On Tuesday afternoon, I drove out to Sheldon Marsh State Nature Preserve to see what this place is like in the very earliest stages of spring. This was only my third time visiting this preserve since moving to Ohio in August, but I feel like I'm getting a pretty good feel for the place across the changing seasons. As with my previous visits (in the fall and winter, respectively), there were lots of things to see!
I'll just dive in with what I consider the most exciting sight of the trip. Turtles! Yes, it really must be spring if there are turtles out and about. And even cooler, these are Blanding's Turtles (I saw two individuals; the second is just outside of the next picture), a species listed as threatened in Ohio and considered endangered by the IUCN because of their declining populations. I've never encountered this creature before, and I love that bright yellow chin:
These turtles were quite large, maybe around a foot long including their heads. Apparently Blanding's Turtles are super long-lived (70 years and up in the wild) and they don't reach maturity until 12-20 years old, which probably isn't helping their population problems. (The much more common Painted Turtles, by contrast, are ready to reproduce after 2-16 years.) I've also read that predation of eggs and hatchlings is a big problem for these guys. Perhaps the two turtles I saw will make some eggs, and maybe those eggs won't get eaten.... I don't want these sun-chinned creatures to go away!
Waterfowl migration is in full swing, and there were plenty of birds swimming around in the ice-free marsh. A variety of ducks were dabbling in the back of the marsh, but I was pretty well entranced by a small group of American Coot -- relatives of rails -- foraging near the path:
Coot! So cute, with that little tail and head:
These birds mainly eat aquatic vegetation, and they must've been finding some good meals in this shallow water. Mmm, greenery:
Coots have so many weird features, like that red knob on the top of their beak that looks so much like a third eye to me in the above picture. And their feet are these big lobed things, all the better for paddling in water and walking on mud:
The lobes fold up (again, weird), but the foot remains large:
These really are quite handsome birds, and I'm glad I got to hang out with them for a bit:
A pair of Wood Ducks foraged close to the path as well, giving me just the briefest of glimpses of their amazing costumes through the reeds. It's kind of interesting to see just parts of these ducks at a time, little details picked out from the whole. Like the male's fantastic green-purple-pink ponytail:
And his fancy painted beak and speckled chestnut breast:
I'm astonished by the colors peeking through on the female's wings:
And an entire pool of the same swirling iridescence -- what incredible color! -- on top of the male:
Yes, these are some pretty amazing birds, in part and in whole!
I was glad to see a pair of Killdeer patrolling the marsh, making me think of the Connecticut shore (where I would be just starting to monitor for Piping Plovers and other shorebirds if I lived there now; sigh):
Several pairs of Canada Geese made a dramatic (and loud) presence. I hope the Muskrats don't mind that one of their many mounds seems to be under consideration as a potential nest site:
The Muskrats seem to be thriving in this marsh. I didn't see any signs of the American Mink I spotted here on my last visit, but there were definitely Muskrats splashing in and out of the water (trailing their weird snake-like tails behind them):
This male Red-winged Blackbird chirped at me from within the reeds next to the path, his shoulder patches demurely covered:
A Red-tailed Hawk landed on a pole and surveyed the marsh, totally confident and comfortable even with people walking by right below:
After a few minutes it took off again:
And headed down the path right toward me (passing over my head close enough that I could hear the small sounds it made with every wingbeat):
Ah, so many cool creatures in this place!
Speaking of close encounters, I'm sure that people hand-feed the squirrels in this preserve (I had a couple more Fox Squirrels walk right up to me) and I suspect that they feed the birds as well. This Black-capped Chickadee flew over and nearly landed on me when I stopped at its patch of the marsh, and then it perched nearby to look me over. Well, if this creature's going to offer me an adorable chickadee photo op, I'm certainly not going to pass it up!
This Eastern Chipmunk also seemed ridiculously confident, peeking out of its hole right on the edge of the path:
Do you have something in your cheek pouches, little chipmunk, or are they always that pudgy?
Another chipmunk across the way must have been working on a nest, with all those leaves in her mouth; she dove into a nearby hole right after I took this picture:
Wow, I really did see a lot of things! And all while getting to be out in the bright sunlight, which did a good deal to make the cold day feel warmer, and made for a lovely misty marsh:
Yesterday was sunny and gorgeous and not all that cold, so I headed out for my first dedicated woods walk in a public park since moving to Ohio. (It sounds crazy, I know, but I've been so impressed with the nature in our own yard that I haven't really felt the need to explore other places.) I've been very curious about this whole Great Lake thing, so I drove up to Sheldon Marsh Nature Preserve, which is right on the shore of Lake Erie. For such a small park (there was only a mile or so of trails) this place had a whole lot of things going for it, including really lovely woods, fields, marshes, and beaches, and wildlife all over the place.
A Red-tailed Hawk was soaring over the small field near the entrance right when I arrived:
At the edge of the lake, an even bigger raptor was keeping watch:
I'm fairly certain this is the closest I've been to a wild Bald Eagle. An impressive bird indeed:
Wow, what a huge beak. I wouldn't want to be a smaller creature in this bird's sights:
Ready for launch (the tree's branches got in the way of my pictures of the takeoff):
The path through the forest featured lots of small mammal activity, even with all the people walking by. Fox Squirrels buried nuts next to the path and waved their fancy red tails:
We have regular old Gray Squirrels around here too, but I see Fox Squirrels much more often -- a first for me, since I've never lived in a place with Fox Squirrels before. I definitely admire their orange bellies and tails.
