This past Saturday was chilly and gray and rainy, and I did a dance with the weather for much of the day -- I kept trying to go outside, and then the rain would push me back inside. But I saw so many creatures in the time I was outside. Lots of birds that I hadn't seen yet this year are now back in the area, and they were out despite the wet weather, so I needed to be out there, too!
On Saturday morning, I drove out to a nearby park, and on my way home (after the rain sent me back to my car), I stopped to admire a bunch of swallows gathering on a fence next to the road. Tree Swallows are always beautiful, even in the rain:
I'm not used to seeing Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows hanging out in the same spot like this:
The birds seemed to be taking the rain as a bathing opportunity. Shake off those raindrops, little bird:
When I got home, the rain let up again for a bit, so I wandered outside near our house, where fields of bright yellow flowers make for quite a dramatic landscape, especially below heavy clouds and mist:
I'm guessing these yellow flowers are some sort of mustard, and the Red-winged Blackbirds at least seem to be making good use of them. I saw several male Red-winged Blackbirds displaying in parts of the field, and this female was picking up what looks like nesting material from among the yellow flowers:
So many birds in the area were taking advantage of the halt in the rain to move around. Every few minutes, I'd look up and see a different bird passing by overhead -- a heron, various hawks, vultures, ducks.... An Osprey circled over our neighborhood a couple of times, perhaps eyeing the ponds:
Even a Common Loon flew by at one point, heading toward the nearest Finger Lake, I'm guessing. I'm amazed that this creature could fly with all those damaged feathers on its left wing (and now I know that loons trail their big feet behind them when they fly, how cool):
Lots of birds were moving around in the trees next to the fields, including my first Baltimore Orioles of the year. This handsome male oriole had an especially brilliant breast that was almost red in places. What a sight on a gray day!
I was very excited to see a male Bobolink, too, who was singing his weird robot-song and snacking on flower petals. I've only seen Bobolinks twice before, and that was a few years ago, all the way back at the Connecticut shore. It's so cool to have these funny meadow-dwelling birds nearby:
A few White-crowned Sparrows have been hanging around our yard for the past week or so, and one fellow in particular frequently takes up a post in the blossoming apple tree outside our window to sing. White-crowned Sparrows only pass through this area during migration, and I'm glad to have these pretty birds as neighbors at least for a little while. Here's a picture of our apple-tree-songster from inside the house on this rainy day:
At this point in my life, the place where I've heard White-crowned Sparrows singing the most was at the coastal dunes in Humboldt County, CA (since these birds breed there). It's been very strange to hear those dune sounds again here in rainy, lush, springtime Central New York! Best wishes on the rest of your journey, little sparrow, when you do decide to move on; and thanks for stopping here for a few days:
A Green Frog was also out and about on this rainy Saturday, settled nicely in a puddle next to a field:
Hooray for spring, when even rainy days are exciting and full of things to see!
I think the ocean is awesome, and I know so little about the creatures that live there, especially away from shore. Unfortunately, as I discovered on a whale-watching trip a few years ago, I get quite seasick if I actually go out on the open water. So when I learned that there's a jetty at the mouth of Humboldt Bay -- a short drive from our house -- where one can walk nearly half a mile out onto the ocean, I was intrigued. Open water with ocean birds, mammals, and waves, but no rocking floor to try to stand on? Yes please!
On Friday afternoon, at low tide (apparently this place gets dangerous when the tide is high), Paul and I took a trip out to the north jetty at the Samoa Dunes Recreation Area, and it was indeed awesome. I don't often get to see waves from this perspective:
And surfers are downright novel for me; there were several people out enjoying the waves on Friday:
Yes, the ocean is intense:
I'm learning that Common Murres are quite, well, common at the shores around here, and a few of these birds were swimming in the water close to the jetty. This is such a handsome bird up close; I love that line behind its eye, and those big paddling feet and sleek pointed wings (so useful for moving underwater):
This murre had just popped up from a dive in this next picture, and it's still got its protective nictitating membrane covering its eyes:
An Osprey was hunting over the fog-shrouded waves:
It made some impressive dives, although I didn't see it actually catch anything:
Brown Pelicans were cruising around; these birds are downright massive, especially compared to the gulls that kept trailing them hoping for fish:
A few ocean mammals showed up, too! This Harbor Seal seemed to be watching us for a bit:
And a few Harbor Porpoises went by!
I can't believe I live in a place where I can see marine mammals. The birds and scenery are awesome, too, of course, but whenever I'm near open ocean I'll certainly be watching the waves for fins and faces. There's so much to see around here, and I'm still just getting started!
Silver Sands State Park was lovely when I went there this morning. Now that the recent heat wave has passed, it's just really nice to be able to walk outside comfortably again. :)
Lots of cool creatures showed up as I made my way around this park's marshes and beaches. At least three Northern Flickers were flying around and chattering to each other in a group of trees near a marsh, and this scruffy fellow paused for a quick picture:
(I love these fancy birds.)
