Category Archives: nature

A Desert Walk

Yesterday’s walk started out tough. As I walked up the campground road I heard a Cactus Wren and was surprised to see it right beside me, except it didn’t look like a wren. I watched it sing and feed but it didn’t have a curved beak. It appears that is lost the tip of its beack and just had a stub. It was sad to see but it certainly had a lot of early morning pep.

Penny and I took a trail where she could roam a bit off leash and of course, she didn’t help my birding. I did see this American Kestrel way off.

It was very windy and most birds were resting but the Black-tailed Gnatcatcher was very cooperative.

Less cooperative were the cacti. The Jumping Cholla, the reason I wear jeans on these walks, got Penny several times in the foot. Removing them without getting stuck yourself is a challenge.

We were out for a good three hours and the rain showers and wind finally made us head for the van. This Gila Woodpecker, refusing to let us get close, greeted us at the campground.

We earned an early lunch and nap with desert wind and showers buffetting the rig. Can’t help but wonder how long that wren will hold on. Tal es la naturaleza.

Stuff on Trees

I try to get out for a long walk with Penny every other day at least, in addition to her regular loops that we do in our woods. Yesterday afternoon, we hiked two and a half miles up on our adjoining forest land. It was a great early fall day but bird activity was very light so after spotting this fungal growth, I decided to focus on what I could find on trees.

One nice thing about fungi is that they stay still for photographs. The cauliflower-like growth is apparently called Sparassis (also known as cauliflower mushroom)

One nice thing about fungi is that they stay still for photographs. The cauliflower-like growth is apparently called Sparassis (also known as cauliflower mushroom)

The route we took climbs up into some pretty rough country which is pretty damp and filled with soft maples and other trees very susceptible to growths and deformities.

Penny loves to explore openings like this, hoping that a critter is home.

Penny loves to explore openings like this, hoping that a critter is home.

This tree is doomed from all the fungal growth.

This tree is doomed from all the fungal growth.

At the high point of our hike I began to look for a growth that has fascinated me for years. The first time I saw it I thought it was a small bear — and when the grandkids were young, took them up by it with some made-up story about it.

In this long election season, this now reminds me of an old elephant, with many options for analogies which I'll keep to myself.

In this long election season, this now reminds me of an old elephant, with many options for analogies which I’ll keep to myself.

This looks like a Pileated Woodpecker was at work.

This looks like a Pileated Woodpecker was at work.

Fungus killed this tree which was down across the trail.

Fungus killed this tree which was down across the trail.

This deformity is called a burl (I think.) It was much larger than it appears in the photo.

This deformity is called a burl (I think.) It was much larger than it appears in the photo.

One of the things I notice about naturalists on bird walks that they are interested in about everything. It’s a good lesson for me to keep in mind, especially in transition seasons when the birds are sparse. The fresh air, sunshine, exercise, and watching our old Vizsla romping through the woods made it a great outing. We are blessed.

The sign marking the end of our jaunt -- made many years ago by the first owner of the property.

The sign marking the end of our jaunt — made many years ago by the first owner of the property.

A Jaunt to Chickering Bog

After a hospital lab visit and some errands yesterday morning, I decided to visit a local area where I have never birded: Chickering Bog Natural Area located on the border of Calais and East Montpelier. It’s not too hard to find: see the directions at the end of this article.

The scenery along Lightning Ridge Road is lovely.

The scenery along Lightning Ridge Road is lovely.

You have to look carefully for the entrance trail – I have missed it in the past.

You have to look carefully for the entrance trail – I have missed it in the past.

The trail is on private land at the start and also follows a snowmobile track. It's easy walking with some debris from falling trees.

The trail is on private land at the start and also follows a snowmobile track. It’s easy walking with some debris from falling trees.

A friend reading this post wrote me to let me know that pets are not permitted on Conservancy sites — she had read the guidelines (which I had not) so Penny was a scofflaw. I must say that I don’t buy the policy at all – a least they could require leashes. In any case,so that you don’t make the same mistake, here are the guidelines:

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Penny loved the woods and cavorted, as best as an eleven-year-old Vizsla can, as we moved up the trail. Bird activity was light with an inquisitive Downy Woodpecker following us chirping away. We flushed two Ruffed Grouse which always gets the bird dog excited.

