Tag Archives: birds

It was a 3 hour tour…a 3 hour tour

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“Just sit right back and you’ll hear tale

A tale of that fateful trip…..

…5 passengers set sail that day

on a 3 hour tour, a 3 hour tour…..”

Ah Gilligan how I missed you on that cruise. Remember how the Minnow was lost? Little did I know what an adventure lay ahead of me as I stood in line to board the tour boat.

The sun had burned off the fog and haze and it was a beautiful afternoon. The sea was calm, what more could anyone ask for. Well maybe a bigger boat?

There were 2 boats tied up to the dock as I stood in line. One was a fair-sized boat with  a sign “Nature Tours”.

The other was a smaller boat. I took a picture of the larger boat thinking that was the one I would be on…wrong it was it’s smaller cousin the Islander. About that time the theme song from Gilligan’s Island began to play in my head. This tour was supposed to be around 3 hours…a 3 hour tour…

What a happy little group we all were as we motored out of the harbor past picturesque islands, the water a sparkling blue. On board with us tourists were the Skipper, his mate, and a naturalist/guide.

We no sooner left the protection of the harbor when the seas began to roll and chop. Spray off the bow had me soaked in no time and that water was cold! I noticed many of the other passengers heading inside. I thought it was to get warm but in fact that was where the main mass of tourists went to share their misery…seasickness! Oh boy, it was not a pretty sight.  So far I was hanging tough but even as cold as I was, I didn’t want to press my luck by staying where I was surrounded by barfing , green faces. At least the sun was still shining…for now.

We slowed down as we passed Bear Island with  a very pretty lighthouse. Then picked up speed again to head for another island that was several miles out to sea. This island, known as Petit Manan Island, also had a lighthouse and this was where we hoped to find the Puffins.

The farther we went from land the rougher it got and more and more passengers retired to the “sick” room. Then the fog rolled in. The Gillian’s Island song started playing in my head again! 🙂 Louder this time.

Finally we spotted the island. The skipper brought us in as close as he could safely go and dropped anchor and there were the puffins. My they were tiny! Only about 10 inches and they were almost lost in the surf but there were so many of them.

They were on the land, in the water and in the air. Along with the puffins were laughing gulls, arctic terns and a few other sea birds whose names I have forgotten. On land and at a distance they made me think of penguins.Naturalist/guide broke away from his nursing duties long enough to explain that this island was the most southern point of the Puffin’s range. They don’t do well with any sea gulls except the laughing gulls so a few years ago the scientists removed all of the gulls, dug holes for puffins to nest in and put fake puffins around the island. Then they broadcast puffin calls.

The first year a few puffins stopped by to investigate but didn’t nest. The next year a few pairs came and they stayed this time. Now there is a thriving colony large enough that it can protect its territory  from gulls and other invaders.

It was soon time to head home. I didn’t get the ” National Geographic Shot” but at least I saw real live Puffins.

I learned about them and about another location where you can actually go on the land to see them. Sounds like a plan for another time. Heading back we were going by one last island, Egg Rock Island, where there were seals and possibly eagles.

So anchors away! Let’s get this ship turned around!

Unusual Day At Oliver Mill Park

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I’ve been keeping an eye out for my friend, the Great Blue Heron, that hangs out at the herring run in Middleboro. Since there are actually 2 of the “herring runs” in Middleboro I like to refer to this one off Rt 44 as Oliver Mill Park. After all, there a sign there that calls it that.

A few days ago I saw a large number of photographers all running around with their gear and tripods trying to get pictures of “Blue”. Since then “Blue” hasn’t been around. I figured he felt harassed by all the attention and was giving us the cold shoulder. Now with rain keeping all but the most intrepid away, he was back.

I couldn’t pass up the chance for a couple of shots even though I didn’t have the big telephoto with me. He watched me as I made my way down to the sandy part of the river bank.

 Once there we were eye-ball to eye-ball, mono a mono so to speak when I got dive bombed by something! My first reaction was to swat it away which I now regret. I wish I’d tried to grab it instead because it was a little bird. A few minutes later one zoomed over  “Blue’s” head so close he ducked!

The birds reminded me of the swallows I see at Daniel Webster but they didn’t have the “V” tail like a swallow. They were swooping all over the place. I took my pictures and left “Blue” alone. I stopped on one of the little bridges and took a picture of the miniature waterfall. Then I headed back to the car.

I was almost in the parking lot when I saw one of the Canada Geese families. They were paddling around the upper part of the river were the water appears to be smooth.

As I watched they swam really close to the top of the fish ladder and sure enough, one of the little goslings got sucked over the edge. Now he could have just continued to float down the ladder and he would have ended up on the sand where the family could reunite but these aren’t people and all they could think to do was get back together.

So the little gosling struggled and the parents honked. Finally one of the parents went over the edge too and swam  to the gosling as if to push it up but that didn’t work. It took the adult goose several tried to get back above the ladder and the baby was still stuck.

