We spent Sunday exploring one of Joshua’s Trust properties in Windham, the Allanach-Wolf Woodlands. There was a lot going on from the surface of Marie Lake to the tree tops. A few nest boxes have been placed in a meadow area that attracted Blue Birds and at the opposite end of the lake in a clearing that was home to a few swallows.
I can’t help myself: I keep taking pictures of birds that are high up in the sky. There are no reference points to give the photos balance and the birds are too far away to make great shots, but I still want to capture the majesty of a hawk or eagle in full flight.
Tonight the early evening sun gave me an opportunity as a hawk was flying lazy circles above our house. The sun was highlighting under his wings as he effortlessly glided over our neighborhood.
He came a little closer, but was obscured by a tree in our yard.
It was an enjoyable hour, watching a beautiful bird seemingly enjoy the air currents, probably looking for his dinner.
While waiting for him to circle back around  a blue jay having a snack from the bird feeder obligingly provided me a shot on the ground.
We are starting to see some color along the Connecticut River as the trees start to bud out. The dullness of early spring was getting tiresome.
From an early morning hike on May 1, 2015.
A glance out the window this afternoon found our chestnut tree full of birds. There was a lot of noisy activity around them, but a core group just sat there. I fetched the camera from upstairs, changed the lens , and still they sat.
After watching awhile I realized they were mostly Cedar Waxwings, which we rarely see, with a variety of our regulars mixed in. An hour later most of them were still there.
The snow has mostly melted and there is water everywhere, from calm ponds to roiling streams. Yesterdays’s road trip started at Westfield Falls in Middletown, where the ascent was a bit dicey, to the view of the Arrigoni Bridge from Harbor Park,  ending at a serene pond in the  Cromwell Meadows Wildlife Management Area.  We saw some wildlife in the Meadows, including a heron, a hawk and some song birds, but none were available for a photo shoot.
After a disappointing trek on Sunday that left me with a multitude of out of focus Osprey shots I decided to stay in the back yard with the camera yesterday.
I chased the squirrels away from our feeders and I waited. And waited. I was about to go back in when the parade started; a few flits at first, then a steady stream of small birds.
I captured Finch, Sparrow, Cardinal, Downy Woodpecker, and Robin who all graciously took turns around the yard. Â I missed a few. A blue jay didn’t stay long enough, the beautiful female Woodpecker hid behind the maple branches, and the Mocking Bird who has policed our yard for several months didn’t join in.
I hope to try the Osprey again another day.
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Any instance of color seems bright as winter white gives way to the drabness of early spring.
An artsy looking milkweed pod that managed to survive the winter somewhat intact at the edge of an open field.
Photos taken February 16, 2015 at the Connecticut River.
The CT River was mostly frozen over as far south as Essex through February and the growing winter Eagle population expanded their territories in search of food.
The size of these birds is amazing and watching them in flight a treat. They are graceful and slow compared to the birds we commonly see in this area.
Exploring local sites has been a fun part of going out with the camera. I’ve lived within three miles of Dividend Pond for about 25 years and went there the first time last fall. The Town of Rocky Hill maintains a series of recently created trails around the pond and there are some archaeological ruins of the mills once powered by the water scattered around the property.
I checked in there a few days ago to see if the pond was still frozen over and if the trails were navigable. The pond and the upper end of the falls were easy to get to and offered a variety of photo ops. The lower pond is accessed down a steep slope; going down would have been easy if not pretty. I didn’t try to find out how I would get back up.
