Tag Archives: Nature

Natasha’s Excellent Summer Adventure!

black cat, cats, mischevious cats, Natasha, Nature, summer, tuxedo cat, Uncategorized, , , , , ,
The birds are chirping, the flowers are blooming, the chipmunks are chipping, and the temperature is climbing – Natasha knows it’s time to shrug off her winter lethargy and return to exploring and patrolling the wilds of our yard.
On the prowl, she determinedly sets off with her bodyguard, as any queen would do.  She’s always on the alert for danger and adventure, even if her guard is not!

 

Of course, she must look first one way . . .
Then another, for any signs of danger,  be it in the form of nefarious chipmunks, antagonistic avians, or ferocious ants.

 

What has Natasha discovered?  An insidious ant?  A taunting chipmunk?  A skulking mole?  We may never know!

 

 

 

Whew!  All that traveling and probing for danger is exhausting.  A rest is required.
Still, Natasha likes to check back with her human, to make sure he is not exhausted, frightened, or endangered.
Then, her other human (Me!) calls from the other side of the fence.  Like Lassie racing to Timmie or Fury to Joey, Natasha flies across the yard (at a brisk trot) and leaps over that fence to join me.

Later, her adventure completed, and the yard marked safe from rodents, insects, and feathered beasts, Natasha settles down, exhausted, to a well-deserved rest in my hat.  So there really is a cat in the hat!

“Autumn Reflections 2024”

Autumn, Connecticut, Fall, Foliage, hiking, Nature, New England, William Cullen Bryant, , , , , , , ,

“Autumn Reflections 2024”

Well, we’ve had our first snowfall here in Massachusetts, so even the brown, greys, and maroons of late autumn are now sheeted o’re with white.  Still, it’s nice to recall the glories of September and October, isn’t it?  So, I thought you folks might enjoy an overview of some of the autumn travels Yang and I did to enjoy the lovely landscapes of autumnal New England.
Starting not far from home, Yang and I took a stroll along the board walk that takes you across wetlands and the Muddy River near the College of the Holy Cross.  We came across some beautiful colors, even as we noted how the drought had dried up much of the little river and the marsh.
We didn’t see any waterfowl, which was very unusual – not even any Mallards of Canada Geese.  No beavers were in view, either.  However, I did catch sight of this beauty and a chum galloping through the grass.  If you click on the photo, you can see her really well. You’ll notice that she looks as interested in me as I am in her!

 

Next stop on your Fall Tour is Montagu, Mass.  We went out there to sell some books at the Book Barn, have breakfast at Lady Killigrew’s, then take a stroll in the part of town nearby.  There were some absolutely beautiful colors to enjoy.

 

I love this picture of a New England farm.  It looks as if it had been painted in pastels.
Our bike ride  from Pittsfield to just above Adams, Mass. once more rewarded us with some exciting views of foliage.  There’s Yang, pedaling away from me through a tunnel of gold, tangerine, and green.
Here’s a row of scarlet and gold flanking the trail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Across the lake from us the shore blazed red, gold, and orange.

 

 

 

 

And the scarlet of some of the maples was exhilaratingly vibrant.  Here’s a nice shot of Yang under one such tree.

We finally made it to one place I’d been wanting to visit for years:  The William Cullen Bryant Homestead.  Though I’m more of a specialist in British Lit, Bryant was always an American poet whom I especially liked.  I’m sorry that the house itself wasn’t open for viewing.  From the outside, you can see it’s spacious, gracious, and beautiful.
The view from the house is gorgeous, crossing a meadow to reveal the color-splashed trees beyond.

 

 

 

 

We had an enjoyable walk in the woods near the house, still part of the homestead.  Here, autumn provides a tunnel of  dreamy, misty color.

 

 

 

Yang challenged me to be able to photograph the fascinating swirls of moss decorating the rough New England boulder layered with marble and blanketed with brown, crisped leaves.  I guess I showed him!

One of my favorite sights was this old tree with a gaping maw.

I just had to get a close up of said maw.  Really, isn’t it perfectly Lovecraftian? Do you see those jagged teeth on the upper part?