Near the flickers' trees, a Halloween Pennant dragonfly (Celithemis eponina) perched on a grass stem:
I don't think I've ever seen this type of dragonfly before, and I have to say, it's a pretty stunning creature. Those dark splotches and orange wings are awesome, of course, but my favorite part has to be the bright pink spots at its wingtips. You are so cool, little bug!
Four Ospreys were busy fishing offshore, and this one flew overhead with a very strange-looking catch! (Is that a flounder?)
I was surprised to see a Great Egret perched at the top of an old pole in the middle of one of the marshes:
It stayed up there for quite a while, preening its gloriously frilly feathers:
Are you showing off, bird? Well, I'm certainly impressed!
I'm glad I got to visit the shore again after a few weeks away. Also, hooray for fancy winged creatures!
Today was a beach day, and it was a really lovely one, with perfect weather -- not too hot, not too cool -- and bright sunny skies. I got to spend some time this morning checking out Milford Point, where lots of different types of birds are busy tending nests. A pair of Ospreys have their nest on a platform in the marsh:
Nearby, there's a colony of Purple Martins, a large species of swallow whose numbers are declining in Connecticut and is listed as a state threatened species. These birds are apparently entirely dependent on human-provided housing in eastern North America, and these guys at a Milford Point have a few housing options. You've got your apartment-style complex (hey, who let that House Sparrow take a room?):
And a bunch of single-family hanging gourds:
These birds were constantly flying around, catching insects and popping in and out of nest box holes. All the activity was a bit overwhelming, but it was a lot of fun to get to see these communal birds just doing their thing:
The males were especially impressive with their deep purple glossy feathers:
But the browner/splotchier females were cool, too. This girl spent some time peering out of her window (watching the neighbors?):
And then she squeeeezed out of that small hole:
And took off:
Most of the martins I saw in this colony were banded, and I'm sure they're closely monitored. Here's hoping these cool birds do well in the years to come. Speaking of birds in trouble, the sandy shoreline at Milford Point happens to be a nesting haven for some more state threatened birds, Least Terns and Piping Plovers (the Piping Plovers are federally threatened as well). This prime nesting area is currently swarming with Least Terns (I counted at least 100), and a few plover pairs have also taken up residence:
This whole area is surrounded by string fencing and signs to keep people away, but that thicker fencing at the left in the above picture is there to protect a single Piping Plover nest. The tiny plovers can wander in and out of the fencing at will, but potential predators can't get through. (Piping Plovers need all the help they can get around here. If I remember correctly, there were only around 50 recorded successful plover nests last year in all of Connecticut.) It's best to stay away from these nesting areas -- to avoid disturbing the birds, or worse, accidentally stepping on a well-camouflaged chick. And that was my plan today... until a large school group strayed too close to the fencing and I felt obligated to put on my volunteer-plover-monitoring hat to go out there and let them know that they should probably move to another part of the beach. I spent as little time as possible near the birds, but I did take a quick picture (from a distance) of one of these very special Piping Plover nests. Can you make out the little plover right in the middle of this fencing?
Their camouflage is really very good, and they're quite small birds. Here's a zoomed-in view -- look for a tiny orange and black beak and a tiny black eye:
It's good to see that these birds are doing the best they can, at least, to increase their population. Good luck, little plover!
Finally, here are a few other assorted sights from today's beach visit. It still surprises me that we have cacti in Connecticut, but yes, here's a wild Prickly Pear, and in bloom no less:
I actually started this morning's trip in nearby Silver Sands State Park, where there were unfortunately no signs of nesting shorebirds, but where I did get to see a bit of drama in the form of a pair of Red-winged Blackbirds who would not stop dive-bombing this Great Egret:
The egret must have been too close to the blackbirds' nest, but surely the blackbirds were also too close to the egret!
So many interesting things to see on this lovely day!
So today was one of those days where it seemed like we might have skipped right over spring and into summer. It got up to 80 degrees this afternoon, and it was an extremely pleasant 70 degrees when I visited Silver Sands State Park this morning. Quite a change from the 40-degree temperatures I encountered at this park last week!
There were tons of creatures out and about today, and I even got to see a few cool animals at unusually close range, mostly because these creatures felt safe in their brushy hiding places next to the path. I got some good practice with my camera's manual focus this morning!
A group of Wild Turkeys picked through the brush next to the beach, apparently confident that none of the people walking by just yards away would try to chase and/or eat them:
In another part of the park, two White-tailed Deer were also extremely close to the path, but on the other side of a fence that must have made them feel safe from passing people. One deer was lying down in the shade (looking very comfortable), and the other deer was grazing -- both looked up at me, but didn't seem particularly concerned:
A few feet away from the deer, another creature bounded into view, and then froze when it saw me. This Eastern Cottontail Rabbit looks like it's in the process of making a nest -- look at all that dried grass it's carrying!
