Rockin’ Robin

Posted on March 3, 2017March 3, 2017 by Dusty Roads

I saw my first robin of spring today as I was driving into work. It was a fat little guy. Wherever he wintered must have been very good to him.

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I wouldn’t get my hopes up too much either. We’ve had some record warm days lately but the weatherman says we’ve got a return to winter on the way. An arctic blast is moving in from Canada.

But back to my little robin. Do they actually migrate? A couple of years ago when I was frantically running around trying to complete a 365 day challenge (A photo a day) I ran across a tree full of robins in the middle of a snow storm. Had they just come north too soon or do they stay in the area all winter?

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In an effort to get some answers I looked it up on the internet. (I know you can’t believe everything you find on the internet) but I found this information in several different places. Apparently robin’s migrate for food reasons, not temperature. They are big berry eaters until spring thaws the ground when they switch over to bugs and worms.

Some robins will go as far south as Texas or Florida while others will only migrate as far as necessary to find their beloved berries.

As an interesting side note, the articles I saw mention that robins sing when they arrive on their breeding territories. Some may sing in winter flocks but most wait until the breeding season approaches and they have reached their “territory”.

So maybe the old adage about the first robin being the harbinger spring should really be the first SINGING robin.

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Make way for Ducklings

Posted on May 26, 2015May 26, 2015 by Dusty Roads

Although different birds mate at different times, spring is in fulls wing here in New England. So it seemed strange to me that I had not seen any baby ducks.The swans are still on the nest and the Canada Geese have tons of baby goose-poop machines.

I spotted a baby Osprey but where are the ducklings?

There’s a little pond near my house so I took a drive over there with the camera. I brought along a book and settled in to read and watch the birds. There were lots of Canada Geese, no goslings here, however. There were some gulls and few Mallards but no babies of any kind.

I rolled the window down and started reading my book. The birds wandered across the road from the pond to the lawn on the other side and back again. Several geese stopped to check the car out. Apparently trying to figure out what this thing was in their path.

I’d been there about 20 minutes as the mixed flock crossed back to the lawn again when I saw a Mama Mallard with quite a brood of ducklings. I bet she had a dozen! The babies were swimming and diving like corks while Mama chased away all adults, even the much larger Canada Geese!

Happy now that I can add ducklings to my list of babies, I decided to make one more stop before I headed home.

Photo of the Week ~ 17

Posted on April 30, 2014April 30, 2014 by Dusty Roads

The week 17 tallies are in. The Photo of the Week with the most hits, likes, shares and/or comments is Budding Spring with a total of 33 points.

To Order Prints Click Here: http://dustyroadsphotos.zenfolio.com/p161572686/h375a9f3c#h375a9f3c

Some Thoughts on Spring

Posted on April 28, 2014April 28, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Southeastern Massachusetts is a not known for it’s spring. In fact we usually joke that we have only 3 seasons, winter, summer and fall. It’s not unusual to go from snowy days to 80 degrees. This year everyone is complaining about how cold and rainy it’s been. Why, northern New England and the mountains are even getting snow.

This is spring. If we didn’t have paved roads we’d be knee deep in mud. I remember “mud weeks” when I was a kid. The school bus made it through all kinds of snow drifts all winter but would get bogged down in the mud.

It has been un-seasonably cold but that doesn’t seem to stop the flowers from pushing through the cold ground. They seem to appear overnight.

I hope warm weather will arrive soon but I remember a major snow storm in May so I guess we aren’t out of the woods yet.

So all those folks who always say we don’t have spring…listen up… this is Spring. It’s often cold. It’s often rainy but mother nature still blooms.

Finally a Moment with Nature

Posted on April 10, 2014April 10, 2014 by Dusty Roads

Spring has been a long time coming this year. If it wasn’t snowing it was raining but finally on Monday, we had a brief respite.

As usual lately my days off are filled with errands. When did that happen? I needed to run to the grocery store, down to Walmat (which is the opposite side of town) and then in another direction to the pet store for filters for the pet fountain but I was determined to get some time with the camera. No cat picture today!

The sun was hiding behind a gray, overcast sky. Rain was predicted for the evening. My first stop was at Oliver Mills. It was crowded today. The herring have started running. You could stand by the fish ladder and see the little fish trying to make their way upstream. A few gulls braved the influx of humans but no Great Blue Herons. I watched from the car for a bit so when the gulls took flight, so did I.

I drove to Plymouth to check on a Osprey nest I found at the end of the season last year. When I got there I discovered that I couldn’t find my binoculars. The last time I had them (that I remember) was in Alaska. This nest is near a park and it was full today too so I didn’t linger there.

Getting to the Grist Mill Pond was a challenge. The main road was blocked for a funeral so I tackled the shore road down past the Mayflower.

That’s undergoing road work but passable. I skipped Brewster Gardens. Nothing appeared to be out and about, not even a duck or robin. But that wasn’t the case at the pond.

Here spring was in full swing with lots of courtship rituals going on…mallards, Canada geese, and Mr. Majestic, the mute swan.

After enjoying the antics here I made one more stop. I went searching for the “haul out” that I’d heard about for the seals. Usually I go to Chatham to view seals. Plymouth is closer but the seals aren’t necessarily any more accessible. I wasn’t sure I’d found them. Without binoculars I simple took pictures and crossed my fingers.