Friday, October 15, 2010

Enjoying Fall From Sunrise To Moonrise

Every season has its strong points but if I had to pick a favorite season, I would choose Fall. I've been trying to make the most of the mornings by watching the sunrise while enjoying the first coffee of the day. The image caused by the reflective glare from the sun reminds me of an angel with outstretched arms.
I recently visited the Parmelee Farm off of route 81 in Killingworth. This house was built in 1847 and originally belonged to Horace and Eunice Parmelee. The town purchased the house and surrounding property in 2000.
I found the house by doing an Internet search for community gardens in the area after I was reminded by Luke, of Under Clear Skies, that community gardens can be a productive place to look for birds. There were several warblers in the community gardens at Parmelee Farm including several Palm Warblers and the female Common Yellowthroat seen in the photo above.
I discovered that there are several well- established trails throughout the property. I found a total of 5 Eastern Towhees along the trail including the male and female birds pictured above. Other interesting sightings included a close encounter with a Pileated Woodpecker, an Osprey circling above, and a Black and White Warbler.
I found this butterfly in the community garden which I believe to be a Silver-Spotted Skipper . It looks as though it could use a new pair of wings.
This spider seemed a little too close for comfort as it climbed up the sleeve of my jacket but I managed a quick photo before brushing it off. I found out that it is a Marbled Orb Weaver which as with most spiders, are not known to be aggressive or dangerous to people.
Many sparrows have been returning to Connecticut including the Dark-eyed Juncos. I'm still looking forward to seeing my first White-crowned and Fox Sparrows of the year.
I spent a few days in the Berkshires in Massachusetts. We caught some nice trout there but I didn't do much birdwatching. I was constantly hearing kinglets but rarely caught a glimpse of them. Mostly we just took in the scenery as we made stops along route 2 in the northwestern region of the state. At the end of the day we enjoyed a campfire and watched the moon rise above the horizon as it cast a reflective glow across South Pond. If only Fall could last a little longer.

15 comments:

Chris said...

Wow excellent Larry. I guess you really enjoyed these moments and thanks for sharling them with us!

Dan Huber said...

Great post and shots Larry. I just saw my first junco of the season too

Dawn Fine said...

Howdee Larry, Sounds like a wonderful day..especially the campfire and watching the moon.
I like fall too...the feeling of clean crisp air, apples, pumpkins and all the other stuff that comes along with it.
Happy Fall!

Larry said...

Chris-Thanks-New England in the Fall is awesome!

forestal-"They're here"!

Dawn-Hope you and Jeff enjoy a campfire aand moonwatch of your own while in CT!

Hilke Breder said...

Nice photos, Larry. I particularly like the landscapes, the sun rise and the moon rise and the view over the Berkshires. It looks like you caught some nice days, hopefully not the last for this fall.

Chris Petrak said...

Towhees in the open. I've been pursuing them through the brush and thickets this fall, but had none that came into the open so cooperatively. Nice photos all round.

Larry said...

Hilke-thanks-I did hit a nice stretch of weather while in the Berkshires.

Chris-I know-usually towhees hide on me too.This place I visited didn't seem to get too many visitors -maybe that helped. Also there were alot of towhees in the area.

Ruth said...

I share your sentiments about autumn. I just wish sunrise to moonrise was a little longer. The days are shortening quickly. Nice pictures!

Anonymous said...

Hi, good blog, great photos. That
orb-weaver sure is cool. I agree
with the Silver-spotted Skipper,
a very worn individual. Take a
look again at that warbler; there
were no doubt several Palm Warblers
there, but the photo sure looks
like a female Common Yellowthroat.
Keep up the nice work!
Hap in New Hope (MN)

Larry said...

Hap-thanks for the comments.I did take a second look at the photo and agree it is a female Common Yellowthroat.Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

Jen Sanford said...

Love the moon! I miss those dark juncos!

troutbirder said...

Great birding and "caught some trout too." All in all I'd say it doesn't get any better than that! :)

Lana Gramlich said...

Must've been a great time. I love the photo of the moonrise.

Glen Webber (NZ Wildlife Photography) said...

Love your last landscape. The spider was a good little capture too.

Harold Stiver said...

You got some great shots, well done. I was in the Berkshires last week after visiting my daughter down there. The foliage was fantastic, some of the best I've ever seen.

Cheers, Harold