Anyway, it made me wonder what I was doing last Christmas so I checked my photos and found out that I went bird watching that day. That is the boardwalk at Lyman's golf course.I found a Great Blue Heron that morning on an icy little patch of a puddle that I could almost jump across. Then we had a stare down and I think the heron won!
A Connecticut native with an interest in birding shares his outdoor adventures
Friday, December 25, 2020
What Was I Doing Last Christmas?
Sunday, December 20, 2020
Christmas Count During Covid
The weather was just okay and the day was cut a little short due to additional snow showers.
Sunday, December 13, 2020
Return Of The Hooded And The Hoodless
One thing I look forward to during the approach of cold weather is the return of the mergansers to inland lakes and rivers. The Hooded Mergansers have a nice contrast of color and do like to dive.
The larger Common Merganser is a little less flashy and lack the hood but one thing they share with their smaller cousins is that they too, like to dive. Both of them add a visual warmth to an otherwise cold, dreary lake.
Friday, December 4, 2020
It's Not Rare-Just A Blue Jay
It kind of says something about the way humans think. Always appreciating what we can't have more than what is right in front of us.
Sunday, November 29, 2020
I Spent The Morning Admiring Rocks
Water tumbling down over rocks makes for nice scenery.
This giant caught my eye. It has a shape that and size that would make the perfect cabin for Fred Flintstone. They say a lot of boulders were carried along and dropped off at various locations during the ice age.
Seems likes something interesting and mysterious going on here.I had to wonder who put together these nice structures? Why did they do it? Do they have a purpose? It must have been a lot of work.
I remember there was an episode of an old science fiction show called the outer limits in which the rocks communicated with each other. I wonder if the writer of that episode ever spent time out in the woods looking at rocks?
Wednesday, November 18, 2020
There Is Beauty In The Starkness Of Winter
Although the neotropical migrants are nowhere to be found, winter birds stand out nicely on the bare branches. I am looking forward to the raw simplicity of the minimalist season until April comes knocking at the door again.
Saturday, October 31, 2020
October Came And Went In The Blink Of An Eye
Birds like this finch also showed their Fall colors.
This Yellow-rumped Warbler blended right in with the background except for a bright splash of yellow.
I love this time of the year but October came and went in the blink of an eye!
Sunday, October 11, 2020
Visualization & World's Smallest Dinosaur Park?
Sunday, September 27, 2020
Through The Fog And To The River We Go
The fog slowly dissipated as the sun peaked through and reflected off of a spider web.
Sunday, September 20, 2020
Birds Raise Questions Of God And Science
Friday, September 11, 2020
Birds Like A Gallunile Don't Come Along Often
I went out to preserved area that was mostly made up of overgrown habitat that was once the site of a Golf Course called Pistol Creek. There was a split pea soup looking pond not far from that site.
a Common Gallunile which is a lifer for me right in my own county. Those don't come along too often!
Monday, August 24, 2020
Paths Can Lead To Another World
This trail is a small section of what once supposed to be a trolley track. The tree-lined path leads you through woodland surrounded by marshy habitat.
Shortly after I entered the trail I noticed how quiet it became. I could hear dewdrops falling from the trees and the sound of fluttering wings as birds flew from one side to the other was so amplified that you would think it was being played through stereo speakers. The drone of insects buzzing combined with the sound of my own breathing made for a hypnotic effect. My senses became hypersensitive to every sight, sound, and smell. A pile of twisted cages still remains as evidence of its existence from years ago.
Sunday, August 16, 2020
Is Nature Too Slow Or Are We Too Impatient?
I was almost ready to leave but decided to stay a little longer to see if I could detect any shadows from the past. That was when two raccoons quietly emerged from the brush to look for food along the river bank.
Shortly after that a muskrat swam out to the middle of the river.
A flicker popped his head up from a broken tree trunk.
....and a kingfisher belted out a loud rattle as it landed on a dead branch.
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Non-Resident Parking Just $75!
So I looked around the area and found a crow. I didn't hear it but since I was down by the shore it may have been a fish crow.
There is no shortage of Osprey down at the shoreline.
I headed back to my home town where there was a Great Egret walking the shores of an old factory pond right off the main drag.
There were also Canada Geese which don't thrill most birders unless there is a huge flock from which to look for rarities. I thought they looked nice in the mid-day sun.
Maybe I should have stayed in town. At least the parking was free!