Well, it's happening. In one week, I will be moving to northern Ohio and leaving Connecticut behind, probably forever. I was in Connecticut because of graduate school, and now that's done, and it's on to new professional endeavors in new places. Ohio is in fact a temporary location for us -- my job there is just a one-year position -- but the change is a good one. I'm very, very excited about all the new things we'll see, the place where we'll be living (much more on that later), and the job. But, of course, I'll miss many things about Connecticut, which has been my home for the past six years.
I'll be doing a few wrapping-up posts over the next week to properly say goodbye to Connecticut. (Don't worry, the blog is coming with me to Ohio.) One part of Connecticut that I will definitely miss is the shore. So during my final visits to Silver Sands State Park this morning and last Thursday, I was sure to thoroughly appreciate the creatures that I'm not likely to see again for quite a while.
It always feels special to see Clapper Rails in these marshes, and I was very happy to see one preening itself out in the open this morning. I don't know if I will ever again be in a place with Clapper Rails as bold and readily visible as those at Silver Sands State Park, and I will miss these birds for sure:
Snowy Egrets are very common here, and I took the time to admire these gorgeous birds this morning:
As a special shorebird bonus, a couple of American Oystercatchers lit up the shoreline this morning with their flamboyant beaks:
And a lovely Spotted Sandpiper scrambled over rocks at the water's edge last week:
The Piping Plover family has dispersed from their nesting area by now, and I was lucky enough to come across one of the juveniles in this park last week. I know it's one of the fledglings from the nest I was monitoring because of that distinctive injured leg:
This bird was moving and foraging well on just the one leg, and it flew away just fine. I have no idea what happened to this bird when it was a baby, but I'm heartened to know that it's made it this far. The more Piping Plovers surviving out there, the better. Fare well, lovely little bird, and best of luck!
A couple of Killdeer were running around on the beach this morning. I thought these birds might have also been this season's grown hatchlings, withthose brownish (rather than pristine white) bands on their breasts, but I don't know for sure:
A plump Groundhog was munching away in the flower-filled grass last week:
And this marvelous Blue Dasher dragonfly (Pachydiplax longipennis) posed for a picture:
This morning's insect highlight was a supremely blue damselfly (I'm not certain of the species):
I couldn't have asked for better sights on my final visits to the Connecticut shore!
This is my third summer volunteering for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as a monitor at Silver Sands State Park, where I visit once a week to look for Piping Plovers and other nesting shorebirds. Piping Plovers are in trouble (and listed as federally threatened) because they nest on sandy beaches, which is of course where people also really want to be in the summer. Incubating parents get disturbed and leave their nests, eggs and chicks get stepped on; it's just not a great situation. So a bunch of people in Connecticut (and other states, too) are actively looking for Piping Plover nests and taking steps to help these birds be successful. (Like putting up fencing around nests to keep other animals and people away, and educating beach-goers about the plovers.)
I always see interesting things whenever I visit Silver Sands State Park, and I'm glad for the excuse to get out to the beach regularly. Aside from a lone Piping Plover two years ago, however, I haven't seen any of these special birds at this park, and the last time any Piping Plovers actually tried to nest here was in 2011 (the summer before I started volunteering). So I was pretty excited when I arrived at this beach yesterday morning to find a pair of Piping Plovers wandering around on the sand. A pair! Yay! The male was striking (and adorable) with his darker markings:
The female was quite pale by comparison (she really does blend in with the beach, doesn't she):
There wasn't any nest (yet), but I watched the male work for a bit on a depression in the sand, pushing his chest into the ground and digging a bit with his feet. A shallow depression and some shell pieces is what passes for a nest for these birds, so it certainly seems like they're considering settling down here. For now, I enjoyed watching them just wander around. A tiny bird on a big beach:
I caught up with the pair a little later as they looked for food at the shoreline. This female really is quite pale and pretty!
