Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Mystery Bird


Walking between Buzzards Bay and Allens pond last week we got this picture of a bird that we haven't been able to identify.

Monday, September 7, 2009

Gooseberry Point & Westport River



We walked out to the end of Gooseberry point looking for the Ruddy Turnstone Judy had talked about. We found a few foraging in the seaweed. That evening Baruch took us out on his boat to look at one of the Spectacle Islands where a flock of Egrets and a flock of Cormorants shared the trees.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Oystercatcher; Osprey



We ran aground on a bar in the Westport River the other day and as we were trying to get unstuck we saw what we took to be an American Oystercatcher, the first we have ever seen. The next day (ah Summer at last!) we we had what we took for an Osprey hovering over us. It was the first picture of one in flight that I've gotten. I guess I'll have to spend more time sitting on the beach.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

What is this bird?



We had been hearing what we took to be a family of Goshawks in our yard in Westport Ma. We even saw [and took a poor quality picture of] an immature hawk on our lawn.
Then driving home one evening we saw the bird depicted here sitting
under our apple tree. We looked it up in Sibley but weren't sure what
it was. We thought it was most likely a Goshawk, but what are those
strange "trousers" it seems to be wearing? It flew around the yard for
a time, but we couldn't make any other useful observations.

Friday, July 31, 2009

Around the House



The summer being what it is we've been spending more time around the house. On one day we saw a row of young swallows on our railing being fed by their parent, who would catch something and fly by dropping it in a baby's mouth. Eventually she saw me and signaled for them to fly off. On the patio we watched as humming birds fed on our beebalm. Here is one.

Monday, July 6, 2009

To the island

After all the June rain, the path to our island was quite overgrown. As we trimmed back the brambles I came upon nest which, sadly, we disturbed. Later I saw the robin, whose nest it probably was, in a nearby tree.

Monday, June 29, 2009

Animals in June

While we haven't seen much of the sun this June, we've seen more animals than usual. First there has been the coyote that ran across the yard just outside my window on several mornings early in the month. I was too surprised and he/she was too quick for me to get any but vivid mental pictures. I did get a shot at a "dumb bunny" who stood peacefully in the sun at Sachuset point while I towered over him/her. There weren't many birds on our walk through a parched landscape in California, but a squirrel did peer out at me as I walked by. And then coming home from work on one of those rainy days I stepped out on the porch to find another curious creature staring up at me. What luck for a dreary month.