Monarch on the Sand, Punky Cedar Waxwing, and More

I saw my first Monarch butterfly of the year yesterday morning on the beach at Silver Sands State Park. And I do mean on the beach. I would've expected to see this creature on the milkweed plants that were blooming just a little ways away, but instead it was sucking up what must have been some good nutrients in the damp sand:

I'm always glad to see a Monarch, especially since this species' numbers have been declining steeply in recent years. And what a treat to see such vivid color on the beach (and from something other than washed-up garbage):
 

The clouds over the Long Island Sound were super dramatic pretty much all morning, with so many different layers and shapes and shades happening at once:

My iPhone's panoramic mode was able to capture some of the epic-ness of this scenery, and I think the result looks pretty cool (even if it's still not quite the same as being there, and the beach comes out all weird and curvy):

Two Willets were hanging around in the marsh (maybe working on a nest?). These medium-sized shorebirds are quite attractive with all their subtly barred feathers:

But their most distinctive features are their dramatic black-and-white wings. It's so cool to see these guys fly through the marsh:

A mother Mallard was shepherding her sizable brood of teenaged babies at the shore:

That duckling on the left looks smaller than all the others.... I wonder if it could've somehow joined this group from another clutch? Hmm.

Immature Herring Gulls were all over the beach. They're not the most handsome birds with their mottled plain-brown costumes, but they do cut some very impressive figures in flight:

Among all the handsome birds we have around here, not many do it better than Cedar Waxwings. These guys are just beyond sleek:

I don't actually know what's going on in this next picture, but what a pose! Cedar Waxwing, you are just cool:

 (The pose in this picture actually reminds me of the time I saw a Northern Mockingbird spitting out seeds. Maybe that's what's going on here, or maybe the waxwing is just being extra punky and/or action-hero-ish. Either way works for me!)

Hooray for beautiful and interesting creatures!

Courting Oystercatchers and Other Shore Sights

Silver Sands State Park yesterday morning was the busiest I've seen it so far this year. Not people-busy, but extremely active with creatures all over the place, flying or romping or being in love. The sort of weird breeding-time behavior I saw in the woods earlier this week is showing up at the beach, too.

The highlight of the trip was a pair of American Oystercatchers who just could not contain their feelings for each other. These two birds would stand near each other on the beach, prodding the sand with those crazy flaming-poker beaks, and acting pretty normal:

And then all of a sudden, both birds would burst into the air and fly together all up and down the shoreline in close synchronization, calling loudly the entire time:
 

These birds did this several times while I was there, and it was so extravagant and very entertaining to watch. Plus, it just looked like they were having a ton of fun:
 

OK, you two, there are some nice stretches of sand here just waiting for a nest. Maybe there will be some oystercatcher eggs someday soon?

A couple of Herring Gulls were acting a little love-struck, too, tossing their heads and touching beaks -- much more subdued behavior than the oystercatchers' antics:
 

The terns are back in Connecticut now, and I saw two Common Terns resting on some rocks at low tide (just look at those long, long wings):

I had a great time watching several Least Terns zooming around, too. These birds make such amazingly elegant shapes in the air with their perfectly pointed wings and tail:

A Merlin was also haunting the area (not a common bird at this time of year), until it got chased off by some very annoyed Barn Swallows:
 

Later, the Merlin flew over my head, and I got to admire its speedy falcon shape and the very pretty pattern under its wings:
 

Snowy Egrets are a constant fixture in this park in the spring and summer, and it's always worth stopping to watch these awesome birds for a bit. This one was snatching little fish from the ocean shallows, looking very dramatic against those dark rocks:
 

Here's something I'd never seen on these beaches before -- a washed-up jellyfish:

I think this is a Lion's Mane Jellyfish (Cyanea capillata); I'm basing that guess on similar pictures that came up when I searched for "jellyfish in Connecticut." This creature was several inches across, which seemed pretty big to me, but apparently this species can grow to several feet across, and Wikipedia says that makes it the largest known species of jellyfish. So that's pretty crazy and cool!

Finally, White-tailed Deer thrive in this park, and I'm almost guaranteed to see some on any given visit. This time, a herd of several individuals (including a couple males with just-emerging antlers) was grazing in a field above the road, making for a peaceful picture:

May is such an active month, with so many changes in plant and animal life. I'm already itching to get back out into the woods again! But the beach is always a great place to visit, too.

Exploring Wales, Part 1: Conwy Jackdaws and Other Birds

Last week, Paul and I ventured across the Atlantic Ocean and visited an exotic land: Wales! We stayed in Conwy -- a medieval walled city (castle included) on the northern coast -- and spent three glorious days exploring centuries- (and even millenia-) old man-made structures and amazingly dramatic countryside. We saw tons of things in our relatively short visit and had an awesome time!

