Close Encounters Of The Green Kind

I've been taking advantage of the viewing platform at the Helen Carlson Bog this month. It is an excellent place to view Green Herons. Green Herons are only about the size of a crow. They are migratory, so it is rare to see one in Connecticut during the winter months. It's interesting to watch them when they're on the hunt. Their movements remind me of a cat sneaking up on its prey. 

The platform gives you a wide open view of the bog so a scope comes in really handy here.

Sometimes with a little patience, the herons will surprise you by landing on nearby branch. They raise their crest when excited. This is thought to be used as a threat by making them appear larger.

 I found lots of interesting information about heron behavior at this link: heron behavior terminology written by James A. Kushlan.

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 This YouTube video shows a Green Heron using bread as a tool to entice fish into its striking range. I thought the play-by-play commentary was amusing.

Searching For Lazy Summer Birds

Now that the hot weather has arrived, I'm taking a much more casual approach to birding. Instead of putting in a lot of effort to finding birds, I'm content with the birds that seem to find me. The Turkey Vulture in the photo was stretching his wings early one morning near aircraft road in Middletown. They do this to regulate body temperature, dry their wings, and to bake off little critters. They probably think they look cool doing it too.

I spent too much time trying to get a decent photo of a Prairie Warbler up at the power lines in Portland. I finally managed to catch one out in the open, although it wasn't very close. As I was concentrating on taking this photo, two Ruffed Grouse crossed the path right in front of me!

  During a recent early-morning visit to the Maromas area of Middletown, I found a young family of Wood Ducks playing follow the leader.

There was no need to track the deer as the deer were on the tracks.

I've come to like snakes since I started using a camera because snakes stay still when you're taking there picture. I think this is a water snake.

The Great Blue Herons start leaving their nests in our area during July.There are more of them around and they seem easier to approach. I found this one near Wethersfield Cove.

This was one of about 20 hanging around the Portland Fairgrounds early one morning.

I've also been making short trips out to local areas during the evening. The Helen Carlson Bog in Portland is a great place to find Green Herons this time of the year.

This Cedar Waxwing seems to be yawning as it must be close to bedtime.

    I'm sure I'll become more adventurous before the summer ends t but for now, I'm satisfied with sitting by a pond watching the Mallards stare back at me.

Seeing A Familiar Place In A New Light

The Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary is owned by the Mattabeseck Audubon Society and has been opened to the public since the 1970's. I walked along the edge of the trail Saturday morning and found that it was loaded with frogs. The sound of their splashing, dunking and diving provided an exotic percussion which was accompanied by the sound of a Carolina Wren trumpeting its lively song in the background. I encountered a few other interesting birds during my walk including a Wood Thrush and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher. Frogs were jumping across my path during my walk but I barely got a look at them before they would disappear from view. I finally had an eye level view of one with its head peeking out of the water. I found it unusual that not one mosquito landed on me all day. Where did they all go?

The Helen Carlson Sanctuary is a wonderful place but I've never found it particularly appealing as a birding spot. It has a trail with a boardwalk but part of the boardwalk is flooded over. A lot of times I will pull off on the side of the road when I'm on my way from point A to point B and give the bog a quick scan to see what's around. I'll usually see a few ducks or geese, Red-winged Blackbirds, lots of vegetation, and a handful of familiar birds. The viewing platform they built a couple of years ago is impressive but what is there to view? I soon found out the answer to that question. A scope can provide a wonderful view of birds but I've never enjoyed lugging them around. How appetizing would a buffet be If you had to drag your table and chair with you as you filled your plate with food? When I reached the top level of the platform there were two chairs available. It was such a nice change to be able to sit down in comfort and do a thorough search of the area. The first birds that caught my attention were a pair of Eastern Kingbirds. They were were landed on various perches near the center of the bog. It presented me with a great opportunity to sketch because they stayed at each location for a good length of time before moving to the next location. During the day Red-tailed Hawks soared over head and Red-shouldered Hawks called out from deep in the forest. I found these feathers on the ground and by the size and color I'm taking a guess that they're Wild Turkey feathers.

The next time I go, I'll be sure to bring a butterfly field guide. because there were many. The ones I recognized were Monarch, Viceroy, and one of the brushfoots-not sure which one. At first, this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail was showing its underside...

... but eventually showed its true colors. The butterflies all seemed to be attracted to this plant. Do you know what kind it is? Hopefully, I'm not admiring another invasive plant. I seem to have a talent for that.

