This morning I decided to go on an adventure in a brand new woods (new to me, that is). Off I went to the Bent of the River Audubon sanctuary!
This place turned out to be basically wonderful. It had deep woods with delightful streams and pools, and wide meadows dotted with huge trees:
And a long trail following the river that gives the sanctuary its name:
The most amazing thing to me, though, was how obviously well cared-for this place is. I saw no trash at all on the whole 2+ miles of trails I walked. None. Every other park I go to around here always has at least the occasional (sometimes more than that) beer can, fishing line, cigarette butt, etc., so this seemed pretty crazy by comparison. I also didn't see any other people on the trails. I'm sure the fact that Bent of the River doesn't allow dogs, bikes, or fishing is related to all this. In any case, I loved it. Except for the well-groomed trails and occasional nesting box, this place really felt like it was more about nature than it was about people. I felt totally comfortable ambling along these trails (and not at all dorky with my binoculars and camera), and I was happy to pay the suggested $5 trail fee to get to hang out here.
And as for my actual woods walk, there was plenty to see! Now that the canopy has entirely leafed out, I heard a lot more birds than I saw, but that just meant I got to work on identifying by ear. (Normally I take pictures of things I don't recognize to figure out IDs later, and today I was doing a lot of sound recording for the same reason.)
Although the birds stayed out of camera range, several other creatures did come close. A few Little Wood Satyr butterflies were chasing each other through the woods and fields, and one let me creep up on it for a picture:
(I love those orange antennae.)
A dark fishfly (genus Nigronia) fluttered around on oversized wings:
And this Ebony Jewelwing damselfly was definitely jewel-like in the light-dappled forest:
At one point, I turned around to face where I had just been walking, and I was surprised to find that an Eastern Garter Snake had suddenly appeared a few feet away from me and directly in my path:
Sneaky snake! Oo, look at your pretty red and black tongue:
I looked away to check my camera's settings, and when I looked back up the snake had completely disappeared again. I think this snake might have some ninja skills.
I had been hoping to see Pink Lady's Slippers in bloom in these woods, but all I managed to find were several large flower-less plants:
Oh well, maybe these plants will have flowers next year.
The Mountain Laurel was just opening its fancy flowers:
These flowers are gorgeous, but I also really like the way these buds look before they open, like little shooting stars lighting up the woods:
Continuing the lighting theme, these (I think) Varnish Shelf Fungi (Ganoderma tsugae) were like weirdly-shaped lanterns:
In the fields, huge Cow Parsnip plants were opening their big flower-umbrellas a few feet above the ground:
It was definitely a good morning, and if I lived closer to this place it would become one of my frequent haunts. And really, any nature walk gets bonus awesome points when it ends with a field of horses:
:)
Yesterday morning's trip to Silver Sands State Park was full of surprises. There were no nesting shorebirds (which is what I was actually supposed to be looking for), but the many other awesome creatures roaming the beaches and marshes more than made up for it.
A group of about 40 Brant (our small dark geese) was hanging out on the shore. That in itself wasn't too surprising, since these birds are in Connecticut in the summer (although I don't see them very often), but wait, what's up with those two weird-looking white and gray geese in there?
I'm still not exactly sure what to do with these two geese, but they are unquestionably something unusual. Parts of them look so similar to the Brant (which are on the right hand side and in the back of the above picture), but they've also got those splotchy white patches and orangey-pink legs (but dark beaks), which is, well, weird. And from other views, they don't really look much like Brant at all:
I circulated my pictures among some Connecticut bird people, and the consensus seems to point to a hybrid between Brant and Snow Goose. I can definitely see some Snow Goose in these birds. And I think this is really pretty cool. However unlikely it might actually be (and according to my internet searches, Brant x Snow Goose hybrids have happened before, but they are extremely unlikely), and even though it'd be pretty difficult to know for sure that this is what's going on here, I just really like the idea that somewhere, at some point, there was a Snow Goose who looked at a Brant and thought, "Hey, that is one attractive goose," and the Brant thought so, too, and so what if you're only supposed to mate with geese that look like you. It seems to have worked out, if these two unusual birds are any indication.
So that was pretty awesome. I'll probably never see another Brant x Snow Goose, and these guys are absolutely one of a kind.
