Seems Like A Long Time

During my project I averaged one visit very 3 days. Now when I've been away for only a week and a half, it feels like an eternity. I visited the refuge this morning to see what was going on. I ran into Will and Kathy joining them in the weekly census. I probably did more birding than photography. I certainly was traveling light leaving the big lens at home.

Here are a few photos from our walk around the impoundments.


Winter has taken its toll on the wasp's nest


Canada geese took off from the ice right at us


This Marsh Wren wintered over. Not too long before they will be singing on the tops of the cat tails.


The seed pods of the Evening Primrose look like little flowers in the sunshine



Where ever we went there was ice. With the mild winter we don't have the mammoth sheets of ice. But the running and splashing water generates some interesting patterns.








Down near the southwest entrance to the refuge, there are signs of recent beaver activity. While beavers can cause flooding, this winter the beaver along the river has been working on opening up a small vista of the river.




While we were looking up, there were a couple of fly-bys that we caught.


A pair of mute swans


The belted kingfisher flying up the river


Will spotted this sharp shinned hawk in the trees of the holt.


If you are interested in why it's so long between visits, you can check out my other photographic wanderings at blog.lightchronicle.com

I apologize for the ugly watermarks. I didn't have must time, so went with the default, instead of manually adding my own copyright. When I catch my breath, I will try to remember to fix these.

A Quiet Visit

I wasn't planning on stopping by Great Meadows today. In fact, I drove into Mt Auburn Cemetery with one of my friends to see if we could photograph the Great Horned Owl. Unfortunately, the owl was not very cooperative in its choice of location, so it was a short day. Frustrated that I was wasting such a sunny day, I stopped by the refuge.

Great Meadows was exceedingly quiet. The impoundments were frozen over except for the flowing water near the bridge. I was amazed that I couldn't see any coots, either at the impoundments or in the river. However, just as I was leaving, I saw one on the backside of the reeds near the bridge.

Looking out over the lower impoundment, I noticed the tops of the trees were much redder from last year's new growth and the early signs of budding.



One animal you are almost always guaranteed to see is the Downy Woodpecker. Today was no different. I decided to include one photo with its nictating membrane (third eyelid) which descends whenever it is pecking wood.







Down by the river I spied an Eastern Screech Owl sunning itself. Unfortunately there were too many branches between the path and the tree to capture a good photograph...but the discovery made the walk worthwhile.

Most of the geese and ducks have relocated down to the river. Even there ice is starting to encroach on their territory.






A pair of black ducks


To amuse myself and to ensure I came back with a couple photographs, I did snap off a couple shots of mushrooms growing on trees.







All in all, it wasn't a spectacular day for photography, but it was a pleasant walk and a positive move towards keeping my New Year's resolution of getting more exercise. Hopefully, this will help tide you over until your next visit.

Tastes Like Chicken

It was a very windy morning as I joined Will and Kathy for the weekly bird census. The wind was gusting up to 50 miles an hour which made for a cold walk and fewer birds.

When we first arrived a Northern Harrier was feasting on the carcasses of two dead coots on the edge of the open water in the lower impoundment. This isn't a good month for coots, we later saw 4 other carcasses floating in the upper impoundment. With the purpose of the day being birding not photography and with the gusty wind, I though it prudent to not bring my 500mm, so you'll have to satisfy yourself with some crops from my zoom lens.








This is the harrier with the stick in the back, affectionately nicknamed "Spike". However, we have since learned that it is a female. Somehow Spike no longer seems appropriate. May I suggest her nickname become "Stiletto". Even she wanted to find shelter from the gusty breezes. We later saw her resting in the cattails on the lee side of the trees.




The gusty winds started last night and there were downed branches along the road and on the impoundments.




Broken windblown trees are nothing new at the refuge. This one is an impressive home for moss & fungi.


This cute red squirrel didn't seem to mind the cold breeze


Hairy Woodpecker


Red-Bellied Woodpecker


I thought this was interesting. It appears that there is either snow/frost or trapped air bubbles on the stones captured under the ice.