The best viewing from the platform came in the late afternoon when the sun was to my back and the viewing area was lit up with the golden glow of summer. I could see bird movement in the tree tops along the shoreline. I probably wouldn't have been able to see these birds if I was directly under them but the view through my scope from the platform was awesome! Here is a brief description of some of the birds I heard or saw:

• As the sun started to move close to the horizon, two Green Herons emerged from a hidden area within the bog and landed in tree close to the shore. They announced there presence with squawks so loud that it overpowered all other noise in the area (photo from 09). It seems they are attracted to places that have a lot of frogs.


• I heard the sound pa-chang call of a Scarlet Tanager but was unable to locate it.


• Besides the Eastern Kingbirds there were also Eastern Phoebes, a Great-crested Flycatchers, and Eastern Wood Pewees in the area.


• I viewed a male Belted Kingfisher just as it left its branch and plunged into the water below.


• Great Blue Herons flew across the water and changed their perch locations from time to time.


• A flock of about a dozen Cedar Waxwings flew just over my head as they crossed the bog.


• dozens of Chimney Swifts appeared and entertained me with their odd flight patterns.


• I could see a Red-bellied Woodpecker as it attempted to remove a round, reddish object from a hollowed out area of a branch. After several attempts, the woodpecker was unable to pull the object out from the top so it finally pushed it upward from a hole on the underside of the branch. It could have been a very colorful acorn or some sort of fruit-hard to be sure but very interesting to watch.
  
• A singing Baltimore Oriole landed in the very top of a tree at the back edge of the bog. There was only enough sunlight left to illuminate the very top of the tree where the oriole was perched. The contrast of the brilliant orange and black of the oriole with the dark woods beneath created a breathtaking view. The scene was like a living diorama with built in lighting effects to illuminate the birds.
  

My weekend visit to the Helen Carlson Bog gave me a new appreciation of a place that I thought I already knew so well. I also discovered a more enjoyable way of using a scope for birdwatching. I'm looking forward to returning for some more late afternoon birdwatching and after the sun sets, maybe I'll even wait for the stars to come out.

click to play -Eastern Kingbird flies away from its perch.

Do We Watch Them Or Do They Watch Us?

For the last couple of weekends I've been taking walks at various locations along the Connecticut River. As to be expected this time of year, conditions have been hot, humid. I've tried to protect myself by staying covered head to toe and dousing myself with deet, but the dastardly little bloodsuckers still manage to get me. Sometimes when I'm walking, I run face first into spider webs. When this happens I quickly brush the webs off me fearing that a spider might have landed on me. I'm glad I didn't run into the spider in the photo. I was really impressed with its size and color patterns. From what I was told, this spider might be of the Argiope variety. If you know what kind of spider this is, please let me know. I've been surprised by the number of Green Herons I've seen near the Connecticut River since the beginning of August. The swampy areas near the river are rich in food sources for the herons. This photo of the heron in this tree was taken at George Dudley Seymour Park in East Hampton. It was making loud shracking sounds to warn a second heron on the opposite side of the swamp that I was approaching the area. This was a reminder that birds and wildlife watch us as much as we watch them. The difference being that they have to stay aware of their surroundings in order to survive. I do wonder if they sometimes watch us for no other reason than curiosity.

Do you think this truck would qualify for the "Cash For Clunkers program" ?

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I frequently walk a trail which passes through Wangunk Meadows in Portland. It's a good area for birding but is littered with abandoned cars and trash. Much of the land through this stretch is broken up into parcels belonging to multiple owners. Some small parcels of land have been purchased for conservation purposes but trying to buy more of this land for conservation is difficult because there are so many different land owners.

I've seen hundreds of frogs along the Wangunk meadow Trails this month. I believe many of them are Leopard Frogs. Since these herons have showed up, hundreds of frogs have become dozens of frogs. I wonder how many were eaten by the Green Herons and Blue Herons? Green Herons are one of the few species that make use of tools. They have been seen dangling bait on the surface of the water to attract prey.

Some of the notable birds I've been seeing at the meadows include Solitary Sandpipers (above), Bobolinks, 1 Worm-eating Warbler, 1 Northern Waterthrush, Common Yellowthroats, Yellow Warblers, 12 northern Flickers, 3 -Blue-winged Warblers, 3 Great Egrets, 3 Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, Great Blue Herons, 4 Wood Ducks, Willow Flycatcher, Great-crested Flycatcher, 4 -Eastern Phoebe, Eastern Wood-Pewee, and during one visit-20- Indigo Buntings.

I enjoyed watching this young Bald Eagle trying to pry some food (can't figure what it is) from this grassy area at the Portland Fairgrounds. When I'm watching birds like this eagle it sometimes occurs to me that we are not so different from the birds that we watch. We go about things differently but in the end we are both doing our best to survive.

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I enjoyed watching the way this young eagle hopped and lumbered around looking for food.