Broad Meadow Brook (2/3)
On Saturday morning I got up early and headed over to BMB. Friday night we had the first real snowfall of the season and I wanted to take some pictures of the sanctuary under a fresh blanket of snow.
I started at the Dunkirk enterance and was immediately struck buy how beautiful the brook was. I scrambled down the embankment and took a few shots closer to water level just as the sun was poking thru the trees.
The snow was only 2 or 3 inches deep but it covered everything from the wildflower stalks to the biggest trees. And I was early enough so that it was still undistrubed in most locations. I don't know exactly why but this really improved my mood. The winters in New England are harder to take when everything is brown and lifeless. But, when there's a fresh snowfall, it tends to renew the landscape.
Unfortunately, the new snow wasn't exactly the best for tracks. I saw tons of them all over the sanctuary but I had a tough time figuring out what animals made them since not a lot of detail registered in the fluffy snow. Some tracks were small, others were very large. I'm sure that some were from Coyote but others, like these, I had a hard time with. They are very large and show the 2X2 pattern. At one point, the tracks veered suddenly into the woods. I'll have to do some research on this.
I hiked my normal loop except for a few new stops. I crossed the brook and headed over to Cardinal Trail. Sheltered amongst the trees I foun a few Chickadees and Mourning Doves. Next I headed up to the powerlines where a made a side trip to see the new beaver lodge on auto parts pond. Then it was back to the powerlines where I followed canine tracks for some distance. The bushes along the path were all covered with the same fluffy snow which made them look like cotton plants. I took some photos of the area for documentation purposes and then started down Blue Well towards Lady Slipper.
I finished my hike with a walk down Trioano Brookside Trail. Again, the brook was really picturesque so I had to stop and try my hand at some artistic shots. As I strolled down the trail I saw sparrows in the reeds but they flew so quickly that I had a tough time picking out what type they were. But, it was still nice to see that there were some birds surviving the harse winter. At the end of the trail I ran into one of the sanctuary's interns. She explained that she was looking for the Otter that I had spotted in December. I told her that I hadn't seen it and either had she. She did report seeing a Red Fox though. I would have loved to get a shot of him.
I started at the Dunkirk enterance and was immediately struck buy how beautiful the brook was. I scrambled down the embankment and took a few shots closer to water level just as the sun was poking thru the trees.
The snow was only 2 or 3 inches deep but it covered everything from the wildflower stalks to the biggest trees. And I was early enough so that it was still undistrubed in most locations. I don't know exactly why but this really improved my mood. The winters in New England are harder to take when everything is brown and lifeless. But, when there's a fresh snowfall, it tends to renew the landscape.
Unfortunately, the new snow wasn't exactly the best for tracks. I saw tons of them all over the sanctuary but I had a tough time figuring out what animals made them since not a lot of detail registered in the fluffy snow. Some tracks were small, others were very large. I'm sure that some were from Coyote but others, like these, I had a hard time with. They are very large and show the 2X2 pattern. At one point, the tracks veered suddenly into the woods. I'll have to do some research on this.
I hiked my normal loop except for a few new stops. I crossed the brook and headed over to Cardinal Trail. Sheltered amongst the trees I foun a few Chickadees and Mourning Doves. Next I headed up to the powerlines where a made a side trip to see the new beaver lodge on auto parts pond. Then it was back to the powerlines where I followed canine tracks for some distance. The bushes along the path were all covered with the same fluffy snow which made them look like cotton plants. I took some photos of the area for documentation purposes and then started down Blue Well towards Lady Slipper.
I finished my hike with a walk down Trioano Brookside Trail. Again, the brook was really picturesque so I had to stop and try my hand at some artistic shots. As I strolled down the trail I saw sparrows in the reeds but they flew so quickly that I had a tough time picking out what type they were. But, it was still nice to see that there were some birds surviving the harse winter. At the end of the trail I ran into one of the sanctuary's interns. She explained that she was looking for the Otter that I had spotted in December. I told her that I hadn't seen it and either had she. She did report seeing a Red Fox though. I would have loved to get a shot of him.
posted by Mike @ 8:34 AM
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