About then we humans had seen about all we could take. One guy headed for his car to get a golf club to try to push the baby up. I was getting a shovel out of my car when the men in the 3rd car yelled that the baby had finally made it.

Mama & Papa Goose wasted no time in getting everyone away from the top of the fish ladder then. We humans were relieved that the little drama had ended well.

That sums up my unusual day at Oliver Mill Park. It isn’t every visit that I get dive bombed by a tiny bird and get to see a life and death struggle play out right in front of me.

Checked in and Ready to Explore

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Now that I was settled in my lovely room in the Ashley House it was time to explore. I stopped in the Pastry shoppe and bought a decadent chocolate frosted brownie. I sampled it right away but saved half for later. I figured I’d need a treat after I finished my little jaunt.

As I started up the alley I ran into the tour guide again. He was looking for me. He wanted to be sure that I had found Ashley House and gotten checked in OK. I thought that was really nice of him. We chatted for a few minutes and then I headed on my way.

Everyone said it was an easy walk to the south lighthouse so with my camera around my neck, a spare lens in my bag and my tripod slung over my shoulder I set off to find the lighthouse.

I noticed that the street immediately began to go uphill but it was a gentle rise and I was merely meandering. I stopped in the parking lot of the restaurant “Fins” to take a picture of their parking spaces. I loved the idea of a series of fish stencils instead of plain old lines.

I made note of the statue in the little square and as I took my left around the  statue the incline became a bit steeper.

Halfway up the hill I spotted yellow iris’ and interesting lamps so stopped for a photo-op.

More flowers followed.

Then to my surprise I thought I saw a llama! Looking closer I could see there were several llamas and other exotic looking animals. I’d stumbled upon Abrams Animal Farm.

Apparently it’s a little petting zoo and the wool is used for yarns and fabrics.

Not too much further I reached what seemed to be the top of the hill and the road began to wind back down. Ahead of me I could hear the surf even before I saw it. This was one of my favorite spots. I climbed onto the guard rail and sat and watched the waves break on the beach.

 There were loads of flowers and their fragrance filled the afternoon air. It was still misty and overcast. It made me think of a rain forest rather than New England.

I could see that the road was going to start climbing again so I took some pictures and began the next leg of my trek. I thought I must be getting close because there were some bluffs right there.  ( Silly me).

As I trudged on I passed a beautiful church whose manicured grounds led right up to the edge of the bluff. It would be worth going to that church just for the view!

I was beginning to wonder how much farther I had to go because this was not turning into an easy walk…at least not for an overweight, 60 + female with a load of camera equipment.

Duck on fresh water pond with ocean beyond

Just about the time I thought I should  pack it in and go back I saw a sign that pointed on up the road and read simply “Lighthouse”. So just as before I figured I must be close and continued to trudge on upward. Except for that short down hill section where I watched the breakers it had been all up hill!

I was now farther away from the water. There were large homes and fields. Well maintained stone walls separated the fields as I trudged along. As people drove by they all waved like they’d known me forever.

I rounded another corner and there ahead of me in a field on my right was a pheasant! I recognized it from pictures in outdoor magazines but I’d never seen one live and in the wild before. It’s a beautiful bird. I began to hustle on up the hill to try to get close enough for a picture without spooking it. The closer I got the deeper it went into the scrub and brush but it didn’t flush. I stopped and lifted the camera. In that moment I knew I was too out of breath to hold the camera still. The bird was fast disappearing from view. I felt my opportunity slipping away so I took a chance. The shot was pretty bad but it’s a record of the experience so here it is. Proof it was really a pheasant!

After that fiasco I plunked myself down on rock wall to consider my situation..keep going or turn back. It felt like I’d been walking forever and may I remind you it was all uphill. Fog was starting to roll in and I could hear a fog horn in the distance. I decided to keep going just a little longer.

Perseverance pays off! I reached the top of the hill and there it was! The Southeast Lighthouse.

 As I walked down the driveway I was greeted  by a black and white cat that seemed to say  “What took you so long? I’ve been waiting for you”.

A Honking good time

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Yesterday I managed a few hours  with the camera before I had to be at work. My first stop was the Herring Run aka Oliver Mill Park. I haven’t seen the Great Blue Heron since I got the shot of him eating the fish. It’s been very busy over there with lots of people fishing and even swimming. Plus they have the new bridge which lets people get even closer to the marsh so I don’t know if it’s moved on or if I just keep missing it.

No Big Blue today either but there were a couple of Canada Geese families.

After following those little goslings and their parents around a bit I moved on to The Grist Mill Pond in Plymouth. I wanted to check out the Swans and see if they had any little swans yet. The swan pair in Brockton hatched some cygnets so I thought the Plymouth swans might have hatched too.No luck. They were still on the nest but there’s going to be plenty of Canada Geese. There were 3 more families here and some had quite a few goslings!