we weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the bridge.  The area seemed to have become the playground for female and juvenile male Common Mergansers.  These ducks were having a grand time strolling about, splashing, and playing in the water.

Speaking of birds, Yang was disappointed not to see any Juncos (though it’s a bit early).  Nevertheless, he more than made do with the many water birds we saw.  Across the waters were Great Egrets, and on our side we saw several interesting types.  On the left is one of the Spotted Sandpipers we saw, though we usually saw only one at a time.  Maybe it was the same one a few times over?  We also saw this Greater Yellow Legs.  It might have been a Lesser Yellow Legs, but we didn’t have anything with which to compare him.  Less than whom?  There were plenty of Cormorants, too.

This was a pretty scene of the shore across the reservoir.  I really enjoyed the view.  Too bad we won’t be able to go back this year when the colors really go full-on autumn.

Of course, this is my favorite view.

 

 

 

 

 

I hope you’ll pardon me while I duck out now.

“You’re Own Private Audubon”

Baltimore Oriole, birds, black cat, catbirds, Flicker, Goldfinch, massachusetts, mockingbird, Nature, New England, Red bellied Woodpecker, redwinged blackbird, rosebrested grosbeak, spring, wood peckers, , , , , , , , , , , , ,

You’ll pardon me for paraphrasing the B-52s, but bird watching in my back yard since spring has sprung really has been like living in my own private Audubon. Yang pointed out that we often see more birds (in number and variety) through our sun porch windows than we do on many of our nature walks! It’s been a delight to see many old friends return.

First back were these Mockingbirds. Usually we see one in February or early March. S/He doesn’t stay long, but chows down for a day or two – maybe a week – and then is on the way to wherever Mockingbirds like to chill. This year, we got TWO. A honeymooning couple? I don’t know, but they were a pleasure to see.

 

Another of the spring early birds are the Red-Winged Blackbirds. In my yard, they are one of the earliest sign of spring rolling in. These guys actually showed up in the end of February – and I’ve never seen so many of them! Usually their numbers tend to thin out as we get into May, but this year we still have many of these visitors with the red and yellow epaulets. You can see this chap flashing his shoulder embellishments as he shares the feeder with a grumpy-looking Grackle – tons of Grackles off and on since February. Below is the blackbird taking a turn on the suet.

SONY DSC

In fact, everyone seems to be into suet this year! You saw the Mockingbirds above. And get a load of both the female and male Downy Woodpeckers. You can distinguish their genders by the red dot on the back of the male’s head.

 

 

 

 

 

These two aren’t the only woodpeckers who visit us. Through the winter and still into the spring, we’ve had a pair of Redbellied Woodpeckers chilling with us. In fact, this male is probably the one Yang and I saved from frostbite after he was stunned from hitting a window – the woodpecker, not Yang. Anyway, we call him Red and his mate Ruby. Original, aren’t we?

Of course we also had a spring newcomer woodpecker: my friend Flicker (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.). Just last week, I saw him hunting insects where my and my neighbor’s yard meet.

One of my favorite returnees is the Catbird. I love the way they say my name in one of their calls: “Sharon!” Last year we had two. This year, I’ve seen four! I don’t think they’re all pals, either. One day, I saw two of them in my Canadian Maple with their heads up, beaks pointing skyward, and their shoulders thrown back in a stand off. Bird number three was merrily chowing down on suet all the while. Who knows where number four went. Still, I do see two, three, four of them traveling together, making the rounds of the bird feeders in my yard.

 

We’ve also had some more colorful returnees as well. Although a Goldfinch or two would come by during the winter, we had a huge influx in April. They’ve thinned out a bit, but it’s been fun watching the boys gradually change back to their bright yellow duds. They’ve also broadened their tastes. Rather than only snacking on sunflower hearts, they are now going for the black oil seeds, no longer too lazy to crack them open with their powerful finch beaks. This fella is giving the feeder a quizzical study before he zeroes in on dinner.

 

Finally, May brought back two of my favorite friends. First, the Baltimore Orioles. This year we’ve seen two adult males and one juvenile. These guys love their oranges! Yang gets them the good ones from the Asian grocery store in town.

 

One day, Yang and I saw Dad taking his young son out for his first drink.

Dad says, “Watch me, son, it’s simple.”

 

The Kid dives in and proud Pop looks on.

 

Then they both turn to our window and stare: “What’re YOU lookin’ at?!”

One week later, who should come to town but the last of our colorful spring regulars: the Rose-Breasted Grosbeak. Usually we get a couple of couples. However, this year, I’ve only seen the male. Still, for all I know, it’s not the same male every time. There could be a bunch of them, each showing up one at a time. However many, these guys are always gorgeous to see! Here one of them is sharing the feeder with a House Finch. He doesn’t look too chummy, though, does he?

