What's The Buzz?

The NECCC Photography conference this weekend was great, but as a result it has been almost a week since my last visit to Great Meadows. The weather has been warm and dry with really hot temps coming later this week. So I figured I would check what was up at Great Meadows before I had to carry as much weight in water as I do in camera gear.

It's always good to get an overview from the tower before wandering out into the refuge. Looking down you can see the effects of draining the upper impoundment. The beavers would have a long walk before they could swim! The lotus in the upper impoundment is starting to bloom. As I started to descend the tower this Eastern Kingbird flew to the dead branches near the tower and posed.








As I ventured onto the Dike Trail, I noticed that some of the milk weed has turned to pods, but a lot is still blooming. The buzz of bees was quite audible as I walked. They were everywhere; on the milkweed, on the tick-trefoil, even on the cat tail reeds!












The dragon and damselflies were quite active as the temperature started to soar. Maybe it was all the sessions on macro photography that I attended, but I was quite happy to take their photo. The refuge has exploded with varieties of damsel and dragonflies. I will have to dedicate a whole visit to photographing them.


Eastern Forktail




Blue Dasher


Eastern Forktails Mating




(I apologize for any dragon / damselfly identifications I got wrong, my Field Guide Dragonflies and Damselflies on Massachusetts is on order.)

I've learned to expect the unexpected at Great Meadows. Sometimes, my camera even has the right settings to take advantage of the situation. Here are a few from today's visit.


Muskrat with a Large Garden Salad - To Go


One of four A-10 "Warthogs" that took off from Hanscom (Surprisingly - quieter than most of the executive jet takeoffs)


Catbird with Insects Returning to Nest

A Hot One

It was already 76 degrees when I awoke at 5:20AM, so without delay I headed to Great Meadows before the heat became unbearable. With the hot temperatures, I decided is was a good day to go with my light weight lens kit.

Walking up the Dike Trail, I was greeted by a family of Wood Ducks near the water control gates. A bit further up the path a mink or two darted back and forth across the path. While I have better pictures technically, this one captures the mood.






With the hot weather the dragonflies are out in force. I also encountered this beautiful white moth. It wasn't until I got home that I noticed the detail in the feathery antenea.








A bit further up the Dike Trail, I noticed that the Mash Wrens were all making a different call. In the end I think several nests have fledged their newborns. They are hard to see because they are small and tend to stay down in the reeds. Through persistence and luck, I finally got to get some photos of one.




At Great Meadows they have started to drain water out of the upper impoundment. The water has dropped dramatically in the last few days. You can see how much of these reeds had been under water.




With the hot weather, I knew one of my subjects would be flowers around the refuge would be one of my subjects. I should have thought about wearing long pants, kneeling on those gravel paths is tough on the knees.








The joggers were out early, which always makes photographing the birds more challenging. As the day started to heat up, the families started to come out to visit before it got TOO hot.






There is a swampy area near the parking lot near a fallen tree. Over the months I've thought that I've never photographed anything there. (It's pretty dark and disgusting). Today, I saw a Black Duck with three chicks.




With the day getting decidedly warmer, I decided to enjoy a drink while sitting on the bench beneath the tower. While I was there several birds flew in...Next hot day, maybe I'll just sit there and let the subjects come to me.


Willow Flycatcher


Female American Goldfinch

Sometimes The Bear Gets You

This morning I headed to Great Meadows to see what sorts of adventures awaited me. Though it was just a little past sunrise, there was already a car in the parking lot. It was one of those days where you might hear something, but you can't see it. If you could see it, there was something between you and it....or it moved on before I could get it in the the viewfinder. Enough of the complaining here is what I did see.


Female Downy Woodpecker






I was attracted to the unusual red color. It was only when I looked closely once I got home that I noticed the missing wing.


At the far end of the lower impoundment I scared a wood duck while crossing the bridge. I waited a while by the water control gate and they eventually reappeared.






The turtle didn't seem too bothered by the ducks...but he did disappear a little while later, so maybe he was waiting to make a dash to safety.


I've learned whenever water fowl start dunking to keep your camera ready because a stretch is coming up...I wish I had learned to set up my camera without reeds in the way.






The ducks weren't the only families out this morning. There were lots of human families also out enjoying a sunny Sunday morning. This was probably the largest group that I encountered.



I should have gotten a photograph of the group of birders I encountered, but I had the long telephoto on when I needed the wide angle. It was just the story of the day.