Towhees In The Mist

It rained most of last weekend but not enough to make me stay indoors. I took the blue trail into the Cockaponsett Forest from the Beaver Meadow Road entrance in Haddam. I'm not that familiar with this stretch of woods, although I did camp there once when I was about 12 or so. I saw the usual assortment of woodland birds including my first White-throated Sparrow since winter and a Brown Creeper, but the ones that interested me most on this particular morning were Eastern Towhees. There were at least two males and one female (seen above) that were making round trips from the edge of the woods to the tops of some barren bushes. These jumbo sized sparrows like to jump backwards as they scratch up leaves and dirt looking for food. I didn't hear them sing their signature Drink-Your-Tea song but they were continuously doing their Toe-weeee calls that are not considered to be uncommon in Connecticut, but I really don't see all that many of them. Cornell's All About Birds, their populations are declining throughout range, most severely in New England .

click to play

This video shows a female towhee preening her feathers shortly after the rain ended.

I saw several mushrooms during my hike including this one. Does anyone know what type of mushroom this is?

As you walk through Cockaponsett Forest, you will find remnants left behind by the Civilian Conservation Corps, a work relief program started by President Roosevelt, for young men from unemployed families. This forest was once home to three CCC camps. With the way the economy has been going lately, maybe they should start construction on a new camp!

The trail system was well-maintained; thanks to volunteers like these.

I came across this little salamander enjoying the rainy conditions. It was actually red, but it lit up like a neon sign when I used the flash.

I also visited Rocky Hill Meadows . This is a good place to go when it rains because you can drive around and watch birds through your car window. The American Golden-Plovers were still around, along with Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Stilt Sandpiper (neither of which was seen by me but were reported by others).

I did see quite a few American Pipits for the first time this Fall. This is a photo of an American Pipit that was taken in 2006. It is worth clicking on this photo to get the full view, which shows a surprising amount of detail. I took some more photos of pipits sitting in mud but the photos were very drab.

click to play

I will leave you with a short video of the American Golden-Plover ploving around in the grass.

-

"I'm looking over a Golden-Plover that I overlooked before. It's searching- for morsels- out in the rain... People driving past me -think I'm insane.." :)