After several gray windy days, it was nice to head out this calm morning with some sunshine on our backs. And right away, I saw our Great Blue Heron, still here in spite of some nasty storms. We left him to his spot on the sunny riverbank.
It could be our last look at him before he heads out. In any case, it is a welcome start to a cold sunny morning outing with Ginger.
As I mentioned in my last post, I left my trusty camera, dings and all, in Spain. There are problems with tariff and customs. It is going to be a hassle to get it returned by mail.
We have a possible workout, but it will probably be next Spring. So, I decided to go back to a camera with changeable lenses.
I took it out for a dreary stroll today and came upon a half-dozen Northern Cardinals. The dog tugged on the leash. I tried to sort out this new rig. I got a few shots under gray skies.
So, off we go on a new adventure. Now to read the 966 page manual.
These days on outings, I’m carrying just my camera, not my binos. It’s easier and I can use the telephoto on the Canon for bird spotting.
Here’s a Chipping Sparrow at the ball field.
The other day, I heard a constant cheeping sound and came upon this fledgling on our back deck.
After ten minutes or so, I approached to see if it was tangled and off it flew to the nearby bushes. I trust it will grow up to be a catbird, sparrow, or whatever.
The other morning, a flock of young Cedar Waxwings were foraging.
And then, on our path to the river, a couple of Common Yellowthroats were chipping away at us.
Have a good September of walks and birds.
We are traveling to Europe soon and since I won’t be bringing my laptop, I have been practicing with my phone and tablet. Hummingbirds are also heading out soon and have been hitting the feeder and flowers pretty hard. Here are some photos I took this morning where I used the camera and iPad.
I saw my first hummer here on May 12th this year so it’ll be eight months to wait. Viajes seguros mis amigos.
Our local walks are getting a lot less “birdy” with migration well underway. Hummers are still here and on every outing we see and hear Gray Catbirds like this one.
Later, on the same walk, Ginger encountered a young Groundhog, and after a short showdown, it ran and hid. Since then, she sniffs the encounter spot but that’s it.
I don’t chase birds these days. However, we have had one or two juvenile Black-crowned Night Herons reported downtown on the river. Ginger and I took a long walk Wednesday and sure enough, this “continuing” bird was fishing patiently.
Just downstream, below a gas station, a Great Blue waited.
And then, as I was heading out, seven small diving ducks flew in. They were juvenile Hooded Mergansers. They settled for a rest stop and likely headed out shortly later.
We had a three mile outing around the city on a beautiful August day. High above capitol, a kettle of 36 Turkey Vultures circled, on their way south. This is a good place to live, and to bird.
We had a great experience at the camp on Woodbury Lake. I saw nearly 100 bird species and we found many back roads and trails to explore. The foliage made photos tough to get, like this shot of a Hairy Woodpecker.
And we found all sorts of interesting items like this cache of vehicles and boats far from any road.
On one of our last mornings, I took my camera along in the kayak. I joined these Mallards having a breakfast outing.
And had a last encounter with the loon family.
Vermont is a great place to live and summers are special. It was a great July for us.
We bird nearly every day and with a camera and a dog, there are mixed results. For example, yesterday a lovely four-point buck with antlers in velvet strolled across the road. Then, it watched me from just within the woods. Until Ginger saw it and she went wild, as did he.
Here are some shots from recent outings, starting with an Indigo Bunting.
Early one evening, this Belted Kingfisher entertained us at a small nearby lake.
A Cedar Waxwing was also foraging and also not willing to perch close by.
A Cedar Waxwing was also foraging and also not willing to perch close by.
A Veery is a plain-looking bird with a lovely song.
And you never know what you”’ see driving the back roads of Vermont.
Recently, our pair of loons apparently lost one of their chicks. We have been hearing a lot of mournful calls for hours at a time at night. Frankly, I have no idea of this is related to a loss or just normal summer Common Loon activity.
Here is the solo chick about a week ago.
With a parent
Getting a snack right next to our raft.
A week later, it’s easy to see how fast chicks grow.
After a strong cold front passage the other night, we awoke to find these two Herring Gulls on our raft. They’re a little unusual here and this pair seemed pretty tired.
They rested all day despite the passing paddlers and party boats. Sometime that evening, they departed to their next destination. Glad we were able to provide a safe place to stop.
Driving along dirt roads on early summer mornings, I often come upon interesting sights. One of my favorites here is called Dog Pond Road, named after a local small pond (aka Valley Lake.)
Early one morning I came upon these two Great Blue Herons, hunting near one another.
The second bird, fishing nearby this one, appeared disheveled.
Thinking of the heat and humidity this week, I remembered our 2023 local heron. It waited until January to migrate.
I trust that the Dog Pond Road fishers will be older and wiser.