I Was Camping & The Osprey Was Fishing

I Camped While The Osprey Caught Fish I decided to go ahead with my camping plans At American legion State Forest despite a forecast predicting rain for the entire day on Saturday. I passed time during the day by reading, eating, and listening to the radio while I waited for the heaviest rain to pass. At about 2pm the I began to get a bit stir crazy so I put some rain gear on and took a walk along the Farmington River. I encountered two Hermit Thrushes during my walk that seemed to be monitoring my presence. They were flying back and forth between the woods and a patch of vegetation at the edge of the river.

I heard a bird calling in the distance but I wasn't quite sure what it was. Suddenly, an Osprey flew by me and landed in a tree across the river. It had a large fish secured in its talons which flopped around as the Osprey proceeded to consume its meal.

It was unsettling to see this sign posted right where I was watching the Osprey. It was a reminder to fishermen about the importance of properly disposing of fishing line. This is an actual photo of an Osprey (photo by Hank Golet) that shows an Osprey which was found dead hanging from a nest in Old Lyme.The poster may have been creepy but it was an effective way to get a message across.

I like to keep my camping recipes quick and simple. This is apple-chicken sausage and a single-serving pack of vegetables sauteed in olive oil. The sausage is precooked and sealed in plastic so it's easy to keep fresh in the cooler. The meal took about 10 minutes to prepare. It was pretty good and fairly healthy too.

I awoke early the next morning and was happy to find that the rain had stopped. I was anxious to see what birds the day might bring. The light reflecting off of the rocks let me know that plenty of sunshine was coming my way.

The woods surrounding the campground consist mostly of tall pine trees. The area was alive with the sound of birds. Finding them was a challenge and photographing them was a lost cause for me. Some of the birds I saw or heard were: Pine Warbler, Palm Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Black-throated green Warblers, Black and White Warblers, Yellow-throated Vireos, Red-breasted & White-breasted Nuthatches, Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers, and Hermit Thrush. Common Mergansers would fly up the river, float back down, and then repeat the process. Belted Kingfishers rattled out there calls from select branches along the river. I could hear Pileated Woodpeckers off in the distance. Large oval holes chiseled into dead trees was another sign I was in their territory.

When I arrived home, My mother-in-law asked me what the unusual looking bird sitting on my lawn was? I was impressed that as a non-birder she noticed what turned out to be a pretty good bird to find in my yard. It was an Eastern Towhee welcoming me back home. 

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( I've been having a difficult time with blogger lately. There has been unwanted space between the photos and text that doesn't appear until I post it).-update-switching to new editor seems to have fixed the problem.