Category Archives: Birds

Isn’t Nature Amazing?

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Nature just keeps on amazing me.

Nature is continuing to WOW us on and around Cape Cod! I turned my back for one minute and we had “Air Jaws” stealing fish right off the fishermen’s lines! It was just a small Great White, a juvenile, but it came awful close to landing in the boat. As if that wasn’t enough a few days before that a big great white also stole fish off a line. He was just less showy. He snuck up and chomp, half the fish was gone in one bite!

http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Great-White-Shark-Jumps-Out-of-Water-While-Crew-Fishes-Off-Cape-Coast-440153163.html

Great White Moose spotted in SwedenMeanwhile in Sweden

The Swedes aren’t dealing with great white sharks. No, they have the great white moose. Talk about amazing. I had trouble finding a regular old dark brown moose and here is a beautiful snow white Moose, with antlers no less!

 

 

 

Look What’s right in our own backyardBlue Jay with Peanut

While all of this nature news was making headlines here in Massachusetts, I was visiting my sister in New York. In her little suburban backyard we were entertained by all sorts of little critters. The Blue Jays were the first visitors when we came out. Sandy was prepared with peanuts to encourage them to visit. She’s such a good hostess. Did you know that Blue Jays love peanuts? The kind in the shells. They swoop in and snatch them, After they go back to the trees you can hear the shells cracking.

 

A Flash of Yellow

America Goldfinch

A little American Goldfinch ignored the fuss the jays were making to make a visit to the bird bath. He took his time getting a drink. No bath today! No time for a snack either. He had his drink and flitted away. 

Harry WoodpeckerThe Little Star of the visit

I knew Sandy had a bunch of little chipmunks living in the yard. I was anxious to take their pictures. They had other ideas. A Harry Woodpecker came along but no chipmunks.Squirrel in a tree

 

 

Then a squirrel stopped by to scold us and grab a peanut. But still no chipmunks.

 

 

 

Finally we had a visitor. The peanuts were just too much of a temptation. Only one came out to play but he was quite entertaining. 

Chipmunk with stuffed cheeks

 

All those Little Things

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Those Things you almost forget to mention

I’ve got a few things to share with you. A little of this and a little of that. Things I forgot to mention and things that just didn’t seem to fit in any place else. So today’s post is a little bit of house keeping.

The “Sandcastles”

This post really seemed to hit the spot. So I want to share a couple more photos. The first one is The Sand with the Dragon Tattoo. Catchy

Sand sculpted like a dragon

Then there’s the sculpture named Wishful Thinking. Who among us haven’t indulged in wishful thinking at one time or another? Here’s a little I dream of Jeannie magic along with the winning lottery ticket. That’s really Wishful Thinking!

If you’d like to see more of my pictures from the Competition, you can stop by  http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p955600703. Be sure to sign the guest book and say Hi.

My Photo Page Has Gone to The BirdsFlamingos

Speaking of my photo page link, I had it in my menu but it disappeared. I’ve been trying to figure out what went wrong. You should be able to see it and click on it. Its really bumming me out. I will get it figured out but it might be awhile. Technology is not my friend, its my challenge. I put together a lovely slide show with music. The theme is Birds. So until I get the link fixed, you can find my Birds slide show at http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/

 

 

Did I forget the Dessert?

Remember the Birthday Celebration at Woods Hole? I never told you where we ended up for dessert. A birthday celebration needs cake and ice cream so that’s what we had.  Leaving Woods Hole we made a stop in Falmouth, MA at Cupcake Charlie’s . What a great way to have Cake and Ice Cream. Everyone can choose their own flavors. Its easy to see why Cupcake Charlie’s is called “New England’s Best Cupcakes”.

Sift Ice Cream And a Cupcake

“Life is Short . . . Eat a Cupcake”

Deep Woods Maine Wildlife

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Deep Woods Maine Wildlife

My time in Maine is over, at least for this year. So It’s time to do a head count. What kinds of wildlife did I see or experience  while I vacationed in Rangeley. Notice I said saw or experienced because the most prolific wild thing were the black flies. They are such pests but also an integral part of the Maine experience.

So here’s the list

  1. Black Flies-in the thousands.  For an interesting read about these pests , delivered in a humorous manner check out http://downeast.com/blackfly-survival-guide/  

Black flies

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2.  A Blue Jay – Just one on my front porch

Blue Jay

 

 

 

 

 

 

3. Bat,  Just one. Wish there had been more. Maybe they would have made a dent in the Black Fly population.

Flying Bat

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Crows or Ravens…Not sure which but these big black birds were everywhere.

black bird

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Wild Turkey…Just one but that counts.

tom turkey

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

6. Turkey Vultures…6 or 7 circling a bog. Something must be dead in there!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7.  Fox Kit..This little cutie gave me hope that I might begin to spot some of the famous Maine wildlife.

