10 Photo Moments In The Month Of April

1)Let's Start From The Top: This is a view from the top of Great Hill which one of my favorite hiking destinations in the area. It only takes about 20 minutes to get to the top. In the distance is a view of the Connecticut River. It's a good place to see Black Vultures, Turkey Vultures, Common Ravens and a few migrants during the spring.

2) Eagle To Please: I've seen lots of Bald Eagles in the area during April. This young eagle let me get a little closer than I'm usually able to.

3) More Mockingbirds Than I Can Shake A Stick At: I have been seeing a lot of mockingbirds lately and they have been singing their hearts out. I heard one imitate a Scarlet Tanager pachang call the other day. I wondered if that means it was near a tanager recently or if they carry over songs from the year before. I also saw a mockingbird chase a after a robin who dared to steal fruit from the mockingbird's berry bush-fun to watch.!

4) Stick to peanut butter: I really wasn't all that interested in trying to find out how many mockingbirds I could shake a stick at so I came up with another plan. I tried to set up some perches near my feeders to see if a bird would land on it so I could get a close-up photo. As an added incentive for the birds, I smeared a little peanut butter on the branch. One titmouse did land on it but I wasn't quick enough to snap the shot. It's a good idea but I need to work on perfecting this plan so I'm not stuck with a bunch of peanut butter photos.

5) 100+ Great Blue Heron Nests In The Middle Of Somewhere: There is a fantastic heronry in the area that has well over 100 nests. On the dreary day that this photo was taken, I counted 30+ Great Blue Herons on or near the nests. The nests are spread across an island surrounded by water with trees screening the view which makes it difficult to get a photo showing all the nests. I'd probably have to be in a boat or a hot air balloon. I wanted to go back to try for a better photo but then came #(5 on my list.

6)The Annual Flood Of Route 17 In Portland: The Connecticut River starts way up in New Hampshire near the Canadian Border. Every year when the snow and ice melt in the states north of us, the river floods in Portland. This is a view from one end. If you live in Canada please don't run your garden hose this month!

7) The view from the other end: This is a view of the same road from the other end about a mile away. People try to drive through it almost every year-not a good idea. I was hoping that some ducks would wander over towards my truck but no luck.

8) What Do You Call These? I've found this giant fungus growing on a tree at the Abe Temkin Preserve. I've seen them before but don't know what it's called.

9) Close Encounter With Campephilus Giganticus: Legend has it that there is a giant woodpecker living in the state forest here in Portland. It is rumoured to be 36" in length from head to tail. They are very playful woodpeckers and love to chisel down trees when they have nothing better to do. Of course, there is a remote possibility that a beaver may have done this.

10) Three species of warblers so far: I've seen three species of warbler so far this month. First I saw a Pine Warbler, then I saw a Palm Warbler, and last weekend I saw a Louisianna Waterthrush. I didn't capture photos of any of them so I just used this old photo of a Palm Warbler.

That is a brief update of what I've been up to. I'm hoping to get a little camping in this weekend but the weather forecast does not look promising. Have you seen any warblers or other migrants in your area this month?