Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary

Posted on April 7, 2013April 7, 2013 by Dusty Roads

As many of you know The Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary in Marshfield is one of my favorite places to go for wildlife photography.

I have never been there at dusk without seeing deer…plenty of deer. I have also seen muskrats, turtles, glossy ibis, swans, rabbits, and tons of birds, more than I can go into right now.

One year we even had an otter family pass through and I got to see them…briefly as they raced across the path to the pond. So you can see this sets the bar really high for other sanctuaries.

Since last year I have been hearing about another wildlife sanctuary that seems really popular, Allens Pond in Westport, MA. Daniel Webster and Allens Pond are both Mass Audubon sanctuaries so that means they are kept in really good condition.

In the week since the layoff at work I’ve been concentrating on rearranging furniture, cleaning out my storage area and just making changes to my living space. The weather hasn’t been great so I haven’t been out to shoot any photos. But finally we got a sunny day and according to the weather report we might break 60 degrees. I looked at the boxes of stuff I was trying to arrange and looked outside and the choice was made…I’m playing hooky!

Camera bag on my shoulder I decided to try to find Allens Pond to check it out. Westport is quite a bit south of Taunton but it was a nice day for a drive. The address I had for the sanctuary was 1280 Horseneck Road. I know Horseneck beach is a very popular beach in the summer so I wasn’t surprised when I saw the parking lot for the beach. Beyond the parking lot were some amazing dunes!

The sand here is so fine, like grains of sugar.

But as I continued on I was surprised to see the road was completely buried by stones.

These were smooth round stones…thrown up by the ocean in the series of storms we had this year? I don’t know because I’d never been this way before but it made me think of the roads on the Big Island of Hawaii that abruptly stopped, buried under lava flows.

The road followed along the beach by Buzzards Bay then made a sharp turn left and there was the entrance to a small parking lot.

Right away I noticed the field house was different. There were people inside, even a dog and cat and a rest room. No port-a -potty. I can see why that alone would make it more pleasant. But now the big test…what kinds of animals/birds will I be able to see here.

Happy Easter

Posted on March 31, 2013March 31, 2013 by Dusty Roads

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Happy First Day of Spring

Posted on March 20, 2013March 20, 2013 by Dusty Roads

The Northeast is digging out from another winter storm with rumors of still another by weeks end. Still the calendar doesn’t lie and Old Man Winter will have to relinquish his grip to make way for the birds and flowers of spring.

Walking the Walks

Posted on March 5, 2013March 5, 2013 by Dusty Roads

The tram pulled back into the Welcome Center right around 1pm…right on schedule. I wasn’t quite sure what my next move would be. The peanuts weren’t going to last me forever but I hated to leave and try to come back because of all the construction.

Our guide had talked a little about the construction zone. All of the development, filling in, canal building and draining of the Everglades was starting to put a strain that could ( or maybe I should say would) destroy this unique ecosystem. The aquifer that ran under the Everglades and provided water for human habitation was critically low and the raining season was no longer restoring it. Too much water had been diverted. Once again humans refused to do anything until it began to affect them. Now this construction project was part of the effort to being back the Everglades and restore the aquifer.

As I understand it the road is being raised so the water that has been dammed back can be released and re-flood portions of the ‘glades that are too dry now. The hope is that by restoring the water balance above ground that the balance will also come back underground.

The sun was high. Not the best time of day for pictures.

Even the animals seemed to have withdrawn. There were fewer alligators on the banks and the water that had been alive this morning was still.

The park was still busy with human visitors. I was kicking myself that I hadn’t brought a lunch. The brochure warned that there was no restaurant and recommended that you pack a lunch and spend the day. I didn’t have a cooler and I’d come in too early to by a sandwich on the way but I wasn’t ready to call it a day. I decided to take a short walk on some of the trails. I bought a candy bar in the snack shack and headed off on the main trail.

Baby Alligator

The birds were still around and I spotted another mama gator with her babies sitting on her. I gotta say, baby alligators are just the cutest things!

They have vertical brown stripes on their tails. As they get older those will fade away.

Around 3pm I reluctantly made my way back to the car and headed back toward Miami. I stopped at 2 restaurants along the way but they were full with long waits so I just kept heading back to Fort Lauderdale. I figured I’d head to the Golden Corral and then look for someplace for some sunset shots.

Shark Valley Observation Tower

Posted on March 3, 2013March 3, 2013 by Dusty Roads

High noon as our tram pulled up the observation tower, the half way point of our tour. Our guide gave us strict instructions to be back in 30 minutes or walk! The limited amount of time would mean no side trips.

I noticed a small side trail but there wasn’t time to explore too far so I turned around and headed to the observation tower.

As a diabetic I have to be careful to make arrangements to eat on a schedule if I want to avoid the uncomfortable effects of low blood sugar. As I approached the tower I began to recognize the familiar signs…fast heartbeat, shaky hands, legs like rubber. I had tossed a bag of peanuts into my camera bag before I headed out this morning but I was annoyed that it had to happen now. Why couldn’t it have held off until I was back on the tram. I only had 30 minutes to explore!

At the tower there were benches and restrooms so I took a few minutes to eat my peanuts. As the symptoms began to subside I made my way up the circular ramp admiring the view as I went. The tower provides a 360-degree view of the Everglades sawgrass prairie.

The tower is about 50 ft high so you get a really clear view. Looking down there is an alligator pond and it was busy today.

Many alligators were hauled out sunning but there were some swimming as well.

We were high enough up to be above most of the tree tops so I found myself looking down on some of the birds too.

From this vantage they looked awful close to those gators.

Off in the distance I could see the loop road the tram had just traveled down and the paved path I walked to get to the tower.

Up here there was a breeze and the temperature was warm but comfortable.

Time was flying so I headed back down the ramp. On the walk back I peeked in on that shaded side path. There was a muddy puddle on the side of the path and I thought I heard a rustling. I froze and tried to peer through the shaded foliage. I couldn’t see anything but when I looked into the water I could see a reflection and it seemed to be moving. I couldn’t make out details but the reflected motion reminded me of a snake. I’m not sure but I might have seen one of those pythons that are invading the park. I wish I could have gotten a better look!

But now I was running late so I hurried back to the tram with the last of the stragglers.