Of course, we’re not the only ones who like to watch the birds from the sun porch. But the girls are kept safely apart from feathered visitors.

Now, bring on the Indigo Bunting and the Scarlet Tanager!

 

 

 

Late Winter Birds, Far and Near

American Black Duck, birds, cardinal bird, Common Mergansers, Downy Woodpecker, Ducks, goldfinches, hooded merganser, Kingfisher, Red bellied Woodpecker, Uncategorized, wood peckers, , , , , , , , , , ,
These waning days of winter have given Yang and I some fun bird watching, whether at home or away.  For instance, Yang went for a stroll one day on a canal that runs perpendicular to the Blackstone River and sighted some interesting ducks and the peripatetic Kingfisher.  So, the next day, I had him take me back there. Sure enough we saw some swell birds.  Yang got some really nice shots of a pair of hooded mergansers.  At first we thought they were both females, but I noticed that one had a distinctive long, pointed tail sticking above the water, as well as a fluffier brush of feathers at the back of the head.  I suspect that one was a juvenile male.  We either had a Mom and her teenage son or a Cougar duck.  Who can tell? Enjoy the pictures!

 

I also got to see the Kingfisher, a male.  I heard his excited chatter way down toward the end where the canal ran into the Blackstone.   I kept my eyes peeled until I saw a blob of white way ahead in a tall tree over the waters.  Training my binoculars confirmed my suspicions, bringing into focus a magnificent male Belted Kingfisher.  Yang came up and got some shots with the binoculars he could attach to his cell phone.  We had a great time watching His Majesty swoop down into the water, skimming along to fly off with his fishy dinner.

Further from home, we visited Forest Park in Springfield on our way to lunch in Montague.  This turned out to be the mecca for Common Mergansers. We saw tons of them in one of the ponds.  They were shy guys, as whenever we got  close to the shore, they paddled off to the middle of the pond.  Yang did get some nice pictures of them, though.  I love how the males gleam white, their green heads almost black.  Their head feathers in the back are far smoother than those of the male Red Breasted Mergansers.  In both these types of Mergansers, the females are beautiful, with their Rita Hayworth-red locks! Yang loves the ducks’ red beaks.

We also found some American Black Ducks enjoying the same pond as well.

Unfortunately, a nice swim almost ended in a trip over the dam! Can’t you just hear his wife yelling, “Dam/n!” Her husband responding, “Don’t you cuss at me . . . Whoa!!!”

 

 

 

Closer to home – as in  the bird feeders next to my house –  we’ve been seeing some nifty birds, old friends and new.  The Mockingbird and the Redwinged Blackbirds are back.  Would you believe that even in the snow, the Robins have been scooting about for at least two weeks?  Here we have a Robin and a Downy Woodpecker chilling (literally with all the snow)  in a tree outside my sun porch window.

I must say that this Robin loves his/her? suet.

 

We also had the pleasure of this Red Bellied Woodpecker’s company. Since it’s a female, it wouldn’t be the one who was stunned after hit our sun-porch window.  We brought him in in a box and let him warm up for about an hour then set him free. Whoosh!  He was in great shape and off to the races.  We see him and his mate here quite a bit.  They’re also big suet lovers.

 

Now, here some of our other visitors.  There are cheeky Goldfinches,

 

 

 

 

caring cardinals,

 

 

 

and perky Downy Woodpeckers.

 

Bring on the Rose Breasted Grosbeaks!

 

Adventures with Waterfowl at Silver Sands Beach

American Black Duck, birds, Brant Geese, Ducks, New England, Oldsquaw Duck, Silver Sands Beach, winter, , , , , , , , ,
Yang and I went to the beach last week when we had some warm weather– in New England, in winter,  you can call 40 degrees warm. It started out as a trip to Tea with Tracey in Connecticut for tea (obviously), but since the day was so sunny and “warm,” Yang suggested that after tea, we head to nearby Silver Sands Beach to see what birds might be visiting.  I think he felt bad for me because we were the only people at Plum Island the week before who didn’t see a Snow Owl. Anyway, once we got there, we were NOT disappointed, with a special guest star appearing that neither of us had ever seen before!
As we approached where the waves broke on the shore, we were delighted to see Herring Gulls mixing and mingling with Brant Geese.  The gulls I’d seen many times before.  However, I’d only seen Brants twice previously.  They were not afraid of us and let Yang take lots of photographs.  Here are some neat ones we saw of them along the shore.
When the Brants took to the water, they proceeded in well-ordered convoy fashion.  You’d almost think they were heading to Britain with Lend-Lease weaponry, on the watch for Nazi U-Boats.
Maybe they had air support from the Herring and Great Black-backed Gulls.  I think some gulls might even have been acting as the Armed Guard.