Finally, there’s one of my old favorites, Stafford.  Here are some of the traditional views.
Across the pond.

 

 

 

 

My Favorite Victorian House.  Couldn’t I really decorate that one swell for Halloween!

 

 

 

 

But some of the shots of foliage and sky thrill me even more.  I love the way the azure sky serves as a perfect complement to the golds, yellows, and orange flames of the autumn leaves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to sit down and rest.  All this traveling and photographing has me exhausted!

Fare Thee Well, Winter Birds

Dunlin, egret, Eider ducks, Gold Crowned Kinglet, Halibut Point, herons, Horned Lark, Long Tail Duck, Loon, massachusetts, Nature, Sanderling, Swans, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , ,
Well, this title isn’t entirely accurate.  Many of the winter birds are still hanging out, as is the cold weather.  Still, I thought I’d better post on some of our winter visitors before the air conditioners snap on and the Baltimore Orioles start sipping mimosas and fanning themselves.  The first visit I want to mention was a local one:  the Swedish Cemetery in Worcester.  Here, we had the great pleasure of snapping some shots of Gold Crowned Kinglets.  These cuties are awfully fast, so Yang actually managed to end up with a few shots of a tree where the bird had been a millisecond before.  Nevertheless, he did get some nice photos, as you see.  Some were even “action” shots like the one below!

In January, we also made it to Gooseberry Island, one of our favorite spots.  Though, for the first time, we missed out on the Long-tailed ducks there, we did sight lots of other feathered pals.  We caught some Eiders on film.  There was a male, a female, and an immature male.  Note the immature male at the the top, right,  acting like a typical teenager – not wanting to be seen with his parents.

We also some adorable shore birds.  The Dunlins were real cuties.

 

 

 

 

 

And the Sanderlings were no slouches, either!

 

 

 

 

 

 

We had to go to Halibut Point to see the Long-Tails and Harlequin Ducks.

 

 

 

 

 

We also made to the Chestnut Hill Reservoir, where we saw many a different waterfowl.  The Coots were in abundance – and they loved to hang out with the Swans.

 

 

 

We also got some closeups of these plump guys.  Their heads are black, their bodies are grey, they have a white streak over their beaks, and they have huge, lobed, yellow feet.  We couldn’t get a good shot of their feet because they were in the water.  Still, we did get some nice close ups of these guys.  They are still at the the Reservoir now, along with tons of Ringed-Neck Ducks.  The Ruddy Ducks have also re-appeared – but that’s a set of pictures for another blog.  For now, enjoy these rotund cuties.  By the way, they also love Horn Pond in Woburn – the forthcoming subject of another blog.

Their bodies may be plump and take-off may be skittery, but the coot can fly!

 

Last report is on our visit to Meig’s Point in Connecticut in February.  A week or so before, we’d gone there on an unseasonably warm Saturday – and, unfortunately, everyone else had the same idea.  There were tons of people but hardly a bird to be seen.  That was sad for Yang, because this was the place we always saw one of his favorites, the Horned Larks.  So, we went back on a colder weekday a week or two later and guess what we saw?

We got to see a whole flock!  We were so careful to approach them quietly, because these guys are very shy.  The the flock will fly off in a winged shape, much like the Snow Buntings that we saw on Deer Island.  It’s so neat to see that sweep of black feathers giving them a “horned” appearance, with that splash of chartreuse on their faces.  As you can see, it’s hard to pick them out with the way their brown feathers blend them in with the winter seared grass.  If you click on the photo, you’ll get a better look.

We didn’t just see the larks, though.  I wasn’t able to get a picture, but I did see a female Ruby-Crowned Kinglet close up.  We were  sighted lots of Loons (the avian not the human kind) swimming along the shore, like this chap.  At one point, we even saw three seals sunning themselves out in the bay.  Sorry, they were too far to photograph.  Here’s one of the many Golden Eyes we saw, along with tons of Surf and Black Scoters.  We also had the pleasure of watching a conference between a Great Blue Heron and a Great Egret that, fortunately, ended without bloodshed.