 

 

 

8. A Mama duck and 4 little ducklings

Mama Duck and baby ducklings

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9. Bald Eagle..Maybe? I know they are in the area but I didn’t get a good l00k;  just a big raptor and a flash of white.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

10. Lots of little birds. I needed the Audubon Society to figure out what they were.

Little bird in a tree

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11. Canada Goose. Not very exciting but still it counts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

12. A grey squirrel …Just the one. Expected to see more.

 

 

 

 

 

13. Chipmunk ..a little cutie but again, only one. Where are they hiding out?

chipmonk

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

14. A Moose…Finally my goal species.

Maine Moose by the side of the road

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

15. White Tail Deer…I’ve seen them before but they never fail to entertain.

Deer at rest

 

 

 

 

 

A Great Learning Experience

I fancy myself a wildlife photographer (amateur) and I’ve had some success. This week showed me how far I still have to go.  But I had fun and that’s the main thing when you’re on vacation. I’ll definitely plan another trip to Maine. It’s beautiful country. Maybe I’ll hire a guide to help me locate animals.  Some of them use blinds. Yes, That’s going on my list for the next trip.

Monday Monday so good to me

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Monday Monday so good to me

From Here comes the Sun to Monday Monday, the song titles keep describing my days. Today was just a lazy day. The morning was overcast again so I did some computer work, cleaned out my emails and finished reading a book I brought with me. After lunch a thunderstorm came through. No rain just lots of thunder and wind. Then the sun came out.

Time to look for Wildlife

It was time to head out to look for animals again. So far the only wildlife I’d seen were those pesky black flies. blue jay in back yard on MondayA blue jay landed on the porch railing this morning so I’m going to take that as a sign. I picked another “scenic drive” and headed off.

Keep an attitude of anticipation

My mantra for the search was to believe I would see something. Wildlife don’t perform on cue. Just keep my eyes open. The scenery is nice . I stopped at each scenic overlook.Noyes overlook with storm clouds on Monday afternoon The first one, Noyes Overlook, had a nice panoramic shot but the black flies were nasty even with bug spray. Maybe because of the thunder storm earlier. I’m sure it rained somewhere.

Height of Land

This is the 2nd overlook. The lake viewed from this vantage point is Mooselookmeguntic Lake. Yes that’s a real name, I kid you not. This is also another point where the Appalachian trail crosses the road. The overlook here is well maintained. Being on the top of the mountain probably helped with the breeze so it kept the black flies to a minimum.Height of Land Overlook Mooselookmeguntic Lake

Finally a bit of Wildlife

And a little bit indeed! As I left the Height of Land overlook I was getting a bit frustrated. With cloudy skies again there’d be no sunsets to photograph and it would get dark early. Just as I was considering turning around  I spotted something on the side of the road.

Little fox on side of road on Monday

Luckily there was a shoulder to pull over. With the car stopped I could see it was a little fox kit. No mama or siblings, just the one youngster. I’d take a picture and then try to move a little closer. He’d get nervous but seemed fascinated by the camera clicking.Red fox baby on Monday

 

I don’t know how long our little dance would have gone on if another car had not come along. When he heard that one approach he took one last look over his shoulder and was gone. I hope his family is nearby.

Red fox kit Monday afternoon

Jack, Kack, Lack, Mack, Nack

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What was that Name again? Jack?

What do Jack, Kack, Lack. Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack have in common? They are the names of the eight little ducklings following Mrs. Mallard cross the Public Gardens in Boston.

Non-Bostonians can find its location confusing. Boston Common, Boston Public Gardens, Boston Garden…what’s the difference?

Commons, Gardens and Garden

The Boston Commons is the oldest city park in the United States. It was established in 1634. Originally a pasture it became known as “Common Land”. It was used to graze local livestock until 1830. A town shepherd was paid “two shillings and sixpence per head of cowe” to tend townspeople’s livestock.  In 1775 over 1000 Redcoats were camped here until they marched off to Lexington & Concord for the skirmish that became the “Shot heard ’round the World”.

http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p1007424062/h88341988#h88341988

The Public Garden, also known as Boston Public Garden, is a large park adjacent to the Boston Commons. Part of the Emerald Necklace system of parks, it was established in 1837 as the first public botanical garden in America. Part of the confusion between the Commons and the Gardens is that they are only separated by a street. Its easy to think of the whole area as one huge park.

http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p1007424062/h8848baed#h8848baed

The Boston Garden was a much loved venue for local sports, especially the Boston Celtics and The Boston Bruins. Famous for it’s parquet floor that favored the home team because of it’s many “dead spots”, it was eventually torn down and replaced by the big, modern T.D. Garden in 1995.

Make Way for Ducklings, Jack, Kack, Lack…

http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p1007424062/h8848baed#h8833e8ac

The famous duckling statue is located in the Public Gardens. It’s based on the children’s book “Make Way for Ducklings”. Mrs. Mallard has as much trouble keeping her little bronze ducklings together as a real life mother duck. The statue was first installed in 1987 but almost immediately the duckling named Quack was pilfered. In 1988 Mack was stolen but at the same time Quack was returned after an anonymous tip.

 Quack was taken again in 1992, and the theft created such an outcry that buttons reading “Bring Quack Back” were sold to raise money for a replacement.

In 1999 Jack was taken! Pack flew the coop in 2009. But Boston loves its ducklings and the statue is always repaired or replaced.

Decorating the Ducks

You can often find the little duck family decked out in holiday attire, Easter Bonnets for an Easter Parade, Christmas hats and Halloween costumes. During playoffs you may find tiny ball caps and sweaters boasting team logos.

In May you can join over 1000 people on Mother’s Day for the Duckling Day Parade. The only requirement, you must be dressed as a character from the book.

http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p1007424062/h8848baed#h8833e90d

Yes, Boston loves Mrs. Mallard and her 8 little ducklings, Jack, Kack, Lack. Mack, Nack, Ouack, Pack and Quack!