The trail's wet spots are well-covered with planking. Here Penny is crossing a tiny brook.

The trail’s wet spots are well-covered with planking. Here Penny is crossing a tiny brook.

After fifteen or twenty minutes, we entered the Natural Area which is managed by The Nature Conservancy.

Sign

The foliage is starting to turn and there were some pretty spots along the route.

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This tree alongside the trail has a problem. I always wonder what caused the blemish to form.

This tree alongside the trail has a problem. I always wonder what caused the blemish to form.

After a little over a half hour (it’s about a mile), we arrived at the bog and went out on the boardwalk looking for wildlife.

The bog was beautiful with fall colors starting, no bugs, no noise, no people - just a guy and a dog.

The bog was beautiful with fall colors starting, no bugs, no noise, no people – just a guy and a dog.

The only wildlife that I saw at the bog was this big turtle on the far edge of the open water.

The only wildlife that I saw at the bog was this big turtle on the far edge of the open water.

From The Nature Conservancy page:

Chickering Bog began to form when glaciers receded from Vermont over 10,000 years ago and left behind a bedrock basin that filled with water. The pond that was formed slowly filled in with vegetation. As these plants died, they accumulated and only partially decomposed, forming a layer of peat that has continued to thicken over the years, reaching an impressive 30 feet deep in the northern part of Chickering Bog. It is the peat that gives the area its semi-solid, “quaking” quality. A small patch of open water is all that remains of the original pond.

Chickering Bog is actually misnamed; this so-called bog is really a fen. The difference between the two wetland types has to do with the water source and the acidity of the site. Bogs tend to be acidic and poor in dissolved minerals; fens are more alkaline and rich in dissolved minerals. Water enters bogs solely through rainwater, while fens like Chickering Bog are also fed by calcium-rich groundwater and springs.

Screen Shot 2015-10-01 at 8.24.47 PMTo get there from Montpelier, take Route 2 east 6.5 miles to East Montpelier. Then take Route 14 north about 3.2 miles to North Montpelier where you will see North Montpelier Pond on your right. Continue on Route 14 for 1.1 miles until you see Lightening Ridge Road on the left, which is marked by a sign for the Calais Elementary School. Turn left and go 1.6 miles to George Road on the right. Park on Lightening Ridge Road on the right a little past George Road. The Conservancy trail begins to the left of the private driveway. You have to look hard, but there is a green post with the initials “TNC.” A snowmobile trail starts here and goes up the hill to the entrance of the natural area and the trail to Chickering Bog. Look carefully for the sign that marks the Conservancy’s Chickering Bog trail after crossing a wetland on the snowmobile trail.

Yesterday’s Critters

I decided to document some of the wildlife I saw yesterday here at Falcon State Park as we prepare to move on. Here’s a Greater Roadrunner skulking through our back yard.

I took a brief drive down the nearby “dump road,” often a good spot for desert species and found this Harris’s Hawk perched quite a way off, but watching me.

Just further ahead this Jackrabbit, the first I’ve seen, watched from behind a barbed wire fence.

Driving back, I spotted this hawk perched beside the highway. Traffic being light, I stopped and took a few shots. I’m calling it a juvenile Redtail.

Later, on a dog walk, we encountered this gathering of Redwing Blackbirds chattering away. Each day this week, there has been a constant stream of blackbirds and cormorants heading northward.

Last evening, while driving out to a spot with a reliable 4G signal, I saw a group of Javelinas crossing up ahead. This guy waited, as I slowed down, and stayed pretty well hidden.

As I returned at dusk, this deer stood beside a speed limit sign on the park loop. The deer here look pretty healthy although their numbers are modest and unlike some parks, they are wary of humans.

Since we’ve been here, I saw a bobcat crossing the road way up ahead one morning but have yet to see any of the many coyotes that live here. I’ve certainly heard them, sometimes rather close It is evident from the scat on the trails that there are many critters around. Penny, if I don’t watch her, is in hog heaven.