We also saw some old favorites, American Black Ducks.  Here are two in conference.

 

 

 

Over here is another guy just chillin’ on a rock.  Maybe he felt he’d be chillin’ too much, literally, if he joined his pals in the ocean.  What do you think?
Then, there was this lonesome stranger.  Yang and I spotted a white dot in the ocean.  We almost dismissed it as yet another Hooded Merganser, but Yang had second thoughts and trained his binoculars on this guy.  Well, what do you know?  A duck that neither of us had ever seen before.  He was a study in art decco black and white, with a whitish Presley pompadour swept and puffed up off his forehead. His yellow eyes contrasted with a black pupil.  Even his pink beak had symmetric black patches on either side! Then, when he dived, there was that long, slim tail flipping up.

What could he be?  A Harlequin Duck?  A funky Woodduck? A pintail of some kind? My guess was an Oldsquaw – and darned if a peek in my Peterson’s and a look on-line didn’t prove me right.  Now, some people don’t like the term “squaw” in his name, feeling it’s offensive.  So, considering that yellowish white pompadour, could we rename him an OldElvis?  Too soon?
Anyway, like our new friend, I’m going to take a dive and say, “so long!”

 

Lobster Rolls, Waterfowl, and Joan Bennett: What an Adventure!

Autumn, birds, black cat, comorants, CT, Ducks, egret, Fall, Foliage, Joan Bennett, Nature, New England, , , , , , , , , , , ,
At the end of the last week, I’d come down with a head cold!  Too much heavy-duty activity and book promotion, I guess, in cold weather.  Anyway, after lots of rest under the medical supervision of Rosalind and Natasha,  I felt well enough to join Yang on a little adventure to Connecticut.  First stop?
Lobster rolls, cole slaw, and french fries at Bill’s Seafood in Westbrook.  Yum!  That lobster has loads of cold-fighting protein, right?  Though there weren’t the usual osprey and laughing gulls and various ducks, we did see this neat cormorant circling the deck, then landing and arching his wings the way cormorants love to do- very vampirelike.  I think he saw himself as Count Cormorantuala.  I forgot to get my own pictures; however, here’s another photographer’s depiction of that favorite cormorant stance.
I did manage to get  some nice shots from the rest of our journey.
Next stop?  Rocky Neck, where you can see the fall colors are still going, even if some trees are a bit denuded.  In fact, the drive down treated us to some lovely golds, burnt oranges, saffrons, and burgundies.  Just in the parking lot was this lovely tree flaming into orange.  Yang especially loves multicolored trees, where the foliage morphs from green to yellow even to orange. This tree gives us orange, crimson, and burgundy!
If you look to the marshes, they are bordered by more foliage-enhanced trees.  Those marshes are circled by a trail and some lookout platforms, which have afforded lots of views of many different types of aquatic fowl.  this time, we didn’t see a lot, but we did sight some old friends:  black ducks; mallards, hooded mergansers (the speedboats of the duck world), and the Great Egret.  It was the latter we got some nice shots of.  In fact, as we walked the trail and paused on a bridge, we were able to get rather close to this fellow without him flapping a feather.  Rather, he had quite a time for himself fishing.  What a beauty, right?  As we were leaving, we actually passed seven of them all chillin’ together in another marsh, right near the road.
Ah, and then there was a stroll along the ocean and a nap on the rocks as I could hear the waves lapping those rocks and feel the breeze dancing around me.  It’s so nice just to let go!
Our final stop, after a wonderful ride down winding country roads, framed with glowing foliage in the sinking sun’s light, was to the cemetery where Joan Bennett rests.  We  found three bouquets of yellow roses, a small painted stone with a sweet message, and an arrangement with a patriotic theme, happily showing that our Joanie is so fondly remembered. Well, Joan certainly was a patriot in the best sense of the word.  Five of her forties films had her joining the fight against the Nazis, she went on bond selling tours, she was a member of the AWVS (American Women’s Voluntary Service), and she spoke out for protecting people’s civil rights.  So, it was our pleasure to pay our respects.  We tried to clean her Mom’s grave stone, but couldn’t do much.  Another member of our Joan Bennett FB group had done a beautiful job of cleaning Joan’s grave earlier, however.  Maybe Joan and my Mom can have a cup of tea and a cigarette together up in the Great Beyond.  You never know!  Just watch out for those Singapore Slings, ladies!

 

 

Cormorant Image:  https://www.macfilos.com/2017/09/15/2017-9-11-cormorants-reconsidered-birds-of-ill-omen-get-makeover/