 

 

So, winter may be past, or passing, but we did get some nifty bird sightings in!

 

 

Deer Island Jaunt!

birds, Deer Island, Ducks, Eider ducks, Great Scaup, hiking, massachusetts, Nature, New England, Snow Bunting, winter, , , , , , , , , ,
One of the FB birding groups to which I belong mentioned the presence of snow Buntings on Deer Island.  These cute guys were birds that I had never seen close up, but I’d always wanted to.  So, Yang and I took a jaunt out one weekday early afternoon and had quite a treat on our long walk around the island.  It’s about a 2 1/2 mile circular trail around the island on a paved path, so the going is easy.  It was a gorgeous day – and the views matched the weather.

There are some wonderful views of
Boston Harbor. You can also see that I have this really neat white hat on, given me for Christmas by my good friend Kathy Pender Phaneuf.  This hat has kept my noggin warm on many a seaside trek to scope out the water fowl.  Thank you, Kathy – and dig these views!

 

 

On the far side of the island:

 

 

 

 

There was, indeed, quite a bit to view in the fine-feathered-friend department.  I got to see my Snow Buntings!  You should click on the images to get a really good look at these guys.

 

 

I first heard them somewhere on the beach, but couldn’t see them.  I walked along the wall next to the trail, looking at the ground to watch my step, when all of a sudden, Yang called, “Stop!  Look in front of you!” There they were – and what fun they were to watch.  If you creep up very slowly and quietly, you can get a good look at them, but you have to be careful.  These birds are extremely timid and spook easily.  Then the flock is in the air, flying in precision formation, but often circling back  nearly to where they started.  When they fly, you can see white and black chevrons on their wings that are beautiful!

 

 

 

Here are a few closeups.  I love that gorgeous white on their tummies.

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were even more birds IN the water than out of it!  We had been to the Cape looking for Eider Ducks recently, but hadn’t seen many.  Now we know where to find them – along with Scoters of all kinds, Scaups, Buffleheads – you name it!

 

 

Here are some close ups of the Scaups, and it looks like a female Bufflehead.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There were lots of Eider Ducks.  We got a special kick out of this lady who was have a fine time for herself out of the water on her own personal rock – with a special guest shot by a Scaup.

 

 

 

 

Then, she has to get down with her bad self in this next picture.

We did see  and hear some Song Sparrows. I wonder if in the spring some interesting song birds will return to sing in the brush or atop this Celtic Cross?

November December Flora and Feathered Fauna

Autumn, birds, cardinal bird, chickadee, Downy Woodpecker, Goldfinch, goldfinches, Hairy Woodpecker, massachusetts, New England, nuthatch, , , , , , , , , , ,
Even as November eased into December, Yang and I have still enjoyed the creatures and plantation around the Yang Manse.  Would you believe that we still had morning glories toward the middle of November?  Gallantly battling colder, shorter, darker days, these Heavenly Blues waited until the last gasps of autumn to bloom.  Their beauty shown through the dying colors of the late season. They even provided a lovely contrast to the last of autumn’s orange and rust foliage.

Though we had an extremely poor crop of pumpkins and gourds (three fertilized, two surviving long enough to be picked), we did still manage to grow some of the plants to maturity.  Here, is one gourd that started out lovely, but succumbed to cold, too much dampness, and the onslaught of slugs.  You can see how pretty it was before Mother nature went wild on it.

 

In a happier vein, though, how about a look at the survivors?  This gourd that did make it was a surprise fertilization, which we found peeping under some leaves.  Here it is shortly after discovery.  We try to put a rock or plate under the growing gourds and pumpkins to keep the damp ground from rotting them.

 

 

And here is the same gourd all grown up.  Sadly, because it was fertilized, late it never grew very much and then spoiled after only about six weeks.  It was pretty while it lasted!

 

 

We also managed to get one pumpkin!  It was fertilized during a short break in the rain for a week or so of sunshine and hot weather.  Here’s our pumpkin a beautiful dark green as it grows slowly but surely, out facing damp and ravenous slugs!

