Northeastern Connecticut is dotted with small ponds, lakes and reservoirs. Now that we are fully into “brown” season we explored a few last week and were rewarded with smooth water and reflections. The evergreens in the photo above were the most colorful thing around. We didn’t see much for wildlife this December day, either.
Hampton Reservoir and the pond at Brown Hill Marsh were as smooth as a mirror, with puffy cloud reflections. (Click to enlarge photo or view as slide show.)
The Ruby-crowned Kinglet is aptly described by Cornell Lab’s All About Birds as being “overflowing with energy!” As a small flock of them darted in and out of this small fruit tree I tried to work out their flight pattern. Almost like a helicopter they changed direction midair and proved elusive to photograph. They flew quite close to me without seeming to care about my presence, and flitted off just as fast. Chickadees came and went at a more leisurely pace.
Downy Woodpeckers are fun to watch as they rotate around a branch. This one stopped to peek where a limb had broken away. 
The trees at Meigs Point are a popular spot for these Woodpeckers, sometimes giving their location away with their tat-tat-tat searching for food.
The late December afternoon sun at Hammonasset Beach State Park provided a nice light for photographing these Chickadees. Several of them were flitting in dried reeds near the beach.
Others were hanging out at a fruit tree near the marsh.
Click on any photo for larger view or slide show.
After seeing the Bobcat on Sunday the rest of our walk was quiet. Birds were mostly elusive, leaving me wondering if the big cat was watching.
The White-throated Sparrows and Song Sparrows did make an appearance and nature still has plenty to show as November ended.
Click to enlarge images or view slideshow.
Or Lynx rufus depending on where you look. Evidently there had been debate over whether to classify the Bobcat as Lynx rufus or Felis rufus. National Geographic is using Felis rufus: National Bobcat Rescue
& Research uses Lynx rufus.
All wildlife resources describe Bobcats as nocturnal so I probably should have been even more surprised to see this one just after noon today. The sun highlighted his gorgeous coat.
Normally photos of wildlife from the rear aren’t worth sharing but this one clearly shows the distinctive white patches on the ears that are part of Bobcat identification.
I had thoughts of getting a little closer but less than 15 seconds after my first shot he disappeared into the underbrush. The red bar in the photo is the top of a gate to prevent vehicles from entering this trail.
Full view of the header photo:
During yesterday’s visit to Essex, CT we saw more than birds. A walk-able village that caters to tourists, Essex homeowners and shopkeepers are detail oriented with fall themed decorations everywhere you look.
The most unexpected thing I saw was a carriage of politicians being pulled by “Dime” and his colleague “Nickel.” I hope the names don’t speak to the state of the Essex government on election day.
The “Three Blind Mice” wreath fit with the literature theme of many of the Halloween decorations still in evidence. I last photographed the bird house with eight inches of snow covering the doorways. No decorations but it appears to have a fresh coat of paint–protection for the coming winter.
And the dog was waiting patiently for his owner to return, ball at the ready.
Click on any photo for larger view or slide show.
We stopped by a few of our favorite bird spots today, including Rocky Neck State Park and Essex, Connecticut. The calendar says November but the temperature felt more like early September with a beautiful clear sky. Wading birds and small woodland birds were taking advantage of the nice day.
A number of Great Egrets have yet to migrate south. The Snowy Egrets appear to have moved on.
Nuthatches could be heard at the edge of the marsh. The one I spotted on the ground didn’t result in a good picture. The size of this one’s feet explain how they are able to travel upside down on a tree.
The view of Stony Creek Harbor through the frame created by the artwork shown above changes with every step as you pass by, allowing you to focus on individual elements of a busy scene.
Unexpected in this seaside village, I continued on to what turned out to be an artsy walk.
The piece below is on the same lawn as the frame. A giant knot? Is the small orb on the ground just under the left edge part of the piece or a stray golf ball? I’m no visionary when it comes to interpreting art but I like this.
The next image is not of “art” but seemed artful to me. An abundance of horizontal and vertical lines intersecting, but not quite perpendicular. Level on one line makes crooked on another.
Nature and man combined to make this an artful view.
This one is all nature, beach roses hanging on as fall closes in.
The light and moisture on the Connecticut River at dawn shift quickly. As the sky lightened a stream of fog became visible rising out of a field onto the river.
Spider webs and wild flowers in the field gave an artsy display.
Fog swirled around on the river even after the sun rose.
Pulled down by the weight of the moisture, grasses dipped and bobbed.
Birds were busy catching their first meal of the day.
