Exploring The Granby Connecticut Area

Every weekend, I try to come up with a specific game plan as to what type of birding I will do. On this particular Saturday, I decided to explore the farm fields in Granby CT area. I started later than I had planned (about 7am). I had played some poker at my parent's house the night before. Unfortunately for me, I couldn't stop winning. That's not good news if you plan on quitting early. If I'm not well rested in the morning, excuses start to enter my mind -(It's too far, you're starting too late, you're wasting gas-and on and on). Do you ever fall in to this negativity syndrome? Anyway, I finally gave myself a kick and hit the road.

My first stop was Holcumb Farm in West Granby. Whenever I enter this field, I expect the theme to Little House On The Prairie To Start Playing.-hasn't happened yet though. I was hoping to see some Bobolinks and take a few pictures. I did see 3 Bobolinks but had no luck with getting a photo. I saw some other nice birds while I was here including Cedar Waxwings, Eastern Towhees, Eastern Phoebes, and Eastern Bluebirds. Have you ever seen a drunk Cedar Waxwing? A few years ago I came across Cedar Waxwings that seemed completely tame. They let me walk right up to them. I later found out that these birds can become intoxicated from eating too may berries. Too bad I didn't have a camera back then. There seems to have been Waxwing prohibition ever since I've bought my camera. I also heard one of the Empidonax Flycatchers. I got confused as to whether I heard a Fitz-bew or free-beer call. I'll have to go back and listen to their calls again. One other important note-Holcumb Farm had an electrical fence. I've always wanted to touch one to see how much of a shock you get. I'm just curious.- Have you ever touched an electrical fence? How much of a shock do you get?
Granby had an event called the painted horse parade this year. Local artists painted scenes on horse statues which were displayed around town. Apparently, some of the horses didn't know the parade was over, because they never went home. Does this type of event take place in your region? After making a stop at East Granby Farm-(Nice views of Killdeer, Swallows, and a Wood Duck), I ended up at Northwest Park in Windsor. I didn't spend much time there because it was a bit crowded with joggers, soccer teams, and people walking their dogs. This turtle came over to say hello to me.-What kind of turtle is it?
My best view of the day was probably of this Green Heron. This bird is not uncommon in Connecticut, but I don't see them all that often. The whole scale of common, uncommon, and rare doesn't match what I see anyway. I commonly see some uncommon birds, and rarely see some birds that are considered common. Wasn't it nice of this Heron to help the frog back in to the pond?

The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly.

PART I-THE GOOD: Seeing a new bird in your backyard can be a thrilling experience. A few years back, I remember an exotic looking bluish bird visited one of our feeders. Look at that beautiful blue color! What is it? After a little research, I figured out that I had seen an Indigo Bunting.

My wife recently had such an experience. Over the past month, She has been observing the courtship behavior of one dominant male pigeon in our yard. She has been impressed by the way the male fluffs his feathers, up and herds all the other pigeons like a flock of sheep. Last Wednesday, she was talking to me on the phone and said she noticed a pigeon with oddly colored feet.-"Wait a minute-It has a different colored band on each leg!" she exclaimed excitedly. She described the various coloring of feathers and overall size to me. Also noted, was the number 41 was on one of the leg bands (I'm not really that interested in pigeons but I'm pleased that my wife is subtly honing her birding skills). After asking around, we discovered that this was more than likely a racing pigeon. I don't know much about pigeon racing. If you are familiar with this sport, I would appreciate any additional information you could give me. This Pigeon is surely going to lose the race. It's been hanging out in our yard all week now.

What bird had you excited the first time you saw it in your yard?

Other than the pigeons, Tufted Titmice and American Goldfinches have been the most common visitors to our feeders this month. There has also been plenty of Red-winged Blackbirds, Northern Cardinals, White-breasted Nuthatches, Northern Flickers, Downy Woodpeckers , Common Grackles, House Finches, Brown-headed Cowbirds, Black-capped Chickadees and Blue Jays at the feeders.

This is a Mimosa Tree in our backyard. Many birds, including Baltimore Orioles and Hummingbirds enjoy picking at the flowers on this tree. Recently, I found out that this tree is considered to be invasive. From what I understand, they are a a problem in the southern states. They don't seem to be a problem in this area. Does anyone know if having one of these trees in your yard can cause any problems?

PART II-THE BAD: The weather has been extremely hot and humid this week. Extreme humidity is like Kryptonite to me. It has dampened my enthusiasm for birding, or any other activity that involves physical movement.

On a more serious note, the towns of Bloomfield and Granby have been leveling huge sections of wooded areas and Farm fields for industrial development over the past few months. No wonder bears and foxes have been visiting us at my worksite (Granby/Bloomfield border). They're running out of space to live. This should be good news for House Sparrows though.

PART III-THE UGLY: Despite the heat, I decided to take a short walk to do some birding on a nearby nature trail. Seeing this pile of junk in the middle of the trail entrance, was enough to make me turn around and go back home. I tried to envision what type of person would leave a pile of debris consisting of discarded vinyl siding, nails, shingles, insulation, and various other rubbish.