 

 

It may not be the biggest pumpkin we’ve ever grown, but like Reba Mcentire, it can sing, “I’m a survivor” – if pumpkins can sing. Now the pumpkin resides in state in the picture window on the sun porch, where we can enjoy viewing it as we watch the birds chowing down at our feeders.

 

And speaking of birds chowing down on our feeders, we’ve got plenty of the little feathered guys to watch!  We have the usual suspects: Mourning Doves, Blue Jays, Cardinals,  Chickadees, Red Bellied Woodpeckers, Titmice, Downy Woodpeckers, and Nuthatches, for example.

 

 

But there are also returning old friends, as well.  The harbingers of winter, the Slate Colored Juncos, are back.  At first, they did their typical feeding off the ground, but now they are returning to old habits of taking lunch at the feeding bar.  It just takes them a little while to remember that they can do that. I love to see them flying away, making the sound of castanets and flashing the white stripes on the fan of their tails.

 

Who else should make a return engagement after a short absence, but the Goldfinches!  As summer ended, these guys disappeared from my feeders for several weeks.  Then, suddenly, they all returned in November, wearing their olive winter coats. They also like to chow down with the other birds, so I have some neat shots of them with their pals, though woe betide the bird who tries to chase one of these aggressive little olive-garbed guys away!  I love this picture with two Goldfinches and a Titmouse (on the right)doing acrobatics.

Here’s another one of the Goldfinch with a Nuthatch.  Isn’t the Nuthatch in picture #1 adorable, just peeking around the corner of the feeder? Don’t you love the gorgeous blue/grey of the Nuthatch’s cloak, more visible in picture #2?

 

 

 

 

 

 

As you can see here, the Goldfinches don’t seem to have trouble getting along with either the Hairy (photo #1) or the Downy Woodpeckers (Photo #2).

 

 

 

 

 

 

In fact, this summer and fall, I don’t think I’ve seen so many  Hairy Woodpeckers on my feeders.  They certainly do seem to look like Downies on steroids.  Here are some nice shots I got of the female  Hairy.  You can tell the difference because the only the male has a red spot on the back of his head – like in the case of the Downies.

So, I’ll just end with a shot of a Titmouse and a Goldfinch snacking away.

Until the Titmouse turns to me with a definite, “Who you lookin’ at, human!” expression.

 

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!

 

 

 

 

The Secret Place of Fall Foliage

Autumn, CT, Fall, Foliage, Nature, New England, , , , ,
Every season, Yang and I try take a hike at what we call “The Secret Place.”  It’s really not so very secret, since we usually run into a few hikers or kayakers there.  Still, it feels secret to us.  Anyway, we made our fall visit a couple of weeks back, hoping to see some beautiful foliage and do a little birding.  We’ve seen quite a few warblers, aquatic fowl, and even eagles over the years here.  You can see Yang is well prepared with his fancy-schmanzy camera.

 

After our breakfast of bagels and good pumpkin spice coffee (invented by George Crabtree in the early 20th century), we drove over to our destination.  The colors looked promising, as you can see from the tunnel of trees extending before us.

 

 

Though the Secret Place may not have been at it’s peak, we found all kinds of beautiful colors.

Reds

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oranges

 

 

 

 

A beautiful mixture

I especially love how the colors hug the shore and complement the pale blue waters of the reservoir and sky.

 

 

 

 

 

Aren’t these berries cool, as well. Perfect autumn decor?!

 

However, with the recent rains, the reservoir had flooded over part the abandoned asphalt road that is the trail. So  we couldn’t take the direct route to the dam at the end of the trail. Gorgeous colors, though, right?

Yang and I were not daunted.  We knew of a dirt trail in the woods that would circle around the flooded road and, with luck, bring us to an unflooded portion of the road by the dam.  En route, we came across this wonderfully haunted looking dead tree.

 

 

 

 

The trail looped through the woods and lo and behold! Dry asphalt and the bridge where we would usually  chill to watch turtles in the summer and water fowl or raptors most of the year!

