Fluffy Yellow Babies

I can't get over how cute baby geese are!

The Canada Goose nest I found at Naugatuck State Forest last month has now produced a handful of fluffy babies, who toddle around their spit of land while Mom and Dad look on:
 

I want to give these babies a big snuggle (but I won't).... Just look at those tiny wings!
 

Mom and Dad didn't seem too upset at my presence, but after a few minutes, the babies made a bee-line back to Mom, and I started to get the hint that I wasn't welcome:
 

It's OK, I'm going! And anyway, I wasn't going to hurt you, babies. It's probably best, though, if you stay close to Mom until you're bigger -- just to be safe.
 

Some other highlights from today's walk in the woods include this lovely Green Frog relaxing on a bed of moss:
 

A little Eastern Pine Elfin butterfly (Callophrys niphon) on some Wild Strawberry blossoms -- what a gorgeous pattern on the backs of those wings:
 

And [Warning: Grossness alert!] an owl pellet! I poked it apart a little with a stick to see what someone had been eating, and it looks like there are a few small rodent bits in there (two jawbones on the right, some leg bones), and pieces of a big insect of some sort. Cool!
 

Yay, the woods. :D

Many Bright Creatures in Two Gray Days, Part 2: Birds and Flowers

There were tons of birds out and about on Thursday and Friday morning when I visited the meadows of Naugatuck State Forest, including some very colorful newly-arrived migrants that stayed active the whole time I was there. These sorts of wet, overcast days seem to be just about perfect, it turns out, for seeing awesome creatures (a fact I will need to remember for the future), and I found only one real downside: My camera has a very hard time focusing on quick-moving birds in low-light conditions. Nevertheless I managed to capture a few pictures of these flying gems as they flitted among the bushes and trees around me.

A bunch of Yellow Warblers made a strong presence, announcing themselves with their loud cheerful songs:

Several Blue-winged Warblers were hanging around, too, singing their little songs that sound like a wheezy breath in and out (which, since I read that description in my Peterson field guide, is the only thing I can think of now when I hear these birds):

Sing it, little bird!

A single male Chestnut-sided Warbler graced me with his presence, and even came quite close:

I honestly think this is one of our prettiest birds. He has so many colors, and such an interesting costume! Even from the back, he's a striking little creature:

There were Ovenbirds singing all around, but I only saw one individual who popped up into view for a few seconds before flying off again:

Also hanging out (though not within camera-range) was a male Scarlet Tanager, some Black-throated Green Warblers, a Black-and-white Warbler, a Blue-headed Vireo, and probably many other species that I didn't see or identify. I love the huge variety of cool birds that are showing up now!

The weather also made for some lovely wildflower sights -- colorful blooms were practically luminescent against the damp ground. Here's another, better view of the Wood Betony that I found the other day, with its gorgeous yellow and/or red whorls of blossoms:

I'm definitely impressed by the range of possible colors on these plants:

This lovely little Starflower (Trientalis borealis) shone out from under the trees:

Huh, a flower with seven petals (normal for the species).... How strange, and yet beautifully symmetrical!

I was very happy to see these Wild Red Columbines in bloom -- they're one of my favorites, and I don't find them very often:

And I can't believe how utterly gorgeous these Pink Azalea (Rhododendron periclymenoides) blooms were, like something straight out of a fairy tale:

Finally, not to be outdone by the flowers, the masses of cedar-apple rust galls on the Red Cedar trees were pretty phenomenal -- and I thought the handful of orange-tentacled galls on the trees outside our apartment windows were impressive!

After two days of exploring the woods in what I thought would be less than ideal conditions, I have definitely come to appreciate the benefits of soggy weather. Here's to active birds, reptiles, and amphibians, blooming plants, and lots of color on deceptively gray days!

Many Bright Creatures in Two Gray Days, Part 1: Herps

Today and yesterday have been the grayest days we've had in a while, with persistent low clouds and intermittent showers. "Soggy" would probably be the best descriptor, actually. But I've been itching to get out into the woods, so imperfect as the weather was, I spent most of my mornings both today and yesterday in the meadows of Naugatuck State Forest. And I have to say, despite the squelching shoes and the occasional need to protect my camera from rain with a plastic bag, I had just the best time. The was so much to see! In fact, I saw too many things, so this is going to have to be two posts. First up: Herps!

I hadn't even reached the parking area this morning when I got a surprise:
 

Nooo, turtle, don't try to cross the road! I did carry him or her the rest of the way across (and got a hiss for my troubles), but I had to stop and say "hi" first. OMG, Box Turtle!
 

I really have no idea how it's possible that I've been wandering the woods in Connecticut for years now, and yet this is the first Eastern Box Turtle I've seen here. I don't think they're especially rare, although they are listed as a species of special concern in Connecticut and apparently populations are slowly declining. Oh, you beautiful creature with your fearsome face. Don't glare at me; I'm trying to help you!
 

I love the golden star-bursts on this turtle's shell:
 

With those bright orange markings, you'd think these turtles would be hard to overlook in a brown forest background, but I actually think this creature blends in fairly well -- maybe that's how I've managed to miss seeing these creatures for so long:

The Box Turtle was a wonderfully exciting creature to get to meet! And speaking of bright orange herps, Red Efts were everywhere in this lovely damp weather. Again, you wouldn't think these juvenile Red-spotted Newts would be good at camouflage, but I found myself having to watch my step very carefully to make sure I didn't accidentally squash one of these little guys in my path:

I had to stop and admire every one of the several efts I came across. They're such wonderful little creatures. (And so photogenic!)
 

