Just a couple more images from our airboat ride at Wild Willy’s. Here’s a shot of one of the 6 person airboats.
A Great Blue Heron
A Great Egret
Tag Archives: Great Blue Heron
Somewhere North of the Everglades
It was stepping out into a watery wilderness a mere 7 miles from the headwaters of the River of Grass. Anyone local will tell you that you are too far north for the Everglades. They think of the southern end, near Fort Lauderdale, Shark Valley, Holiday Park, but the shallow waters start somewhere and East Lake Tohopekaliga is a good a place as any to explore if you are near St. Cloud, FL.
We tried a smaller airboat ride than I’ve done before. We floated out with Wild Willy’s and it was worth the effort to get there. Located in a RV campground on a dead end road, Wild Willy’s uses 6 person airboats, smaller and more personal than the bigger airboats I’ve been on on the past.
Our captain said he was the one and only Wild Willy. I’m not sure if that’s true or just what they all say but he was a crusty fellow who did his darndest to give us a fun and educational ride.
Without a word he used the airboat to coax birds into the air or drift quietly past them so I could get the best possible photos. Big difference from the frustrating experiences trying to get photos on some of the big airboats.
Willy pointed out an eagle nest with two eaglets while Mon and Dad perched in the tree tops a few trees away keeping a close eye.
Baby alligators chirped for mama gator and birds were everywhere.
One of the first we spotted was an osprey with a fish for lunch half as big as he was.
A great blue heron “photo bombed” some smaller wading birds…just because he could.
We scared up a flock of white pelicans.
We spotted quite as few Purple Gallinules.
I got a predator bird in flight. It was hardly more than a spot in the sky when Willy pointed the airboat toward it. I heard him say it was very rare and that he’d taken birder’s out days at a time looking for one. But I didn’t catch what he called it. So here’s my mystery bird. Any idea what it is?
Shhh! It’s a Secret.
I found a very interesting place but it’s a well kept secret. I’d heard rumors about this place for two years before I found it. My best lead came from a chance encounter on a whale watch last summer. That person had the name of the area but couldn’t give me directions.
Slowly I narrowed down the location. It’s such a secret place that even the state game warden I asked had never heard of it. But I kept looking .Unlike so many conservation areas that are being exploited and over run by humans, this one is still largely undiscovered. Back in March I think I finally found it.
Back then it was snow covered but now it’s a walk in the woods.
I did meet some folks along the way, mostly dog walkers.
As I followed the trail I spotted several lady slippers. Not too close to each other, they prefer to stand solitary.
As I skirted a muddy section of the trail I could tell the trees ahead were thinning and then there it was. My destination.
A huge beaver pond spread out in front of me. The signs of beaver were very apparent.
The trail followed the shore a bit and I spotted the beaver lodge but no beavers.
Dead trees towered above the still water.
Almost every dead tree was crowned with a huge nest and perched in each nest was a blue heron chick. They are about a week from fledgling so they are almost as big as the parents. By next week the sky will be filled with all these young birds testing their wings.
The sound was amazing. The chicks were making a chirping that sounded almost like peepers. There were so many chirping all at once that it was quite loud. When some of the adult birds began to come back to feed them the drop off in the noise level was very noticeable just like the way it gets quieter in a human household when dinner is served.
The surface of the pond was covered with either duck weed or algae, I really couldn’t tell which from my vantage point. A family of geese weaved their way among the dead tree trunks.
What a great find! I hope this place remains a “well kept secret” for a long time to come.
First Annual Herring Run Festival
What was that I was saying about missing out on things because they were on the weekend and I worked? A perfect example was this past weekend.
I saw signs the day I drove over to the Grist Mill Pond; “Oliver Mill festival April 11-13”. I’d never heard of the Oliver Mill festival.
I like to take pictures at the Herring Run. There are bridges, stone ruins , a park with picnic tables and of course the fish ladder. There’s usually gulls and birds and often a Great Blue Heron for photo subjects.
Last year was a bit harder for photos than previous years because it was very crowded with people fishing and trying to kayak. All the human activity drove away some of the wildlife so I spent less time there and more time checking out alternate locations.
But back to the festival. Another photographer I know attended on Saturday.
http://photobee1.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-first-annual-middleborough.html?spref=fb
I was going to take a run down there in the morning Sunday only to find out it didn’t start until 11 am. I’d just have time to get there and have to turn around and come home to work. So I did the next best thing…I looked it up on the internet.
I found this little blip:
MIDDLEBOROUGH — This old town’s first big push to draw in tourists will be launched this weekend with a three-day party to celebrate a centuries-old annual phenomenon.
Organizers expect thousands to gather for the First Annual Herring Run Festival, based primarily at Oliver Mill Park on Route 44 but with other activities planned all over town.
Crowds of alewife and blueback herring, as they do every spring, are already making their way up the Nemasket River, adjacent to the park and considered the largest herring run in the state.
Last year, more than 850,000 herring made the trek to the 5,000 acres of spawning and nursery habitat in the river’s upper reaches where they lay eggs before returning to salt water.
That explains why I’d never heard of it before, this is the first year. Maybe next year I’ll be on that Mon- Fri schedule and able to attend for myself.
For really interesting comments and great photos check out : https://www.facebook.com/pages/Photo-Bee-1-Photographing-the-Natural-World-Around-Us/191608700932223
Norris Reservation
I love learning about little hidden gems of protected areas. Green spaces in the heart of urban Massachusetts, always a surprise, always a treasure.
I guess it’s true that you can take the girl out of the country but you can’t take the country out of the girl. I grew up in the Adirondacks exploring the woods and fields and then I became “urbanized” , exploring the concrete jungle, museums, aquariums, zoos. As I’ve grown older I’ve been increasingly draw back toward my roots. I’ve tired of traffic and gas fumes and crowds. I look for quiet places, woods and steams. I thrill to the sight of a hawk or osprey, a great blue heron or an egret; the flick of a white tail’s flag , a parade of baby geese.
I follow the news of great white sharks off Cape Cod or the rescue of a baby harbor seal.
So I was thrilled to learn of a little place called Norris Reservation in Norwell, MA.
The day I was introduced to this little island of green was one of the hottest, most humid days we have had in this summer of hot, humid days. But even with the uncomfortable conditions I met plenty of other walkers.
Norris Reservation is small, only about 2 miles of easy trails, but it wasn’t crowded. There are board walks and well groomed trails covered in pine needles.
Lovely stone benches along the way let you pause and contemplate the quiet beauty of the natural surroundings.
I only explored about 1/2 of the trails on this, my first visit. I didn’t get to the tidal marsh or the bend in the North River.
The literature speaks of a boat house and picnic areas that I still need to discover.
My direction took me over a little bridge to a boardwalk around a pond. I heard something splashing in the water but I couldn’t see what it was. I sat on a bench and watched the fish rise and dragon flies zoom from flower to flower.
In the distance I could hear children laughing and splashing…maybe a back yard pool?
All in all not a bad way to spend a hot , summer afternoon.