And she's definitely picked a handsome mate:
Yay, Piping Plovers:
I heard later in the day that someone saw this pair mating, so maybe they really will stick around! I'm hoping that everything works out well for these guys. Unfortunately, the spot where I saw them working on a potential nest is right in the middle of what will become the busiest part of this beach in a few weeks (and this beach gets really busy). I can't imagine how a nest would work out with a hundred people milling around.... Well, we'll see what happens! Now that we know this pair is here, people will be checking on them and watching for eggs. I'm very curious to see if they'll still be here when I visit again next week!
The Piping Plovers were the main attraction, but there were plenty of other things to see yesterday morning as well. I enjoyed the opportunity to compare the Piping Plovers to another species of plover that's much more common at this beach (and on lawns, etc.), the Killdeer. These birds are so much bigger and lankier than the Piping Plovers, but there are definitely some family resemblances, especially in the basic costume:
A White-tailed Deer was lounging right in the middle of the marsh. Are those the tiny nubs of antlers on your head, deer?
At the water's edge, two Snowy Egrets were chasing each other and making their dinosaur calls while a third egret looked on:
It's definitely breeding season, and these birds are looking magnificent:
While the Snowy Egrets tussled, a larger Great Egret sailed by. Both of these species nest in this park (on Charles Island, just offshore from the main park) and it's always great to see them at their breeding best. I love the Great Egret's green breeding-season mask, and the way that long neck seems to fuse back onto itself in flight:
In the fields behind the marshes, male American Goldfinches were singing and showing off their bright summer outfits:
And I was happy to see that the Northern Flickers are going ahead with their nesting project that I first noticed two weeks ago. This time, it was the female flicker who was working in the cavity and came out to watch me and my camera as I passed (at a respectful distance):
These are such gorgeous birds (I can't get over those spots!) and they're so much bolder than I would have guessed. This lady stayed at her perch while another person walked by just feet away from her tree (unaware of the woodpecker right overhead). As long as the passing people and dogs don't actually bother the flickers, I guess these birds are comfortable living here. I'll look forward to seeing their fancy faces sticking out of this hole whenever I visit, and I wish them luck!
There are so many creatures starting families in this little park. Here's hoping these endeavors work out! (Come on, plovers!)
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.
A few weeks ago, I saw a Clapper Rail for the first time, and I was really excited. Well, this morning, while visiting Silver Sands State Park, I was lucky enough to see four of these usually-hidden birds!
One Clapper Rail popped out of the tall marsh grass near the boardwalk to snatch up a small crab for a snack (I'm pretty sure that's what this bird's holding in its beak):
After which it hurried back into the marsh on very dirty (oily?) feet:
A second Clapper Rail was further back in the marsh, preening itself in the morning sun:
And what's that small black fuzzball moving off to the side? Oh my goodness, it's a baby rail!
Wait, make that two babies!
I'm not surprised that these birds were breeding here -- this marsh seems like a great place for a rail to raise a family -- I'm just surprised that I actually got to see the babies! They're such a wonderful combination of adorable and ridiculously awkward, as babies often are -- just look at those gangly legs and huge feet! :D
So that was today's main excitement, but there were plenty of other things to see, too. Down on the beach, dozens of Ring-billed Gulls were beating the heat by panting, and I got to see into quite a few bright orange and red gull-mouths:
A Snowy Egret was standing in the ocean, quickly opening and closing its beak to churn the water, presumably in some sort of feeding technique -- I'm much more used to egrets using the hunting-and-stabbing method for getting food, so this was pretty interesting to watch!
Back in the marsh, a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron was hunting in what I think of as the more typical heron/egret manner. But it stood so tall and straight as it waded through the water that it reminded me more of a stork or a crane than a heron:
Once it spotted some prey, it hunkered down into a much more heron-y pose....
Ready? Go!
Mmm, breakfast!
Finally, there was this Cabbage White butterfly (Pieris rapae) feeding from some Spotted Knapweed blooms (Centaurea biebersteinii) -- both of these species are non-native and invasive (assuming I've identified them correctly), but I think they're quite pretty nonetheless:
Tomorrow, I'm leaving on a trip with my family to a strange and foreign land: Utah! I'll be there for a week, and I hope to return with stories and pictures aplenty. Stay tuned!
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