Starting All Over Again

Except for Sunday's Caterpillar walk, I pretty much had to take a week long break from my Great Meadows project for medical reasons. Monday's procedure went well and by Wednesday afternoon I was chomping at the bit to get photographing again.

My hope was that some of the nesting birds I knew of would still be there, so I could get some more photos for my catalog. Unfortunately, the Chickadees, Wood Thrushes, and Robins had all fledged and the nests were empty. I was saddened when I got to the snag with the Tree Swallow nest. Where there had previously been two holes was now one big gapping hole which looks like some predator helped themselves to a dinner of eggs or young chicks. This snag was close to where I had encountered turtle eggs that had been dug up and opened.


That made me feel like the male end of the cat tail reeds which in three short days are starting to droop, shrivel and soon will fall off.



So I was back at square one. I was going to have to see with fresh eyes. I started slowly. At Great Meadows planes are often seen flying overhead. Today they seemed to be coming in low. With all the problems of birds striking planes, I never could understand the wisdom of aligning an airport runway with a wildlife refuge.



After a while, I started to notice that the setting sun was making the ordinary look interesting.


Who says autumn has a lock on colored leaves?


I'm not a big fan of the Mute Swans, but they do look good in the evening light


This duck landed in the water next to the Dike Path bridge. Uncharacteristically, it was more interested in personal hygiene than concerned about people.


Checking in the reeds, I found this Great Blue Heron which was trying to ambush dinner. Nearby, while looking for Marsh Wrens, I encountered a fledgling Red-Winged Blackbird. The identification was easy based upon the way the parents reacted when I paused to take the photo






As the sun was sinking closer to the horizon, and the shadows and exposure times were growing longer, I wandered back to the tower. A Rose-breasted Grosbeak hopped up into the setting sunlight for a brief moment. An unsolved mystery is where all the fur came from? It does not match many of the animals. On the other hand, since dogs are not allowed in the refuge it shouldn't be from someone grooming their dog.

Catepillars and More

The weather forecast for Sunday was wet and rainy, but everything I was interested in was being held "rain or shine". So I was up before dawn to get to the Assabet Riverfest workshop on photography from your kayak. Then I quickly packed up my kayak, changed, and raced to Great Meadows to join Cherrie Corey's, Sense of Place walk in progress. Today she had a special guest Sam Jaffe who is an expert on caterpillars and butterflies. He is also a spectacular photographer. Check out his on-line gallery or visit his upcoming show and live caterpillar exhibit at the Boston Children's Museum this summer.




Most of the caterpillars I've seen at Great Meadows have been in the beaks of Chickadees and Wood Thrushes. Walking with Sam, it seemed like every few feet he would stop and identify another caterpillar. In fact when I joined the group, they still hadn't left the parking lot/ There was so much to see right there!

Caterpillars can be found many ways. You may see the caterpillar. Since many frequent the bottom side of leaves, you can turn them over and find more. Other ways of identifying that caterpillars are in the vicinity include

• finding curled leaves that they've sealed shut (balloons) for shelter,
• look for partially eaten leaves (if they aren't burnt brown around the edges they are fresh and caterpillars may be nearby)
• notice their droppings "fras" on the leaves below wher they are located.

During the course of the walk we encountered Fine-line Sallows. At the time of the walk they were a mystery, but identification by a botanist that the host plant was Verbena and not False Nettle helped Sam make the identification. This caterpillar is rare for this area.


More mature version of the same caterpillar


Red Admiral Butterfly feeding on False nettle stying put within their leaf shelters on a cold and rainy day


All along the Dike Trail on smaller trail-side elms were Question Mark caterpillars. They take their name from the shape they form.


From left to right fifth, fourth and second instar Question Marks


Close-up of fifth instar


This year is a banner year for Question marks



We also saw a Pearly Woodnymph resting on some foliage. It's protective defense is that it resembles bird splat while resting on the plant.






Here a Double-toothed Prominent has eaten the tip off the elm leaf. It's back develops the saw toothed shape of the elm which it eats. The zig-zagged shape makes it more difficult for predators to realize that something is amiss.



Sam also spotted this Grasshopper nymph nestled down in the leaves of the plant.




It was hard to not let the mind wander while walking. Several things caught my photographic eye. The included:


Water drops on Deer Tongue Grass


Spectacular purple and yellow of False Indigo


Meadowsweet


Red Milkweed Beetle


On the way back to the parking lot Cherrie gave us a lesson on Cattail Reeds. They actually have a male and female parts. In the photos that follow the male portion is on top, just emerging from a leafy sheath. After is pollinates the female portion it shrivels up to the small narrow spiky on the top of the reed. The female portion is the large brown portion of the reed you see. As the year progresses it releases its seeds to the environment.






I was the last one to return to the parking lot because while we were learning about the cattails I spotted this leaf. I loved the way the drops of water circle the edges. This is about the best I could do without my tripod.

Building Inventory Before The Storm

I had been planning to meet a couple friends at Great Meadows this afternoon for a bit of photography. However, the forecast for thunder storms combined with a long commute dampened their desire to come and get rained out.

So I wandered to Great Meadows by myself with the objective to check on the Black-Capped Chickadees. Some of my first winter blog posts also contained Chickadees. My how the colors and background have changed. I hoped to obtain a prize winning camera club competition image. One challenge is like all parents of newborns the parents look quite disheveled. I got close, but I can hear the judge's critiques now. I certainly increased my inventory of Chickadee photos. Which one is your favorite?











The sky was starting to grow ominous. The other two cars in the parking lot decided to leave. The rumbles in the distance didn't seem to bother the animals. Several of the bunnies were out feeding at the base of the tower. Do you think this Mallard was looking for the Duck Trail? He decided to just sit down and ride out the storm in the parking lot.









As the storm moved in, I tried to get a photo of lightning in the distance. Unfortunately, most of the bolts were behind the trees on the right. I missed the few that were straight ahead. Soon the storm was almost upon me. I rethought the wisdom of taking photographs out an open car window at the base of a tall metal tower. Moments later the rain was pouring down...the Mallard just sat down and watched it all go by.