Return to Daniel Webster

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

Mr. Majestic seemed to have life on the Grist Mill Pond well in hand so after observing for a while I decided to squeeze in a visit to one more place, Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary.

Many of you may remember that this is one of my favorite places to go to look for birds and wildlife to photograph. It’s hard to believe that it’s been almost a year since I’ve been back there. My last trip left me covered in deer ticks and then I got busy with “staged” photography for my cards. Well I don’t have my Deet with me but I’m only going to go sit in the blind for a while and see if anything is going on.

The parking lot was full when I arrived. Not surprising since it’s Sunday but I did feel my heart drop. Usually lots of walkers means less animal activity but I’m here so I’m going to check it out.

At the blind another photographer was watching the panne flats. I asked him if there was anything happening. His response, “Not unless you like Canada Geese”. Shortly after I set up he gave up and left. I settled in for a wait but it didn’t take long for things to pick up. Mama & Papa Canada Geese were giving their 5 goslings swimming lessons.

Into the water they went, swam in a small circle and then out to the shore again. This routine went on every 10 minutes or so, never venturing too far out.

Turtles were hauling out to sun themselves on every rock and log in sight, even climbing on each other.

Then I spotted another bird that I’ve only seen once before…a glossy ibis.

I must have spent an hour watching this beautiful bird forage in the shallows. He/she had rich mahogany body feathers with darker wings.

When the sun hit just right his feathers glistened with an iridescent rainbow of colors.

He wasn’t making it easy to get pictures. He was either behind the reeds or way out in the middle.

I had a 300-500 telephoto lens on the camera but it was still a reach. The pictures are better than my first try last year but I wish he had come closer or I had a bigger lens.

To paraphrase the line from Jaws “I think we need a bigger boat”….I think I need a bigger lens!

Springtime at the Pond

Posted on April 26, 2013April 26, 2013 by Dusty Roads

It’s a beautiful spring day. Even the breeze carries a hint of warmth. Buds are starting to appear on most of the trees. Some plants are even flowering. Robins made their appearance a couple of weeks ago but even more birds are arriving daily. The previously frozen landscape is awakening.

A visit to the Grist Mill Pond in Plymouth, Ma reflects the rhythms of spring as well.

Mr. Majestic patrolled the pond with his typical aggressive enthusiasm. His usual targets, the Canada Geese, were on the pond in force keeping him busy posturing and chasing. They approached Mr. Majestic’s end of the pond like a noisy armada.

He’s truly beautiful when he fluffs out his feathers . He’s King of the Pond! The geese didn’t stand a chance and retreated back to the far end of the pond. Far from Mr. Majestic’s domain.

All this warfare is tiring and soon Mr. Majestic took a nap floating right on the water.

He kept one eye open for sneak attacks but the geese had other things on their minds.

The Pond Crier, a gull, was busy guarding some stale bread. He would sound the the alarm for sure if the geese made any adverse moves.

Nearby a male and female duck rested on the new grass.

But back to Mr. Majestic, what had inspired him to be so territorial so early in the season? A search of the far bank soon revealed the reason. There was Mrs. Majestic snoozing on a nest.

Mr. Majestic shook off his nap and checked his reflection in the water. (Mirror, Mirror?)

Satisfied with what he saw in the water he was soon escorting the Mrs. to dinner. What a lovely couple.

I wonder if there will be little majestics later this spring.

Ospreys and Eagles …Oh My!

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

Time to head to the docks or should I say a dock. I’m heading out on an Eagle/Osprey cruise. I last went on one of these trips on a cold day in February 2011. Of course I picked the coldest day of the year to go at that time. https://aroundustyroads.com/2011/03/04/eagles-on-the-connecticut-river/

This time the weather seems a bit warmer even with the stiff breeze.

The cruise leaves from the dock at Eagle Landing State Park which is located in Haddam across the river from the Goodspeed Opera House.