A Birding Surprise

The other evening it was still 80 degrees after supper (Yeah, I know I’m pushing some friendships here) so we decided to take a five mile drive up to a small pond where waterfowl gather. It is on a private ranch so you have to peer through a fence, past brush and trees, often with good luck. It is perfectly safe, right beside a main road, and a local birding hotspot.

There’s a big dip in the road just before the turnoff and I had seen headlights approaching and was cautious. Sure enough, just as we pulled on to the little path that goes up by the fence, a state trooper was pulling someone over. We watched that as I approached the pond and when we looked left, it was a “Holy “&@$!” moment. Here’s what we saw:

Now I knew that there were some elk out on the vast tract and had seen one way off a few years ago, but these guys could almost stir our coffee. There were at least four who just moseyed off as I took a few photos.

You can see some Wales from Northern Shovelers and Gadwalls in the background and the first photo has a Great Egret fishing. I did get a new bird for the county – a Black-crowned Night Heron on the far bank.

Driving back with the truck windows down and the last of the sunset fading over Mexico, it just had been a great hour. We have no TV and lousy internet but there are certainly trade offs. Adios, amigos.

Signs and Sounds of Spring

As I sat outside last evening, dozens of Red-wing Blackbirds were in the tree above me, chattering and calling away, and I thought, "I’m certainly not in Vermont anymore."

Here in deep South Texas where spring comes early (winter never arrives), Northern Mockingbirds are starting to work on their great array of songs. At times it seems like there is a tree full of different birds as the "mocker" run through its repertoire.

Growing season in the Southern Rio Grande Valley is listed as 340 days – I have no idea when the twenty-five non-growing days occur. The thing I have noticed is that fields, one day barren, are after a few days of plowing and planting, are in about a week, green ( often with stoop laborers bent over, tweaking things.) it is an amazing growing system, complete with scarce water from the shrunken Rio Grande, intensive pesticide and fertilizer use, and cheap migrant labor.

Here at Falcon State Park, the Yucca plants are blossoming.

One of the indicators of spring for many Texans is the greening of Mesquite trees, such as this one I saw yesterday on the trail. It is a sure sign for many that the last frost has occurred and that it is safe to plant.

After a brief rain the other night, some flowers are beginning to pop. Here’s some Texas Lantana, a common, but pretty shrub.

I just walked by two Curved-bill Thrashers perched in a tree, singing away to one another. Love is in the air in South Texas.

No Birds — Smell the flowers

Last month, while on an outing to Lamoille County, I was a little frustrated with the lack of birds until I noticed some of the plants blossoming along the roadside where the dog and I were walking. I changed gears and decided to look more closely at the flowers and shoot some photos.  Some I knew, others I looked up in my guidebook, Wildflowers of Vermont by Kate Carter (a great little guidebook.)

Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare)

Bull Thistle (Cirsium vulgare)

Tall Goldenrod (Solidago altissima)

Tall Goldenrod (Solidago altissima)

Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota)

Queen Anne’s Lace (Daucus carota)

Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata)

Spotted Joe-Pye Weed (Eupatorium maculatum) Thank you Erin at Birds of Vermont Museum.

Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium)

Fireweed (Epilobium angustifolium)

And lastly, a plant that I am sure is common but one that does not jump out of the book at me.  Ideas?  (See revised caption)

UnknownW

My friends at Birds of Vermont Museum identified this as meadowsweet (Spirea latifolia). It was not in my book.

Arizona Desert Flowers

Just before we left Arizona, we got a couple of modest rainfalls and the flowers started popping out. Of course, I have a dozen bird books but nothing on desert flowers – and we haven’t been near a bookstore since. So I’ll identify the few I know and ask you to comment on the others. Here in New Mexico, it is drier and the plants are just dry and dusty.

This plant, which my friend, Heather Campbell identifies as Narrowleaf four-oclock *mirabilis linnearis*, was where I saw my first Costa’s hummingbird.

This yellow roadside plant was everywhere.

The creosote bush is all over the Southwest and while having no connection with the sticky black substance we use on fenceposts, it does have some interesting properties that cause it to grow apart from its kin. You can read more here.