I lifted a log by the path to see if anyone was hiding there, and found a dainty Red-backed Salamander, who was probably also thoroughly enjoying the damp weather:

And this Wood Frog leaped across my path and landed, perfectly still, on a dead leaf:
 

I could practically hear it muttering, "I'm a leaf, just a leaf. Can you see me?" Yes, little frog, but I'm not going to eat you, I promise.
 

When I moved on, it hopped away again, just another leaf on the forest floor:
 

So many awesome creatures, and this is just the beginning! Stay tuned for more forest findings -- birds and flowers! -- on these two soggy days.

A Piping Plover! And More Tiny Birds

For several weeks now, I've been spending a chunk of my Wednesdays monitoring Silver Sands State Park as a volunteer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, looking for many species of birds, but especially Piping Plovers. So far, all of my searches have turned up negative for that one focus species -- which is fine, really, since negative data is just as useful as positive data for the people I report to, and I have lots of fun wandering the beach regardless. But that changed this morning, because look who decided to show up!
 

Piping Plovers are federally threatened -- which is to say, they're protected by the Endangered Species Act, but they're not quite at the "endangered" level (yet). These little birds nest along the Atlantic coast on sandy beaches (right where people want to be, too, which is the problem), and I believe I learned that only something like 50 pairs of Piping Plovers were recorded as successfully nesting in Connecticut last year. That's not very many.

So the point of the program that I'm volunteering for is to find out where these birds are making nests, so that we can then try to protect them better. The little creature I met this morning didn't appear to have a mate, let alone a nest, but I was enormously pleased to see him or her nonetheless!
 

Have I mentioned that Piping Plovers are probably one of the cutest birds ever? This little guy was about the size of a sparrow, just basically a big puffball running around on toothpick legs:
 

The weather was gray and chilly (and windy!) this morning, so no other people were on the beach, and the plover had plenty of room to run around. The pickings must have been pretty good here, because the little creature was snatching food from the sand every few steps, and didn't seem to mind my presence at all. I kept my distance and walked parallel and a little ahead of the bird as he/she enjoyed the beach buffet:
 

Here's hoping you find a mate and a safe place to raise babies, little one!

The Piping Plover was one of the highlights of the morning, but there were some other awesome creatures around, too. This group of Sanderlings (with a Semipalmated Sandpiper in the mix) was huddled by the water's edge -- more tiny toothpick-legged shorebirds!

Don't these creatures look super comfortable, with their long beaks nestled into the feathers on their backs? And I just love the rusty colors on some of these birds' feathers -- the last time I saw Sanderlings was in February, when they were all basically a uniform gray.

And a new wave of migrating birds has hit Connecticut now! Away from the beach, I came across several Yellow Warblers singing at the top of their voices, as well as the first Ruby-throated Hummingbird I've seen this year:
 

This handsome fellow seemed extremely happy about all the Autumn Olive blossoms surrounding him, and I'm sure he needed the fuel after his long trip north. I still can't believe these tiny birds fly across the Gulf of Mexico, not to mention the rest of the trek all the way up here.

With all these new creatures streaming in, I think I know what this means.... It's back to the woods for me sometime very soon!

Mostly Spring Flowers

Everything is growing and changing so quickly now! I went up to the meadows of Naugatuck State Forest this morning to see what was going on, and even though I was just there a week ago, there were plenty of new things to see.

I love the way the trees look now, with their new-green baby leaves -- and they were really showing off around this pond right in the middle of the forest:
 

In the fields, the Tree Swallows have definitely claimed their nest boxes (they may have left one box for the bluebirds, but I'm not sure about that). This pair seems to have a good setup, with one bird on guard duty on top of the box, and the other poking its head out of the hole (perhaps sitting on a nest?):

Hello, little bird!
 

While walking through the woods, I came across several of these little Duskywing (genus Erynnis) butterflies, and one was even kind enough to sit still for a picture:
 

As it turns out, these butterflies are actually in the skipper family, although you wouldn't know it from the way this creature is spreading its wings wide. A few of the Duskywings I saw today, however, did start to fold their wings back after they landed, approaching what I think of as a normal skipper pose. I just love those subtle markings on this creature's wings.

Also coursing through the air was the first dragonfly I've seen this year:

And not flying now, but certainly scarfing down food in preparation for eventual flight, was this mass of Eastern Tent Caterpillars:
 

For some reason, I used to think that tent caterpillars were an introduced/invasive species, but no, they're native. I think I was getting them confused with Gypsy Moths, which are absolutely non-native and very destructive. Tent caterpillars can certainly do damage, too, but I get the impression that they're much less of a concern than Gypsy Moths. And, I mean, that tent structure is pretty cool.

There were many, many flowers blooming this morning that I didn't see the last time I was in the area. A bunch of bumblebees were going crazy over a large patch of Wood Betony (Pedicularis canadensis), a low-growing plant that would be really easy to overlook:
 

Some of the Wood Betony's flowers were pale yellow, and others were more reddish -- from above, these flowers reminded me of little fireworks:
 

(Actually, I took that last picture, and then found a much, much better one that more closely shows the effect I was seeing in real life, on the Connecticut Botanical Society's website.)

I also found small clumps of Arrow-leaved Violet (Viola sagittata, or fimbriatula):

And fantastical Fringed Polygala:

 

 

In the woods, a single white lilac bush was blooming, most likely a garden escapee, but beautiful nonetheless:

 

Also perhaps escaped at some point from someone's garden, a large patch of Lily of the Valley was opening its blossoms:

And practically the rest of the forest floor was carpeted with the plant that is sometimes called False Lily of the Valley, or Canada Mayflower (Maianthemum canadense), also just barely starting to bloom:
 

For all the flowers that were already in bloom, there were many, many more buds. A good sign for things to come!