Then it dawned on me. Maybe somebody was trying to make their own contribution to the park. Maybe they thought this would add some visual interest to the area.-Or maybe they thought that this would make a nice play area for children. What a wonderful gift! How could I have been so cynical?

Songbird Lyrics Game

Name the song that the lyrics belong to and/or an artist who performed it.
Let us know which ones you knew, even if it has already been answered.

Blue=Unanswered Grey=incomplete Black=already answered

1)You know the day destroys the night, -Night divides the day

2)Can it be that it was all so simple then-Or has time rewritten every line

3) Oh but now old friends are acting strange-They shake their heads, they say I've changed

4) White man came across the sea-he brought us pain and misery

5) Well I was movin' down the road in my v-8 ford, I had a shine on my boots, I had my sideburns lowered.

6) Ain't found a way to kill me yet-Eyes burn with stinging sweat-Seems every path leads me to nowhere-Wife and kids, household pet-Army green was no safe bet

7) I think I can make it now, the pain is gone-All of the bad feelings have disappeared-Here is the rainbow I've been prayin' for-

8) I've grown so used to you some how-Well, I'm nobody's sugar daddy now

9) All the people stared as if we were both quite insane.-Some day my name and hers are going to be the same-

10)Time is the essence-Time is the season-Time ain't no reason-Got no time to slow

11)Oh, where you going to, my lady blue?-It's a shame you ruined your gown in the rain.-She just looked out the window, and said---"Sixteen Parkside Lane".

12) All across the nation- such a strange vibration-People in motion-There's a whole generation -with a new explanation

13) And then Georgie would make the fire lights, I seh,- logwood burnin' through the nights, yeah!

14) You wander down the lane and far away-Leaving me a song that will not die

15)Mama came to the door-With a teardrop in her eye-Johnny said, don't cry, mama-Smile and wave goodbye

16) When I come home feelin' tired and beat-I go up where the air is fresh and sweet

17)If the sky that we look upon-Should tumble and fall-And the mountains should crumble to the sea

Voluntarily Stranded

I've been hearing that warning sound you get when your break pads are getting low for about a week now. I decided to drop my truck off at a garage this morning to have the brakes fixed.You can do some birding just about anywhere. The truck was to take about four hours to be fixed but I didn't bother getting a ride back home. I decided to do a little birding within walking distance of the garage. The nice thing about birding is that it's a portable hobby.You can do it just about anywhere. My first stop was a little breakfast at a place called Momma Roux's.They have a whole Cajun theme going on there.The food is all made from scratch, and it is delicious!
I had the Eggs Florentine. They stated in the menu that the Mornay Sauce is real, and therefore must be kept at room temperature.Why is Canadian Bacon called bacon?It's really just round slices of ham, isn't it? Anyway, I enjoyed this tasty little breakfast. I washed it down with a little high test coffee.-Good to go!
I investigated the land along these railroad tracks, but not much was going on there. I decided to ease on down, ease on down the road.
I investigated a series of fields along the river in Cromwell Connecticut.The area is called Deadman's Swamp. This field seemed to be filled with the same type of grass. Is this a particular type of grass?
Here is a close-up of the grass which has golden seeds at the top. Can you tell me what it is?
While your at it, here's a couple more. I see the top ones all the time. They look like miniature daisies to me. Are they related to daisies? How about the bottom ones?
There's not a lot for me to report as far as birds go. I saw a lot of Common Yellowthroats and Woodpeckers, like this Northern Flicker. I had a nice view of Eastern Bluebirds and a Great Blue Heron. I enjoyed seeing nesting Baltimore Orioles and American Robins. My favorite moments came when I saw 4 Red-tailed Hawks patrolling one field. I get a little tired of seeing these hawks on the top of telephone poles along the highway, but they're beautiful to watch in a natural setting. They were screeching out their calls continuously. Even the one in the photo can't keep its mouth shut. I wonder what they were saying?-Maybe-Intruder! or Get The Out Of Our Field!
Much time had passed, and it was time to check on my truck. They were supposed to call my cell and update me. It was now 11:30 am and I hadn't heard from them-not a good sign. When I arrived at the service desk, I noted that there was a new guy in charge that I'd never seen before. I asked them to replace my brake pads which were supposedly guaranteed for the life of the car. Some how they came up with a list of repairs, and gave me a rough estimate of $2,300 to fix all of the problems (which is slightly less than the value of the truck). I had about two things to say.-Give me the keys please and goodbye. The only reason I went to this place, is that they were the ones who had put the lifetime warrantied pads in. In all fairness, I didn't give them any chance to explain. I felt the need to leave stat, before I lost my cool.

I immediately dropped the truck off to another mechanic, that I new well. He was unable to detect most of the problems that the other garage found. He informed me that it would be $150.00 to fix my brakes. He suggested that I have the other garage put the free pads in. I asked him to just go ahead and fix the brakes himself. It's kind of like when you're at a restaurant and complain about the food. I'd rather just not pay for a bad meal, rather than have them cook me a new one. You never know what the chef might do to your food after you've complained about it.