Start Your Day with Sand Hill Cranes

Posted on September 29, 2017September 28, 2017 by Dusty Roads

The Endangered Sand Hill Crane

I’ve heard that Sand Hill Cranes are common in Florida. For some reason I’ve not been able to get a good look at them. Oh I’ve seen them at a distance but never close enough for a good look. After so many years looking, who would have thought that I’d finally get my chance after a major hurricane!

Sand Hill Cranes

The morning surprise

I had made plans to meet up with Joe but I stressed that I wanted to be able to sleep in so Don’t Call Early! Of course my body had other ideas and woke up at my normal time. Old habits die hard. With time on my hands I headed out to breakfast. I wasn’t thinking about Sand Hill Cranes or any other bird when a huge bird half flew, half ran right in front of the car! I recognized it right away. It was a Sand Hill Crane. It may have been the one to catch my attention but there were 3 more waiting for it on the side of the road. I quickly turned around and hurried back to my room to grab the camera. I didn’t really expect them to be there when I got back but I had to try.

Lost and Alone, Maybe

I grabbed the camera and raced back to the car. What did I see as I backed out? Another Sand Hill Crane. It was standing in the middle of the parking lot grooming! I rolled my window down and slowly rolled forward. Silly bird paid no attention to me. I got quite close. Then another car came along. It passed between me and the bird. The bird never flinched. It just kept preening!

A Morning Tradition

Leaving my vain crane in the parking lot I went looking for the foursome I’d seen earlier. I spotted them way off in the distance. This was the start of a morning ritual. I’d head out to breakfast and the little flock of 4 would be next to the road. This happened every day while I was at the resort. After all this time looking for them, the Sand Hill Cranes paid me back for my persistence.

A Flock of Cranes

Snail Kite

Posted on April 12, 2015April 12, 2015 by Dusty Roads

Wow, my work has gone from zero to 60 in .5 seconds. One minute I’m drifting along at a nice slow pace and the next I’ve my nose to the grindstone, no time for anything. My head is spinning. But that’s why I haven’t had time to post much.

Even with the craziness I try to check my Facebook page at least one a day and what was staring me in the face but a picture of that bird I saw in St. Cloud!

Wild Willy was right, it is a very rare bird. It’s a Snail Kite (formerly called the Everglades Kite). It’s a Neotropical species found in the wetlands of southern Florida. It’s main diet is snails, snails called apple snails.

The Snail Kite is endangered in North America so I guess I was very, very lucky!

Let The Owl Prowl Begin

Posted on January 12, 2015January 12, 2015 by Dusty Roads

We pulled out of the parking lot onto a posted dirt road. The first 100 yards or so weren’t too bad but once that ran out you understood why you needed a 4 Wheel Drive to navigate. As we bumped and bounced from pot hole to pot hole we all laughed about the damage we must be doing to the suspension on the vans.

We were traveling along a narrow peninsula that runs from Duxbury to Plymouth. At the tip is Gurnet Light marking the entrance to Plymouth Bay. The homes located out here are all private and access is restricted. The length of the peninsula from the Powder Point Bridge to Gurnet Light is about 5 miles.

We hadn’t gone too far when Dave pulled off the road into a little turnout. He told us all to get out of the van while he ran around to the back to take out a spotting scope. Sally’s van was pulled up behind ours and she was busy getting out another scope. Once they were set up Dave told us to take a look. A snowy was sitting on the bank of ice with the water just behind him. Without the scope it was really hard to see the little fella. Dave confessed that he knew it was there because they had seen it that morning when it caught a duck for its breakfast. He’d checked just before he picked us up to be sure it was still there. It was a long way out but the scopes really made it pop out. My best guess photo wasn’t so hot.

Can you tell which snow chunk is the owl? He’s just left of the building in the background.

Here it is a MAXIMUM ..that gray blotch is the owl. He was much clearer in the spotting scope.

We stayed there taking turns with the spotting scopes until some of the less hardy souls began to drift back to the van. Once about half of us had left Dave announced it was time to move on.

Back in the van Dave was chatting about the owl when he spotted 3 little birds setting down in the grass on the dune. While he was concentrating on that I let out a shout..HAWK!. It was diving right toward us! It wanted one of those little birds for lunch. They took off and the hawk swooped right past us, Dave identified it as a Cooper’s Hawk. That was exciting. Almost as good as seeing the Snowy.

A bit further on we stopped and piled out of the van again. This time the spotting scope showed us a flock of snow buntings scratching in the dune sand for seeds.

They paid no attention to us and once again we watched until about half of our group had returned to the van. Still no great photo ops except for the scenery but I was having fun.

Haddam CT

Posted on April 21, 2013April 21, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Since my Riverquest cruise left from the boat dock at Eagle Landing State Park in Haddam, I thought it might be worthwhile to check out this little town while I was here. It seems there’s something for everyone.

Sportsmen can go fishing on the Connecticut river or boaters can go boating.

Birders can take the Riverquest cruises and look for eagles and osprey and other birds of sea and shore.

Architecture buffs can lose themselves in the Village of East Haddam, filled with beautifully maintained historic homes and businesses.

The premier example is the Goodspeed Opera house still a fully functional theater located right on the river.

Engineers can marvel over the Haddam Swing Bridge, a steel, movable truss bridge composed of two main spans crossing the Connecticut River.

Of course East Haddam is home to the unique Gillette Castle and Gillette Castle State Park. Picnic, walk trails and explore the grounds. The intricate architecture and beautiful surroundings seem to appeal to all.

Nature is represented everywhere in East Haddam. There’s nothing like a sunset dinner while watching the world go by on the Connecticut River.

For a sleepy little town there’s plenty to do. Other attractions close by include Nathan Hale House and the oldest bell in America. ( housed in the belfry of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.)

The Nature Conservancy calls East Haddam “One of the last great places.” So take some time to drop in for a visit to a classic New England Village and surroundings.