This lovely plant is Pink Fairyduster – *callandria eriophylla*. (Thanks Heather)

The flowers of the Octillo cactus popped after the rain.

The Beavertail cactus blossoms are more subdued. (Thanks Heather)

Compass Barrel Cactus blossoms later – I think this is last season’s fruit.

Lastly, here’s a Say’s Phoebe on an Octillo with yellowed leaves. (Thanks Heather)

So, if you spot some corrections on plant ids, feel free to chime in.

Natural surprises while birding

Three doe, which I see most outings in our woods, eased off into the brush this afternoon, as the dog and I began another birding trip around our loop.  They flicked their tails a bit but we passed them quickly and let them be.  But it did get me thinking about non-bird stuff we see every day while birding.

This morning while birding at the local reservoir, I found a beaver “slide”cut down an embankment where the animals slide the smaller trees they have felled.  The beavers were elsewhere but had been getting ready for winter.

It brought to mind a delightful experience last week at Berlin Pond where I noted some movement far across the water.  I got my scope set up and saw a couple of “sea serpents” cavorting through the shallows.  I kept looking, not believing the length of them and the long pointed tails that entered the water last as they undulated, seemingly chasing one another.  I was wishing for one of my naturalist friends to come by and help me figure it out — it was my first good look at River Otters in action.  Of course, when I went to the truck for the camera, they moved into the reeds — but it was a neat moment.

We have had a young buck on our property this year — I saw him earlier when his antlers were in velvet.  Penny and I jumped him again the other day and he loped a quarter mile to the hillside across from us and posed.  Here is the very long distant shot I took:

Deer1W

Perhaps the most interesting observation this year was two weeks ago, early in the morning as it was just getting light, as Penny and I just started out from the house.  I saw some movement, black fur, and thought, “Great, a bear cub.”  I got my binoculars on it to see a Fisher Cat watching me.  I wasn’t sure of the identification until it turned to move away and I saw the long black tail.  Fortunately, the dog was engaged elsewhere and never saw it.  It was the first one I’ve ever seen and quite a start to that walk.

So, the things we’ve seen before in our woods but not yet this year include porcupines, a coy dog, raccoons, several black bears, and a big bull moose.   Given the fact that the Vizsla is always roaming with me, I’m fine with not seeing them again.

 

 

Naturally Curious — Book Review

Naturally Curious is a wonderful book given to me last year by my daughter upon the recommendation of the owner of her local birding supply store.  I have started reading it again this Fall.  It is set up by month so I started with the November chapter but then realized that we were just through October so I backtracked.  I love the detail and all the factoids on a variety of natural items.  Naturally (pardon the pun), I gravitated to the birding sections but learn a lot from the insect and plant sections as well.  Right now, I’m trying to learn more about ferns — although I should have started a few months ago — most have been killed by frost.

This is not a book you can’t put down — I take a break for a few months and then start again, like I’m doing now.  I kind of savor the content — not wanting to get too far ahead but rather following the months as they occur.

Let me give you example of the type of information I just find fascinating, this from a writeup on yellow-bellied sapsuckers:

“By far the most frequent visitor to sapsucker wells, other than sapsuckers, is the ruby-throated hummingbird. Like the sapsucker, it is in search of sap as well as insects that are attracted to the sap, and has been seen following sapsuckers as they visit their wells. Tree sap is similar to flower nectar in the amount of sugar and nutrients it contains.  When hummingbirds first return to New England in early May, flowers are few and far between, so tree sap, available to hummingbirds thanks to yellow-bellied sapsuckers, is a lifesaving substitute. It seems more than coincidental that the spring arrival of the ruby-throated hummingbird and the height of yellow-bellied sapsucker drilling occur at the same time.”

This is one of those “read a little, absorb, read some more” type of book.  While it’s focused on New England,  it has a lot of information that is applicable in other sections of the U.S.  It’s one of those books I go back to, time and time again once I finished it.    I highly recommend it as a book to have on your bookshelves.  It’s a great holiday gift for an budding naturalists in your life.

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