Behold The Tree Of Snakes!

I went to Penwood State park on Saturday to scan the skies for hawks from the top of a ridge. As I was walking along one of the trails in the park I turned and found myself staring into the face of  of what I believe is a Black Rat Snake .

They are known to be able to climb trees but it was  impressive tp see this big snake stretched out on a branch. I didn't have a tape measure with me (or I would have crawled out on the branch to measure it) but I'd estimate it was about 6 feet long. They are constrictors that eat mainly rodents, small birds, amphibians, and insects.

Then I looked at the other side of the tree and found 3 more rat snakes sunning themselves!

It was an interesting morning. Besides the spectacle of seeing the tree of snakes, I found myself trapped in the middle of a 50k trail race. There was what seemed to be about 100 people running through the woods along the trails. I had to keep hopping off the trail to avoid interfering with the race.

The Hermit Thrushes must have been making a major move because I counted at least 6 of them along one section of trail.

I also saw 4 Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers and heard a Winter Wren singing in the woods.

Despite all the distractions, I finally made it to the top of the ridge. I had a nice view of some Broad-winged Hawks passing through.There were a few Red-tailed, Red-shouldered, and Sharp-shinned Hawks mixed in. I also saw 3 Black Vultures and a Peregrine Falcon. Nothing could top seeing 4 snakes in a tree though. That's something I don't see every day!

Doesn't Anyone Care If Hawks Return In Spring?

    The Fall hawk migration has been well publicized in Connecticut. There are many opportunities to visit local hawkwatch sites each year. I was curious as to why you don't hear much about spring hawk watches?

  I asked a local hawk watch organizer (Paul Carrier) if he knew of a good spot to look for migrating hawks in the Spring. He suggested Penwood  Park in Bloomfield CT. Mid-April should be the most productive time to visit but I wanted to familiarize myself with the area so I made a vist there this weekend. I took the blue-blazed Metacomet Trail to the pinnacle. The view from the top was beautiful!

As I looked to my left, there was a view of the Heublein Tower on Talcott Ridge. Over the years, this tower has been visited by some famous people including Dwight D. Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan.

It was originally built as a Summer retreat for Gilbert Heublein. He was in the hotel, restaurant, and food industry but may have been most known as a liquor manufacturer. The tower is open to the public from Memorial Day to Labor Day and the rumour about the tower being filled to the top with booze during the winter months is simply not true.

I had a nice view of what appears to be a young Bald Eagle.

There were a few birds taking advantage of the updrafts including a couple of red-tails, some Turkey Vultures, and a Common Raven. A carpie passed through (not sure if it was a cooper's or a sharpie) and I could hear a pair of Red-shouldered Hawks in the woods calling-keeyer- keeyer- keeyer (or something like that).

The trail was surprisingly quiet on the way up. The parking lot was full but I only encountered a couple of hikers on the trail.

I don't know why people make rock piles in the woods but they are sort of interesting to look at.

This pretty little pond was also along the trail. It's so secluded that even the ducks seem to have a hard time finding it.

I took a park road on the way down instead of the trail. I found a flock of about 30 Cedar Waxwings. I come across them fairly often but never get tired of watching them, especially when they're eating berries.

They were in a frenzy trying to devour the berries on this bush!- (does anyone know what kind of berry bush it is?). The waxwings stayed in the same area for at while. People who passed by me were curious as to what I was pointing my camera at and were impressed by the waxwings when I pointed them out. 

 This is a good park to visit during spring migration. I've never hiked up to the overlook before but a few years ago I saw a Kentucky Warbler here. They can be difficult to find in Connecticut.

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 I intend to visit Penwood Park at least a couple of times in April. I'll look for incoming broad-wings and whatever else the wind might carry in. Past records indicate there is the potential to see several hundred hawks pass by here but even if I only see a few it should be a nice way to enjoy as Spring Day.

Have you ever tried hawkwatching in Spring?

*Note: If you live in Connecticut there is a 1990  book by Gene Billings titled:

"Birds of Prey in Connecticut Guide to Finding and Understanding Hawks, Eagles, Vultures and Owls" It is available through the library system or there are used copies on Amazon. It's probably a little outdated but I found some of it interesting.