Unfortunately, we didn’t see any warblers (out of season), raptors, Whimbrels, Yellow Legs, fancy ducks, or even Cormorants.  We did see a couple of Mallards and a gull or two.  We even heard a Kingfisher, but couldn’t catch sight of that proud, crested avian dive-bomber. I did get a nice shot of Yang amidst all the autumn color, though.

So, I hope that you can enjoy your own “secret places” in their fall glory.  If you can’t get out, maybe you can share in  mine.  I’ll leave you with this scarlet beauty below.

Adieu, Summer, Adieu

birds, frog, gardens, Goldfinch, goldfinches, Nature, New England, Red bellied Woodpecker, Redbellied Woodpecker, rosebreasted grosbeak, summer, wood peckers, , , , , , , , , ,
I had planned to do this farewell -to- summer blog much earlier, but since the heat and humidity of the first couple of weeks of September seemed to embody summer hanging on by the claws, I figured I’d better wait.  So, now that crisp fall breezes, pellucid blue skies, and incipient flares of leaf color are taking over, I guess it’s time.

June started us off nicely.  I filled our window boxes and other planters with bright colors that “flowered,” if you will, abundantly.

 

The mound beside the fish pond had gorgeous Irises and Marigolds, beautifully complementing blue with light orange.

 

 

 

 

We had some nice fancy Irises in the front yard, as well.  Interestingly, we did not have as many blooms as usual.  Perhaps the May frost nipped a few?

 

 

 

 

 

The sea-rose bushes in the back yard climbing up the slope had tons of gorgeous pink blossoms.  Here’s a shy little bee hiding among the petals.

 

 

 

July was fun for beasts, birds, and flower.  One morning when I went to rinse out the cat-food cans before putting them in the recyclables, I found this fellow chilling in a bucket that had filled with water.  For a few days, this was his private pool, with the high grass surrounding making up his stomping, rather, hopping grounds.  Yang was careful not to mow around where the frog hung out.

 

 

Yang put up a new bird feeder that is sheltered by a globe cage.  The little birds loved it!  Here you can see the Goldfinches mobbing the feeder.  I think that sparrow must have worn a yellow feather to sneak in.  Of course if you’re a larger bird and a Redbellied Woodpecker, you can still grab a snack.  If you click on the photo and look carefully, you can see our friend Red using his looong woodpecker’s tongue to grab some food.

 

A Rosebreasted Grosbeak was just able to sneak in there, himself – though he and the Orioles faded away unusually early, in later July.

 

The butterfly bush near the house attracted quite a crew.  Here, you can see one of the several Tiger Swallow Tails who daily dined on the shrub.  We also got some hummingbirds, Wolf Moths, and Bees dropping by for a nectar treat.

 

Usually, our rose from China only gives us one bloom, but this year it gave us two at the same time.  Neat, huh?

 

 

August brought us continued Goldfinch mobbing, and the flowers began to fade a bit.  We had lots of Morning Glories, which I forgot to photograph!  This year, we had orchid, magenta, purple, pink, blue, blue/white, and the white moon flowers.

 

I did remember to photograph the Ghost Pipes that sprang up!  I remembered we had them once before during a rainy summer years back. Consequently, I predicted we might see more this year.  Boy, was I right!  I’ve never had so many!

 

So, on to Autumn! 

Backyard Birdwatching Is the Best!

birds, cardinal bird, catbirds, chickadee, Goldfinch, goldfinches, Indigo Bunting, Redbellied Woodpecker, rosebreasted grosbeak, rosebrested grosbeak, spring, summer, , , , , , , , , ,
As you may have extrapolated from many of my posts, Yang and I are great bird watchers.  We’ve traveled all over the Northeast (and to Canada, China, England, and France in the past) to sight all kinds of befeathered critters.  My count for species this year is now a whopping 93!  However, I can’t help agreeing with him that we often see a greater numbers of birds and species on our bird feeders thnt we do on our trips to woods, fields, rivers, and oceans!  Maybe this blog will lead you to agree.