In other parts of the beach, tiny Semipalmated Sandpipers pattered over the low-tide sand:
And then flew off on little wings when they thought I was too close (I was crouched in one spot, so really they were the ones who got too close to me):
In the marshes near the beach, a Yellow-crowned Night Heron was feasting on the little Fiddler Crabs that live in the mud, and I had a great time watching this graceful hunter close up:
There were tons of crabs all over, and the heron was busy snatching them up. There was a lot of crunching (note the crab's shadow in this next picture):
I had way too much fun taking pictures of this gorgeous bird as it danced and posed. I love the pattern of feathers on its back and the fancy marks on its face:
The heron was really very good at what it was doing. Oh little crab, I don't think you're going to be around much longer:
Nope, there you go:
Down the hatch!
Mmm, a satisfied heron:
Speaking of crabs, this little spiky creature caught my eye as it scuttled through a quickly-moving stream to the ocean:
I scooped it up to check it out, and it turned out to be a Hermit Crab! It immediately rushed back to the water, quickly enough that I couldn't quite keep it in focus:
And although not technically a crab (actually in a group of its own, separate from crustaceans), this Horseshoe Crab had buried itself in a swirled depression in the wet sand. I assume it's still alive, although I didn't disturb it to find out for sure:
The hot weather is really coming in now, and what better way to start off another season of summer weather than with an awesome and eventful trip to the beach!
After our recent stretch of chilly and rainy weather, I was more than happy to take advantage of today's gorgeous sunny skies for my first woods walk in far too long. (My weekly trips to the beach are great, too, but I miss the woods.) Osbornedale State Park has a lovely mix of forests, fields, and ponds, which was just what I wanted this morning, so off I went!
Most of the animal activity (as usual) centered around the ponds and fields. Red-winged Blackbirds popped up to scold at me as I walked along the path near the ponds:
Canada Geese milled around, with a single quickly-growing chick in tow:
When I was last at this park a month ago, I saw a few geese sitting on nests.... I wonder what happened to all those families.
This Canada Goose was nice enough to let a Painted Turtle share its rock (or maybe it's the other way around):
And even though I get to see Great Egrets all the time now at the beach, it was a treat to see one stalking through a freshwater pond, surrounded by pretty Yellow Pond Lily blooms:
The fields were buzzing (literally) with flying insects. This large fuzzy fly (I'm not sure what species) chased another fly around and then sat and cleaned itself on a leaf:
And there were butterflies everywhere, big and small, including this Silver-spotted Skipper:
And a very impressive Spicebush Swallowtail, its black and blue wings standing out against the pale Dame's Rocket blossoms where it was feeding:
I even stopped to notice a new (for me) wildflower in the fields, the appropriately-named Tower Mustard (Arabis glabra), its tiny pale yellow flowers at the very top of tall purplish blue stalks:
This plant is apparently common in much of North America (and other continents), and I'm glad I finally noticed it. The leaves and stalks are striking, and the mustard-y flowers are quite pretty close up:
In the woods, everything was lush and cool. (Have I mentioned that I love the woods?) The trees have completely leafed out, so most of the ground was shaded except for a few spots of sun. These ferns were making some very pretty shadows in their sunny patch on the forest floor:
I'm always amazed at how well some plants are able to grow in the forest even with so little light. The Canada Mayflowers were still opening a few dainty white blooms (although most of these plants I saw were finishing blooming by now):
Round-leaved Pyrola was sending up stalks studded with flower buds:
And several tall False Hellebore (Veratrum viride) plants were making a stunning display along a stream bank, with cascades of flowers that are actually easy to miss because their light green color blends in so well with the rest of the forest:
I've seen these big-leaved plants in previous years growing among Skunk Cabbages, but this is the first time I've actually seen them in flower. Close up, the flowers are especially cool looking, and I think that green is extraordinarily pretty:
It was certainly a great visit. I would spend every day in the woods if I could!
This puffy brown ball was camped out in the trees next to my garden earlier today:
It's a baby Northern Cardinal! A pair of cardinals has been hanging around our yard all spring, and it's so cool to see that they managed to produce this little guy (or girl). This baby must be only just out of the nest, since it's at the perching-but-not-much-else stage. Lots of fluffy down and no tail feathers, but it's got a crest already!
The mother cardinal showed up every few minutes with food, and then the baby got really excited, chirping and fluttering and opening its mouth wide (it was the chirps that made me look in this tree in the first place):
Oh boy, oh boy, food! Yum yum yum:
(Mom!!)
Mmmmm, food:
It's hard for me to believe that this weird looking creature will turn into a sleek cardinal someday. Well, we all go through our awkward stages. :) Stay safe and grow big, little one!