On A Wild Snow Goose Chase

I work in the Bloomfield area and have been seeing what appeared to be 3 Snow Geese mixed in with a flock of Canada Geese at various locations in town. Unfortunately, chasing birds isn't part of my job description so I had to wait until the weekend before I could get a closer look at them. Bloomfield has a number of large corporate businesses that own property with huge grass lawns and man-made ponds where I found a Snow Goose and a Greater White-fronted Goose over the past couple of years. There has also a recent report of a Barnacle Goose in the area but I was unable to relocate it. This morning, I found the 3 juvenile Snow Geese hanging out at a soccer field at the Bloomfield High School. The white form of the juvenile Snow Goose has a grayish bill and a bit of dingy gray on the upper side. Snow Geese breed on the arctic tundra during the summer and pairs remain together for life.

Maybe it's time I think about getting some knee protection for those times when I decide to crawl across fields on my knees with a camera. My wife always says she likes surprises so she should be surprised when she finds these pants in the hamper! (Just kidding Joan-I already took care of them :)

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Green-winged Teal At Portland Fairgrounds

I stopped by Auer Farm in Bloomfield Tuesday afternoon after work. This was a perfect place to unwind and take a walk after work. As I looked at the top of a hill near the apple orchard, I was rewarded with a beautiful view of 8 White-tailed Deer. I zoomed in on 3 of them as they grazed on the all-natural organic grass. Sunday 3/9/08; Searching For New Ducks: In the month of March, waterfowl start to gather together at certain locations before heading to their breeding grounds. From what I read on the COA website, this is called "staging". I decided to search some local ponds hoping to see what turned up. I checked a little pond off of Route 68 in Durham, hoping to spot a couple of Northern Pintail, which had been seen there recently. This is the same pond where I saw my first Ruddy Duck. No luck with the pintail here, but if you look closely at the above photo, you may get a glimpse of the "elusive" Canada Goose.

After checking these ponds, I stopped at White Farm Conservation area which is adjacent to The Durham Fairgrounds off of Route 17. The first thing I noticed was that these fields were flooded and had a healthy population of Killdeer. When I used a spotting scope to search the back end of the area I saw a few Green-winged Teal. They soon flew off further into what I believe is a portion of the Durham Meadows Wildlife Management area. It surprises me how small these ducks look when they're flying. They are so tiny compared to Mallards.

My main focus, for at least the start of this month, is to check ponds, rivers, marshes, and flooded fields that are fairly close to home. I had a little bit of luck at the beginning of March when I saw a flock of Ring-necked Ducks in Portland. I was close enough to get photos but the I couldn't seem to see its eyes well in any of the photos. Maybe I should go back and read Part I -(How to be a quite good bird photographer)- and Part II -(How to avoid being arrested for Bad Bird Photography)- from the bird photography series at Belltower Birding.

I also checked Dooley's Pond in Middletown from the boat launch area. Do you see the Fork-tailed Diving Duck? It's so rare, that it's never been seen by humans. Keep looking toward the left side of the pond. It's going to surface any minute now. As you can probably see-the pond is birdless- at least on this end. I always wonder why certain ponds seem to attract interesting waterfowl while others do not. I know that it has to do with water depth, size of the lake/pond, food sources and location of the ponds. What are some of the other factors? Certain ponds show up on rare bird reports all the time. What makes those ponds so attractive to particular species?

My last visit was at Wangunk Meadows in Portland. Once again, it looks like someone went four-wheeling and ended up trashing their vehicle. Something about this picture struck me funny though. Do you see that little yellow container on the ground next to the vehicle?

What were they thinking? A little elbow grease and some Clorox Wipes will fix the problem?

There were more Green-winged Teal at the fairgrounds, but they were out of camera distance. This is the only photo of Green-winged Teal that I have. It was taken a couple of years ago at the same location. They may not be uncommon but I don't often get a chance to see them. I think they're a pretty sharp looking bird. I'll be looking forward to seeing Wilson's Snipe, which have showed up in big numbers at the fairgrounds in the month of March for the last couple of years. My search for is coming along a little bit slowly but I look forward to checking more local ponds and marshes this weekend. I'd like to see some Blue-winged Teal or Northern Pintail this month. Oh, by the way-did I tell you that I hate the whole daylight savings thing? I say just set the clocks ahead and leave them that way forever.