Many of our regular spring and summer visitors have made their appearances here.  I can report that I’ve seen one Hummingbird, lots of Goldfinches and House Finches, Red-winged Blackbirds (male and female), and Cardinals by the score.  Our Chickadees and Titmice have briefly been on haiatus, brooding their babes, but they are now back at work snagging black-oil sunflower seeds.  It’s also so much fun to see Mommy and Daddy (mostly Daddy) Cardinals bringing their kids to the feeders now that the little tykes can fly.  Unfortunately, I don’t have any pictures of these guys, but I do have quite a few of some of my other feathered favorites.

One of my favorite species are the Rosebreasted Grosbeaks.  Usually, we get the females first, then the males; however, it was the opposite this year.  We had at least one male, finally, on a feeder.  Then, tragedy struck:  we found him dead on the ground under a tree.  Yang and I were heartbroken.  These guys were like our pals.  Still, our hearts mended a bit two week later when we found another male chomping on sunflower seeds.  Then we saw a female.  Then we saw two males at the same time!  There could be up to thirty males on that feeder as long as they didn’t all show up together!  By the way, the males are quite aggressive.  They don’t take guff from each other and not from Grackles, Blue Jays, or Mourning Doves.  The females can be tough cookies as well.  Anyway, I’m glad they are back.  Below is a shot of the males in a more pacific mod. I guess they can stand each other when multiple  tubes of seeds separate them.

 

Another of our beloved colorful visitors is the Baltimore Oriole.  After long waiting, we saw one toward the end of May, then nothing!  Many an orange might have withered away if not for other birds. So, we almost gave up hope of seeing another Oriole – until in the middle of June Orioles reappeared!  We saw a male several days in a row, then a female for a couple of days, then a week later:  a juvenile.  It’s been a couple of weeks and – nothing!  Of course, who knows what shows up when Yang and I are away, but we haven’t seen any Orioles since.  I guess this was just a stopover on their way to their real summer grounds.  Well, at least we saw a few of them!  And the oranges did not go to waste.

We have discovered that Catbirds adore orange pulp!  When there’s no suet to be had (and even when there is!) our catbird couple come by to snack on the orange halves we have set out.  They must keep up their strength, since they have a nest with babies on our property.

Mr. Redbellied Woodpecker thinks the oranges are pretty cool stuff, too.  You can see him having a grand time chowing down on pulp.  Maybe the Orioles are afraid to go for the oranges with these guys around!

One idea that Yang came up with to thwart the squirrels from stealing food from the birds (and breaking our feeders) was to buy a tube feeder inside a globed cage.  It also had the advantage of preventing the big bully birds like Grackles, Doves, and Jays from keeping the little birds from food.  it works. Of course, medium size birds like the Rosebreasted Grosbeak and the female Redwinged Blackbirds can get in, without being bullies.  Tough luck male Red Wings!  Birds with long beaks also have a shot – like the Redbellied Woodpecker.  The House finches try to out-aggress the Goldfinches, but the latter either hold their own or just wait and dive in when the coast is clear.  Titmice and Chickadees are too fast for anyone to harass them!

 

 

 

So, you can see, we’ve seen a healthy variety of avian visitors right outside out windows.  Bring on the Scarlet Tanagers, the Pileated Woodpeckers, and the Indigo Buntings!  It wouldn’t be the first time one of them has shown up at chez Yang.

 

 

Spring Excursions

Blue Winged Warbler, Bluff Point, Connecticut, CT, ducklings, Ducks, Greater Yellow Legs, Green Heron, massachusetts, Nature, New England, snapping turtle, , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Well, you haven’t seen any blogs in a while because this spring has been so busy.  Yang and I have had more than a few excursions, so I have plenty to report.  Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of pictures because we were too busy enjoying the wonderful scenery or sighting extraordinary critters.  So, let’s get started.  To get a really good look at the photos, be sure to click on them.

While I was busy educating myself on Medieval and Renaissance literature, history, philosophy, and culture at the Keene State College Medieval and Renaissance forum, Yang was chugging up Mt. Monadnock.  This was an extraordinary day with the temperature surging to 85 degrees. Still, you can hear the wind whipping through the trees in this video. 

Nevertheless, Yang almost made it to the top of the mountain.   As you can see from these photos, the view was gorgeous. However, this is my favorite shot.