There were old buildings and landscapes, of course, but we saw plenty of wildlife as well, mostly birds. It was really cool to hang out with these foreign (for me) creatures, and I even reached a new level of familiarity with a few recurring birds by the end of the trip. One of these was a bird that we saw everywhere we went in Wales, but which made a particularly strong presence at our home base in Conwy: the Eurasian Jackdaw.
 

These handsome birds (members of the crow family) were all over in Conwy, and especially in the main part of the town, where they were busy building nests in the tall, 13th-century walls:
 

I think these birds are extremely cool-looking, with those stark silvery outfits and brilliant eyes. And they certainly looked right at home among the craggy ruins of walls jutting up above more modern rooftops, watching over the town like sleek uniformed sentinels:
 

All throughout Conwy's town and castle, we saw Jackdaws peering out of holes in the old stone walls:
 

Basically, the Jackdaws seem to have some degree of ownership over parts of Conwy. And even more interesting to me, Conwy itself seems to have made the bird-town connection official. Surely that's a Jackdaw on top of this signpost in the center of town, yes?
 

The term "jackdaw" is also apparently used to refer to people born within Conwy's town walls. Overall, I feel like Paul and I got a special view of this town because we were paying attention to these birds.

The Jackdaws weren't the only birds vying for space among Conwy's walls and rooftops, but these other avian occupants were already pretty familiar (even if their home wasn't). Conwy's Rock Pigeons demonstrated why "pigeon hole" is a phrase:
 

And just as big and loud as they are here in North America, Herring Gulls staked claims on the walls as well:
 

Away from the Conwy town center and on our countryside travels, several other utterly delightful birds popped up. This Blue Tit was one of my favorites, and I was very happy whenever one of these fancy relatives of our chickadees and titmice appeared:
 

This Eurasian Wren was also adorable, perched here on an old stone wall near the small town of Dolwyddelan:
 

Wood Pigeons were quite common, and I thought of them as Mega-pigeons because they're so much bigger and bulkier than the Rock Pigeons that I'm more used to seeing:
 

Finally, we saw quite a few European Robins, and after three days, I came to love these gregarious little puffballs who popped up frequently to sing and show off -- often at eye level -- with very little fear of us. Their bright orange bibs certainly stood out among the predominantly brown (early spring) landscape:
 

These birds looked even more handsome, though, when they posed among new spring-green buds:
 

One robin landed directly in front of Paul and I as we rested on a park bench, and it proceeded to serenade us (LOUDLY) for several minutes:

Sing it, little bird!

But hey, watch where you're pointing that beak!
 

In all, I loved getting a feel for Wales through some of its common avian wildlife. We met a few other creatures, as well, who -- while not technically wild -- seemed especially Welsh.... But that's another post entirely! Stay tuned!

Egrets, Gulls, Crabs, and More

Yesterday's visit to Silver Sands State Park was great fun (as usual), and I ended up seeing lots of interesting creatures. The day started off with a surprise when I walked onto the boardwalk over the marsh and there were Snowy Egrets everywhere!
 

OK, so that's not the most number of Snowy Egrets anyone's ever seen, I'm sure, but I counted 18 birds in this one area, which is pretty significant compared to the two or three I usually see here. So many egrets!
 

Not only were there lots of Snowy Egrets, but they were extraordinarily active, too -- strutting around with their fancy crests raised and making their weird honking calls:

A few tussles even broke out while I was watching, with pairs of egrets dancing around and flying at each other:

I normally think of these birds as fairly calm (maybe even serene), so it was really interesting to see them showing off so much. I wonder if these are families of egrets that have come over from their nesting areas on nearby Charles Island.... I don't think I can know for sure, but it seems possible!

Down at the shore, on the tip of the half-submerged sandbar to Charles Island, a female Red-breasted Merganser was preening -- that's quite a beak you have, girl!
 

Also in attendance was a sleek Common Tern, its red-orange beak and legs practically glowing in the morning sun:
 

At another part of the shore, I watched some serious drama unfold when a Herring Gull pulled a large crab out of the shallow water (the crab is doing a pretty good rock impression at the gull's feet in this next picture):
 

The crab put up a valiant fight...
 

But the gull had the clear advantage with its sharp beak, and the crab didn't really stand a chance.
 

Poor crab, but that's just how things go.
 

"What, you got a problem? It's a predator-prey thing -- deal with it."

And there were interesting creatures away from the beach, too. The milkweed plants have practically all finished flowering by now, but that doesn't mean they're not still providing food for animals. This impressive mass of Milkweed Tussock Moth caterpillars (Euchaetes egle) was working hard to completely devour one milkweed plant (note the already-skeletonized leaves!):
 

Such fancy caterpillars, with those crazy tufts of hair! They're quite pretty individually:
 

And I kind of love the effect of all that fuzzy orange, black, and white when they're all together:
 

All in all, another fun day at the beach!