Hoodies At Beaver Pond On Perfect Fall Day

There couldn't have been a better day to take a hike out to a secluded beaver pond than today. It was sunny with no wind but the air had just the right amount of chill to remind you that it was fall. The fact that it was Halloween added a little seasoning to the season. 
I didn't have high expectations as to what birds I might encounter deep in the woods this time of year. There was brown Creeper and a couple of hawks but my first sighting of Hooded Mergansers this fall was icing on the cake!They can be entertaining to watch but their coloring, behaviors, and markings make them one of my favorite ducks to watch!

What's Better About Organic Bananas?

I've been curious about organic foods for many years. I am selective about which organic products to buy. Sometimes they are too expensive for my tastes or they don't look as appealing as the non-organic choices. I never bothered with organic bananas because I figured the thick skin covering would protect the fruit from pesticides. That was until this year when I started to make bananas a regular part of my breakfast, using them to sweeten my oatmeal.

I noticed that whenever I bought non-organic bananas they would ripen too quickly and end up mushy before I got through the bunch. I learned that they put a ripening agent on the non-organic bananas which speeds up the ripening process and causes the fruit to become too soft for my taste.  

The organic ones ripened more slowly and the fruit stayed firm even after they ripened. Since the organic variety is only 10 cents more a pound I am switching to the organic bananas permanently.

The Wolf Versus The Fisherman-Who Wins?

I believe this a Wolf Spider. They like to hide indoors in damp places as the weather gets cooler. They are intimidating to look at but aren't particularly aggressive or dangerous to humans. They have venom they use on their prey which would cause only minor pain or irritation if a person was bitten by one. They are cannibalistic and a female spider can carry as many as 100 spiderlings on her back after they are hatched. That is probably the scariest thing about them. One spider sneaking around catching insects isn't a big deal but 100 of these guys running around sounds like a Halloween nightmare! 

This is a fishing spider. They are not a threat to humans either but I can tell you when I found this giant near the stream it was intimidating to look at. Not so much that I didn't want to get closer to get a photo of though. 

This spider was much bigger than the Wolf Spider I found. I decided to ask google if a fishing spider took on a wolf spider, who would win? The answer was that the smaller wolf spider would win that battle, unless the battle took place in the water where the fishing spider would have the advantage. Why did I need to know this? For know other reason other than I knew that I would get an answer if I googled it.  (Even though these spiders aren't dangerous to humans, don't play with them. They might bite if you try petting them!)

These American Golden Plover Get Around!

The American Golden Plover are uncommon in Connecticut but can be found in the right place at the right time. Rocky Hill Meadows in September is once such time and place. 

They are a touch smaller than Black-bellied Plover and prefer agricultural fields over mudflats. What I really found interesting is that they breed in the Arctic tundra, winter in South America, spend time staging in large numbers in places like Illinois, and somehow end up in Patagonia. They have one of the longest migratory routes at 25,000 miles including a non-stop flight of 2,400 miles over open ocean. 

I was a just happy to get a picture of one as I've seen them a couple of times but never had a photo to go with it.