 

Later on, we were off on our bicycles and checked out the extension of the Fairhaven trail to Mattapoisett, MA.  The day was warm and sunny.   We were lucky enough to catch some sightings of neat shore birds.  We saw this Greater Yellowlegs.  You can’t actually see how yellow his legs are because he’s in pretty deep water.  These birds are tall.  This spring, we’ve also seen these guys in Connecticut and in western Mass.  They love the shore on a lake or the ocean.

We also saw a Great Egret.  Sorry, no picture.  But his legs and feet are something:  long black gams finished with big lumpy bright yellow tootsies!  Like clown shoes!  We do have several pictures of a particularly gorgeous bird:  Green Heron.  His colors  are gorgeous – green/blue crest and back, chesnut neck, white stripes from his eyes to the back of his head, splashes of white  dripping down a beautiful chestnut front.

 

 

 

 

Bluff Point is near Mystic in Connecticut.  So, after a nifty lunch of croissant sandwiches and (for me) coffee latte, we drove over for a new walk.  You start out along the shore, on the edge of the woods, then the trail can lead you into the woods where Carolina Wrens call out to you and songbirds tease you.  One trail veers back toward the shore where  you can walk or swim (not when we went, though!), then along a rise that becomes the point at the end of a peninsula.  Lots of water birds like Cormorants sport in the waves, while I saw three Guillemots fly past, which Yang missed because he was looking out to sea with his binoculars.  Bluff Point is beautiful place for a hike and even a picnic.

 

 

 

 

We made it to the trail we call “The Secret Place,” even though it’s not so very secret since we usually see at least one person walking there – and that day we saw a few kayaks on the reservoir.  Anyway, I’ve blogged on this spot before:  click here.  On this Sunday, after bagels at the best bagels I know, Bagel Time, we saw some cool birds.  Here’s a shot of a Golden Crowned Kinglet.  These guys are so high up, it’s hard to get a really good picture.  Last year, we saw Ruby Crowned Kinglets like nobody’s business, but no Golden Crowneds.  So, yay!  we finally got to see the Golden Crowned.  We also saw one of Yang’s favorites, the Eastern Kingbird. Thank goodness these guys LOVE to sit on top of dead trees and stand out against the sky.  They are extremely bold and vocal.  You can see from his ‘tude, how he got the “King” in his name.  Yang also got this great shot of the Kingbord soaring through the blue, below.

And wouldn’t you know, here’s another Yellowlegs.  I’m not sure if it’s the Greater of the Lesser, but it’s definitely a Yellowlegs. To get a really good look, be sure to click on the photo.

We also saw a Mamma Mallard with her ducklings.  At one point, the kids swam into and around the Yellowlegs.  He was all, “What in Sam Hill?!”  But he kept on trucking in his direction and the kids kept trucking in their own. We saw Pappa Mallard fly off squawking, leaving Mom alone with the kids – and on Mother’s Day, too!

Finally, we did sight an extraordinary  first-ever bird for both of us:  a Blue-Winged Warbler.  Of course, we were unable to get a good shot of him, so I’ll include a professional photo of one.  this guy was a brilliant yellow, almost with a hint of orange; his wings were a blue-grey.  His color reminded me of the yellow warbler.  It was cool to hear him serenade us whole heartedly from atop a towering Maple. This photo perfectly captures exactly how he looked as he sang.  Click here for more info on this bird from the Cornell Lab “All About Birds,” also the source of this image

 

Finally, here’s a tale of Yang’s heroism.  We were walking on the Blackstone River Trail in Worcester, when from our vantage point on a bridge, Yang spotted a Gamera-sized snapping turtle flailing away on its back.  Yang’s first thought was to flip the turtle.  My first thought was for him not to have any limbs snapped off.  He figured on getting a a branch to use as a lever.  I figured to tell him to make sure the branch was thick and looong.  He managed to get down to the river bank, and it took him three thick long branches (because two of them snapped under 100lbs. of turtle), but he did it.  So enjoy the shots of the turtle he rescued.

 

So, that’s all for now – and I haven’t even reported on everything!