Yay, I love getting to see wild rabbits! My own pet bunnies have given me a whole new appreciation for these funny little creatures in recent years. This one didn't seem to want any snuggles, so I moved on and left it (her?) to resume the nest-building project.
If you're a predator, you don't need to stay under cover so much, and I saw a few of these larger creatures on the hunt this morning as well. It's always cool to see herons and egrets stalking prey, and this Great Egret made a striking sight with its statue-still pose:
And I saw an Osprey (or possibly more than one) several times this morning, often with a fish in tow. One pass low along the shoreline put this awesome bird on a course directly toward me (I can't get over the huge reach of those wings!)...
...And then right over my head:
Wow, what a creature! And what a day!
This very eventful walk will have to be my last in Connecticut for a little while, because tomorrow I'm leaving for a grand adventure across the ocean! I'll be back in a week or so, most likely with stories and pictures of strange and exotic (for me) creatures in tow. Until then, enjoy the increasingly-emerging spring!
We saw several other awesome creatures in the last couple days of our trip to Florida, including my personal highlight of the trip, manatees. (OMG, manatees!) I'll get to those by the end of this post... but first: some birds!
Ospreys are hardly rare up here in Connecticut, but they were all over the place in Florida. This fellow struck a nice pose for us above a boardwalk on the coast, and I couldn't resist taking a picture of such a magnificent bird:
I also had a lot of fun watching the numerous terns at the shore as they performed their aerial acrobatics and dove into the ocean to snatch fish. There were Least Terns, dinky little birds with quick wings:
And also much bigger Royal Terns:
It was amazing what these agile birds could do in midair -- in addition to the twists and dives, I saw a few terns shake themselves free of water (think of a wet dog with wings), and one even scratched its head with its foot, all while on the wing! It was hard enough just getting pictures of these birds at all, though, let alone while they were doing some of those crazier things, so you'll just have to imagine those sights. :P
Here's one of my favorite birds of the trip:
It's a Wood Stork! These are some big birds, standing a good 3+ feet tall, with a nice big wingspan to match. Wood Storks are federally endangered, and I don't think I'll be south enough to see them again any time soon, so I'm glad we met them here. I know, it's one of those "a face only a mother could love" things. Well, I think they're beautiful:
We saw plenty of other birds as well, including about a dozen species I'd never seen before. Not many of them were keen to have their pictures taken, however, so my avian account will end here. Which leaves just one more creature.... Manatee!
One of the last places we stopped was a small harbor on Merritt Island, where Paul's parents had seen manatees on a previous trip. I admit that I was trying not to get my hopes up, because the internet was telling me that summer is not the best time to see wild manatees in Florida. It's a good thing I didn't listen to the internet! As soon as we got out of the car, we spotted bristly snouts bobbing up in the water:
There are manatees here! Much excited babbling then ensued (from us, not the manatees). West Indian Manatees are endangered, of course, and the only other time I'd seen them in the wild was years ago, and from a very great distance. What an awesome opportunity!
One manatee was even hanging out right near the edge of the dock, and we were treated to some close views of its head as it came up for air:
And its huge paddle-like tail as it lounged in the sun:
(Sadly, I guess it really is true that manatees run into a lot of trouble with boats in the wild -- almost every individual we saw here had some pretty nasty looking scars from past encounters, presumably human.)
So that was cool, but it wasn't even the best part.
A few minutes after we got to the harbor, two wildlife biologists arrived on a manatee rescue mission -- they'd gotten a report of a manatee tangled in some rope, and they needed to look at all the manatees in the harbor to see if one of them was that manatee. So they turned on a couple of hoses and let the fresh water stream into the harbor, and the manatees just came right over to drink the stuff. They loved it! And I loved it too, because we got to see active, excited, happy manatee faces right below our feet, and it was wonderful.
**Note: The biologists wanted me to make it clear that turning on hoses to attract manatees is completely illegal, unless you're a biologist and specifically allowed to do so. The manatees just love it too much and they're too vulnerable. So don't try this at home without authorization.**
OMG manatee faces!
This turned out to be a great opportunity for me to learn (or re-learn) some cool manatee facts. Their eyes are really tiny! Apparently they don't see very well at all, but those bristles on their faces give them a great sense of touch instead (all the better for finding vegetation in murky water, I imagine). Their nostrils have those really cool flaps that close to keep the water out, which seems super handy. And they have no front teeth! They have molars in the backs of their mouths to grind up food, but the actual grabbing and tearing is done with their incredibly mobile lips.
Have you ever wanted to see inside a manatee's mouth? Here you go!
One of the hoses eventually became the site of an adorable three-way snorgle-fest:
In retrospect, I should've been filming this whole thing, but here's a very brief video to try to convey the wonderfulness (and massiveness) of these creatures:
When can I cuddle a manatee?
So anyway, I'd say it was a pretty great trip!! It's back to normal reports of Connecticut wildlife for a while now, at least until the next trip I have planned for July.... Thanks for adventuring in Florida with me!