I am always impressed by how personable and knowledgeable the crew of Riverquest is about the sights along the river and the birds that can be seen. They are the ones who first pointed out Gillette Castle and gave a thumbnail history. They also knew the ID and history of the impressive building that turned out to be St. John’s. Plus they have “eagle” eyes when it come to spotting birds!

Today the cruise is billed as an Eagle and Osprey tour and we certainly got to see Osprey. We also got off to a quick start with the eagles. Barely out from the dock 4 birds were spotted circling very high up. Binoculars came out and a discussion ensued but finally it was determined that there were 4, possibly 5 juvenile eagles soaring on the thermals.

Juvenile eagles are not as distinctive as their more mature counterparts. They start out brown and progress through stages as they age. An eagle expert can tell the age of a juvenile by how much “mottling” the feathers show. They don’t get the trademark white head until they are 5 years old.

We started watching Osprey right at the dock. A pair are trying to build a nest on the center tower of the swing bridge but are having a tough time because of the wind.

As we headed down the river it seemed like every buoy or marker had a pair of Osprey trying to build a nest. It was clear that there is a thriving population of Osprey on this section of the Connecticut River.

We also saw double crested cormorants, a peregrine falcon buzzed the bow of the boat, and even a red-shouldered hawk (as opposed to a red tail hawk) took to the thermals watching for prey. Common mergansers with their funny “bad hair day ” crest floated on the river while Black Backed gulls patrolled the skies.

We passed a mute swan and spotted a loon. And then we saw the large eagle nest on an island ahead of us. The captain brought the boat in as close as he could but even then it was pretty far away. At least it wasn’t hidden by leaves yet so we had a clear line of sight and there they were. Two adult eagles , fully mature, with their white heads gleaming in the afternoon sun. As one moved off the nest to a nearby tree we could just make out the head of a baby eagle above the edge of the nest.

The pictures aren’t great because of the distance but lack of pictures didn’t dampen the excitement of seeing these gorgeous birds in the wild.

All in all it was a successful and enjoyable trip down the Connecticut River and I will continue my quest for that iconic photo of an eagle in the wild. Maybe I’ll get a chance in Alaska!

Allens Pond Trails

Posted on April 12, 2013April 12, 2013 by Dusty Roads

A few days ago I started telling you about a new Wildlife Sanctuary, well new to me anyway…Allens Pond in Westport. So much happened between my first post about Allens Pond and this installment that it’s hard to believe its been less than a week.

Allens Pond Wildlife Sanctuary is 595 acres that includes a coastal salt-pond, a salt marsh, a barrier beach, shrublands , forested wetlands and grasslands.

The sanctuary consists of 6 miles of trails where you can wander along the Buzzards Bay Shoreline, cross an old pasture or climb among giant boulders.

On my visit the sun was shining but the wind off the bay was blustery and made it cold in spite of the sunshine. Because of this I only explored half of the Beach Loop trail which was only a tiny part of the trail system.

The section I explored took me along a dirt road with Allens Pond on my left and Buzzards Bay on my right. Most of the time I could see the pond but the view of the bay was blocked by the shrublands or what I would call shrubland. These low but thick bushes are nesting areas for several protected species of birds. Piping Plovers and a couple of species of terns are known to nest here and the area is clearly marked as protected.

As you first encounter the pond from the trail you will see an Osprey nesting platform. To my right were smaller nest boxes more suitable for Eastern Bluebirds or other small, grassland birds. I saw plenty of ducks including a merganser with its fluffy looking head of feathers but no action at the Osprey Nest while I was there.

A bit farther along it was clear that the swans were here. About 6 white spots floated on the blue water just beyond my camera’s range. In the soft sand in the road I spotted the distinctive split hoof print of a deer.

It must have passed through just before I came along because the way the wind was blowing the print wouldn’t stay visible for long. In fact by the time I had turned back it was gone, filled in by the sifting, blowing sand.

By now I was pretty wind burned but it had been a nice little walk. I didn’t walk back along the shore because the round rocks were pretty unstable underfoot and I was only wearing sneakers so I retraced my steps back along the road.

There are many more trails to explore so I bet I will be back and maybe next time I’ll see that deer!

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.