Observations From The Edge Of The Field

We've had our share of high heat and humidity over the last week with temperatures that reached triple digits on a couple of occasions. My goal this past weekend was to do some birdwatching while expending as little energy as possible. The way I went about it was to look for some birdworthy fields in the area and snap a few photos form the driver's side my truck window. For my first stop, I pulled right up to the edge of a field on Silvermine Road in Middletown. A female Red-winged Blackbird landed on top of a plant and started picking away at the seeds.

The male which had been skulking through the weeds along the ground finally made an appearance. I could see the glint in his eye as he contemplated his next move. What I find interesting is the blackbirds would be so focused on eating in the middle of the field and then in a matter of seconds , would form a big flock together in the top of a tree. Was it that they detected a predator in the area that went unnoticed by me, or was there some other reason for the sudden decision to call a group meeting?

I stopped at Haddam Meadows which is located along the Connecticut River and can be a decent place for birding at times. On this particular morning they were having a classic cars show. They seem to be very popular in Connecticut. They had the oldies playing to match the era of that the cars were from. It seems to be a fun way to bring back some memories of day gone by.

On the other side of the dirt road which leads into the meadows was a Great Blue Heron. Something tells me he was probably more interested in eating frogs than watching cars, but you never know.

I'm always interested in checking out areas of land that have been set aside for preservation. This photo was taken at the 33 acre Bamforth Wildlife Preserve in Haddam. it is being managed to promote bird habitat.

A wide grass path was mowed around the perimeter of the field that pleasant morning stroll. I saw a few interesting birds such as Barn Swallows, a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks, Indigo Buntings and Eastern Bluebirds. it was the Wild Turkeys that reigned supreme here though. There were several adults and some younger turkeys as well. They gave me a bit of start a few times as they would suddenly fly out of the tall grass and cross my path. Hopefully this field will be an attractive nesting place for some interesting birds in the future. I will be sure to check back here again in the fall to see if there are any interesting sparrows hanging around.

-

This lazy man's style of birding seemed to be the perfect fit for a hot summer morning.