Seeker Of Fish

Last weekend, I stopped by a section of The Connecticut River in Chester. I thought of a story I heard about a Native American who used to fish this area long ago.-(1700's?)- I don't remember his real name , but it roughly translated to-"Seeker Of Fish."

He was seen by many, traveling along the river in his canoe. He was usually accompanied by his companion , a great white Osprey. The Osprey was described as being very white-(albino?)-and it would often perch on the front of his canoe. The two were known to share their fishing catches.

Children would often try to trick the "Indian." They would throw rocks near the canoe, making him think that fish were jumping in the water near him. Of course,it rarely worked. One day, this harmless game took a tragic turn. One of the rocks struck the fishermen on the head. He fell out of his canoe, and in to the depths of the river. He was never seen again.

Immediately after Seeker Of Fish fell in, the Osprey was seen plunging in to the water, where his friend had drowned. The Osprey never resurfaced. Over the years, there have been rumours of an all white Osprey in this same area. None have been confirmed.

On this particular day, I happened to catch a glimpse of an Osprey flying overhead. Was it whiter than normal ? (maybe just my imagination). Suddenly, the bird went in to a stoop, and plunged violently in to the water right before my eyes. It was exciting to watch, and I took several pictures.

Oddly enough, only one came out. It was the one above, of the big splash that it left behind. I never saw the bird come up. Maybe I just lost track of it. I searched the entire area, and there was no sign of the Osprey. I scanned the river one more time. As I looked in the area where the Osprey had taken his plunge, a single fish was floating on the surface of the water. ---a strange coincidence, or just failed photography?---hmmm.

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)Set them free at the break of dawn-'Til one by one, they were gone-

2)I'll wait in this place-where the sun never shines!-Waiting this place-where the shadows run from themselves!

3)You saw me standing alone.-Without a dream in my heart-Without a love of my own-

4)And in the streets- the children screamed,-The lovers cried,- and the poets dreamed.

5)Home, to a new and a shiny place-Make our bed, and we'll say our grace-

6)Don’t come knockin’ around my door-Don’t wanna see your shadow no more-Coloured lights can hypnotize-Sparkle someone else’s eyes

7)Let music swell the breeze,- and ring from all the trees -sweet freedom's song

8)On the first part of the journey, I was looking at all the life.- There were plants and birds. -and rocks and things, -There was sand and hills and rings.

9)Sky rockets in flight-

10)He misses a step and cuts his hand, -but Showing nothing, he swoops like a song-She cries "Where have all Papa's heroes gone?"

11)A long, long time ago-On graduation day-You handed me your book-I signed this way:

12)I’m going to wichita-Far from this opera for evermore-I’m gonna work the straw-Make the sweat drip out of every pore-

13)Well, I guess I'll never see the light.-I get the blues most every night-

14)Let me tell you how it will be-There's one for you, nineteen for me-

15)Like a train that stops at every station-We all deal with trials and tribulations-Fear hangs the fellow that ties up his years-Entangled in yellow and cries all his tears-

Birds, Butterflies, and Willie The Woodchuck

Saturday, I took a ride over to Haddam Meadows which is situated along the Connecticut River. I didn't have much luck getting bird photos. This is a little mucky marsh that sits toward the back side of the property. The most uncommon bird I saw here Saturday, was the Orchard Oriole. I saw them here last year as well.

I'm not a butterfly guy but I'm going to take a guess that this is a Red Admiral. It has the red-orange bars on the forewings and hindwings that are described in the little Peterson Book I have.
I visited Cromwell Meadows Wildlife Management area on Sunday.This Baltimore Oriole tried to sing me out of his territory. I heard some Yellow-billed Cuckoos and saw some Osprey which were nesting there. It is less common for Osprey to nest inland in Connecticut , than it is for them to nest along the shoreline. There were numerous Common Yellowthroats and Cedar Waxwings. I also saw a Green Heron, Wood Thrush, Veery and about 20 other species. This location is advertised as a hot spot, but I always find my visits here a little disappointing. I've never been surprised by what I've seen here, and I just don't like the feel of the area. I can't quite put my finger on it though.
Okay, here's one for you wildflower enthusiasts to identify. I don't have a flower i.d. book, but I thought this one was kind of nice.

Look at little Willie The Woodchuck, isn't he cute? He's munching on little clovers so that cutting the grass will be that much easier for me. Isn't that special?

Willie? Where are you Willie? Willie! -GET OUT OF THE GARDEN! Don't you dare eat my green beans Willie! -I bought Willie a little gift-Hope he doesn't like it.

I don't know if this will keep Willie out of the garden, but it might keep me away for a while. Boy does this stuff stink!

Portland's Annual Fireworks.

I thought that I'd take a brief intermission from blogging about birding. I'll get back to that on Monday night. Here are a few photos from Portland's Annual Fireworks display. It's one of the better ones in the state, even though Portland is a small town.
I didn't know if my camera would take pictures of fireworks but I thought I'd give it a try. It was a nice cool evening. This was a plus because it kept the mosquitoes to a minimum. The police were in full force checking coolers and cups for alcohol. I was drinking water, so I had nothing to worry about. Do you think proactive alcohol checks were a good thing, or an invasion of privacy?

These are some of the ground displays. It Reminds me of a rock concert I went to back in the day. Does it remind you of anything?

This looks like an image you might see through the Hubble Telescope. Billions upon billions of stars.-Who was the guy that always said that?

This reminds me a little bit of the Orion Nebula seen below the belt of Orion.

This reminds me of one of those glowing deep sea creatures you might see on Discovery .

Some unexpected clouds showed up that led to a few showers. It wasn't enough to put a stop to this event which took many hours of hard work to set up.

They ended the show with a tremendous flash of gunpowder. It took me an hour to get back home, even though I only live about 3 miles from the fairgrounds where it took place. All in all it was an enjoyable evening.