This Eastern Chipmunk was keeping an eye on me, but it was much more interested in the second Eastern Chipmunk a few feet away (a grand chase began soon after I took this picture):
I was surprised and happy to see several Painted Turtles basking in one of the ponds, even though it's getting quite late in the year:
We have a different subspecies of Painted Turtle out here than we had in Connecticut (Midland vs. Eastern Painted Turtles), but I still recognize these guys as familiar friends. I love the extreme balancing act of the turtle on the far left of this picture.
I was just a footstep away from this little Brown Snake before I noticed it. It's a good thing twigs aren't usually so curvy! I took this picture then urged the little fellow off the path and out of the way of dangerous feet:
I got to meet a new (for me) bird on this visit, too. Rusty Blackbirds have been declining dramatically in numbers in recent decades and they're listed as "vulnerable" by the IUCN. A couple of these handsome fellows were hanging out with some Red-winged Blackbirds and they stopped only briefly for a picture before heading off to forage in the swampy woods:
A bunch of different ducks were hanging out in the marsh, and I was super happy to meet a pair of Wood Ducks close to the path. They were foraging behind a screen of bushes, which made picture-taking rather difficult, but it also helped them feel safe despite the person with the camera nearby. Wood Ducks are -- I think -- the most beautiful of ducks. The female was lovely (with duckweed on her bill, so cute), and I love the faint sheen of iridescent purple in her hair:
And of course the male was resplendent:
I love the way he looks against the reflected fall trees:
And boy do I wish this next picture was entirely in focus! I had no idea his wings would be so colorful as well:
As I was leaving, I met the most personable (or perhaps most tired/hungry) White-throated Sparrow ever:
This little bird kept hopping along the path I was taking, basically right next to me. It would startle up every few seconds while I walked, but then it would come back and continue foraging on my path, only a few feet away. So I did what I used to do with shorebirds in Connecticut: I walked a little ways ahead of the bird and then crouched down and let it keep foraging and work its way toward me. I've never had a sparrow come so close!
The food on this path must have been really good; this bird found a morsel every few steps:
It's nice to get a sparrow's-eye view of the woods every once in a while:
So Sheldon Marsh turned out to be a lovely place, with lots of awesome creatures. I'm sure I'll make my way back here at some point!
Yesterday was cold but clear, and I decided to have an adventure. I've been curious about what the beach is like at this time of year -- I have no idea what sorts of animals live at the shore in late fall/early winter -- so I headed down to our beach of choice, Silver Sands State Park, to check it out. I walked through some areas that I'd never been to before, along the shoreline and through some marshland, and there was plenty to see!
Several ducks of various species were gathered in a medium-sized pond along the path, and I had fun trying to figure out who was there. I don't spend a lot of time around ducks, and these ones preferred to stay some distance away from me -- I think I figured out why real birders bring spotting scopes with them on walks -- but I was able to get a good enough look to identify some of them at least.
Most of the ducks were American Black Ducks:
If I hadn't seen these birds before (and had someone tell me what they were), I probably would've thought they were female Mallards -- Mallards don't have such a dark body, though, or such a clear line between neck and breast. There are other differences, too, between the two species, but that's the most obvious one to me.
A pair of American Wigeons was hanging out as well, a new bird for me. The male was particularly fancy, with shiny green and yellow on his head:
And speaking of fancy ducks, a female Wood Duck was paddling around, too:
What a pretty girl. I think Wood Ducks might be some of my favorites. :)
Moving away from the pond, I was pretty excited to see the bird in this next picture, even from far away:
Hiding among all that tall grass is the characteristic write rump of a Northern Harrier. (I'm pretty sure this is the only raptor in our area to have that distinctive marking.) I'd love to see one of these birds up close one day -- they have the most interesting faces, all angular and pointed and very strange. Later, I saw the Northern Harrier again (or possibly a different one) hunting over another patch of marsh, flashing its white spot as it flew:
Meanwhile, a few yards away, a small herd of White-tailed Deer looked on:
It seems crazy that I've been keeping a wildlife blog for months now, and yet I haven't posted any pictures of White-tailed Deer until now. I think this has to do with the fact that I have never once seen a deer in the woods where I usually walk -- Naugatuck State Forest -- and I have no idea why this is. (Could it have to do with the hunting?) Deer are anything but rare in this area, but for whatever reason, I guess I frequent places where they do not. In any case, it was cool to actually see some of these big mammals that I always expect to encounter in the woods, but never do.
Toward the end of my walk, four Red-tailed Hawks burst from a tree, screeching and wheeling through the air, and sometimes careening into each other. They seemed to be having some sort of tussle -- a family dispute? I didn't get any pictures of the action, but one of the hawks flew low enough over my head for some nice views:
For all that these birds are so common around here, I don't think I could get tired of seeing them, especially at such close range. They're quite impressive.
As I was leaving, a few Great Egrets flew by:
Does anyone else think these birds look like dinosaurs? (Or possibly dragons?)
And here's one last surprise for the day:
The first day of December, and a butterfly is still hanging around. This sulphur butterfly (I'm not sure of the exact species) was definitely alive -- it flew up into the air when I first walked by -- but it seemed pretty sluggish in the frigid air. That was probably to my benefit, actually, because it meant that I got to get very close to this beautiful creature. I'm a big fan of those bright green eyes.
The shore feels so different from the woods, and it's fun to add some variety to my walks every once in a while. Hooray for exploring and seeing new things!
