Mystic Aquarium

Posted on August 21, 2016August 21, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Its still, as the weathermen say, HHH. High Pressure, Hot, Humid, 3 H’s. I like the heat but I will admit the humidity is starting to wear me out. The forecast was for a break in the humidity if not the heat so Nancy and I decided to take the kids to the Mystic Aquarium. I was thinking it would be inside so we’d avoid the oppressive outdoors anyway. I’ve never been to Mystic Aquarium so what did I know. I based my opinion on Boston’s Aquarium.

Anyway, quite a bit of Mystic Aquarium is outside and to my way of thinking some of the most unique and best exhibits.

Mystic

It’s not a bad drive to Connecticut and we made it right on time according to the On Star directions and that was with several minor traffic back ups.

The Beluga exhibit is right there when you first go through the entrance.

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I could have spent the whole visit there even though it was hot and humid. The whales are sometimes called the Canaries of the Sea because of the multiple vocalizations they can make. They did not disappoint us. They blew and chirped and stuck their heads out of the water.

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At the observation windows they seemed as fascinated by the humans as we were of them.

Beluga

Following the path toward the Penguin exhibit we passed the seals & Sea lions.

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Then it was decision time, right took us through the “Marsh” on a boardwalk and left took us to the Penguins. The kids made a bee line for the boardwalk and eagerly inspected the duckweed and plants for turtles and frogs.

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I really liked the boardwalk. We spotted quite a few creatures once we adjusted our eyes to finding them in the weeds.

Frog in Duckweed

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We had an audience of 3 little ducks too that added comic relief.

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Next up was the Budgie Tent.

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Those birds are always fun.

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There were cockatoos and other small birds native to Australia as well as the Budgies.

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By then It was time for a break and we hadn’t even gotten inside yet!

And That’s All There Is!

Posted on August 7, 2016August 7, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Once we left Seal Island and the Puffins I was done in. The fresh air, the early start, the excitement of seeing these adorable little birds up close and the boat ride had zapped me of the rest of my energy. Once we arrived back in Cutler it was lunch time and starting to rain.

The gathering

The Church in Cutler offered us the use of it’s basement which was set up with tables and a kitchen. Plus there were bathrooms. Following lunch it was off again, this time to Boot Head Preserve.

When we found the trail head to Boot head preserve I decided to give up on keeping up. I stayed in the car and took a nap. It was lovely.

We returned for dinner at Helen’s Restaurant at 6:30 before retiring to our rooms to pack.

We all met at the vans at 6 am for breakfast at Dunkin Donuts and a trip Machiasport- Pot Head. I didn’t lug the camera this time. I had what I came for and as is usually the case when you don’t have the camera, I missed a beautiful shot of 3 deer.

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They stood on the dirt road watching us. It was like they were frozen. There was plenty of time for a picture if I’d been prepared. Finally the first 2 crossed and disappeared into he woods. I thought the 3rd had gone back into the woods where it had come from when it came flying out like it was shot from a gun. It literally flew across the road in one bound.

We spotted 2 bald eagles and bunch of smaller birds but by this time the deer were the highlight of the day for me. Puffins, deer, eagles, some of my very favorite things.

This was a good trip.

Thanks Mass Audubon for a great time.

A few More Puffins

Posted on August 4, 2016August 4, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Ok , after all that build up one little Puffin picture was probably a bit anticlimactic so here are a few more. I took over 100 so there’s plenty to pick from.

Puffin portrait

We were in the blinds for a little more than an hour. There was a lot of activity.

On Watch

Puffins flying in and out.

The Landing

They were quick. Those of us taking pictures were trying for that iconic shot of a puffin with fish in its beak but that was harder than expected.

Stike a pose

We’d see the birds flying in from a successful fishing trip but they immediately popped into their burros. Once they had fed their little puffins and came back out they stood around and photos of empty beaks were easy.

Eye Contact

Puffins make their nests in holes in the ground that they dig with their claws. They also makes nests in the rocks.

In the Rocks

Because they are little, the other birds try to steal their catch so they waste no time above ground. The best I was able to do was get a picture of a Puffin with a beak-ful of shrimp. No fish.

Shrimp Take Out

The other photographer in the blind with me did get a fish shot. You can see her beautiful pictures at www.mywildlife.zenfolio.com.

The gathering

One of the most fun things that happened while we were in the blind is suddenly we heard a tapping. At first we thought they’d come back to get us out of the blind but then we realized the sound was coming from over our heads. The birds were landing on the roof of the blind and it was their little feet we were hearing.

Puffin

Puffins make the strangest call. For a little bird its terribly guttural, not pretty at all. When I’d see one calling it reminded me of a donkey braying.

Can You Hear me now?

All in all it was a great experience. I am seriously thinking of doing it again. This was one time that everything lived up to expectations.

Shrimp Its what's for dinner

Ahoy! There Be Puffins!

Posted on August 2, 2016August 2, 2016 by Dusty Roads

So far we’d seen razorbills , gannets and a stranded seal but only a few puffins. It was time to reverse the procedure we used getting from shore to the Barbara Frost. We needed to sit on the gunwale, swing our feet over and step into a little tender boat. The problem is it was quite a step and the little boat wasn’t a solid landing. No it was bouncing up an down in the waves. Thank goodness for Captain Andy and his strong arm. He was right there to lend support.

Once on land we had a long uphill ramp before we started across the flat part to the light house. This is where the being fat, old and out of shape nearly did me in. I couldn’t get the camera back pack on my back over the life jacket we were required to wear and it was dragging me down. Just as I thought I couldn’t take another step, someone from the group grabbed the back pack as they went by me and team leader Scott took my arm to help me. I was happy but boy did I feel old!

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On land the razorbills look like little penguins even though they aren’t any relation and unlike penguins, flying is not a problem.

Razorbills

Once everyone was gathered in front of the lighthouse we were given our marching orders. We would be taken to the blinds and left there. We were to stay put until someone came back to get us. We were not to disturb the birds in any way. Cameras and lenses had to be within the blind. Only open the windows on one side of the blind at a time. Good luck and have fun.

The blinds weren’t all that big and there were 4 of us crammed in the blind I was in. Two of us had cameras and the other two were just interested in bird watching. I gave up trying to swap any lenses, there just wasn’t room but once we opened the little windows any complaints about space or cameras were forgotten. There were the Puffins.

Fly My Pretty

It was worth it all!

3:30 am is sooo early!

Posted on July 11, 2016July 11, 2016 by Dusty Roads

Thursday morning it was time to rock and roll. Get out of bed, get moving. It was time to head to Marshfield MA where I would meet up with the Audubon Society for a tour of Maine’s Peatlands culminating in the PUFFINS of Machias Seal Island!

By 5 AM we were loaded into the Audubon van and headed to Ipswich River Sanctuary where we hooked up with another van. Altogether there were two leaders, Scott and Sue and 12 participants.

For the most part these are hard core Birders so I was about to be introduced to a whole new way of looking at birds. We were still on the road at lunchtime so when a Subway came up we pulled in and made the clerk’s day. The poor girl was faced with 14 hungry travelers and she was working all alone.

After lunch we all piled back into the vans and soon we were entering blueberry country. Our Birding stop was the Blueberry Barrens.

Blueberry bush

The birders were looking for Upland Sandpiper, Vesper Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow to name just a few species.

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We traveled on another long dirt road. It made me think of the time Sandy and I got twisted around on an Indian Reservation. We called it the “Longest dirt road in the world”. This one was a close 2nd.

Maine Dirt Road