Bent-of-the-River: Southbury, CT (4/22)
My parents came down to visit me in Connecticut this past weekend and we decided to take a trip to Bent-of-the-River on Sunday. We got to the property relatively early and had it pretty much to ourselves. There was still a lot of bird activity but we didn't see anything special. The North Meadow had Bluebirds, Goldfinches, and Red-wing Blackbirds. At the feeders near the barn we found Mourning Doves, Blue Jays, White-throated Sparrows, and Juncos. The river had Mallards, Wood Ducks, a Common Merganser, and a Great Blue Heron. We found wild Turkeys at several stops on our hike.
But overall I was a little disappointed. I was hoping to see some warblers especially since I had so many on Saturday morning. I guess that I'm just rushing the season a bit.
We did have two memorable sightings though. First, we found a Hermit Thrush during our walk thru the woods. And, I brought them to the tree where I had seen the Pileated Woodpeckers working on what I thought was a nest hole. When we got there I could see that the hole had be substantially opened up since my last visit. And, as we watched, the male Pileated flew into view. On his approach, the female poked her head out of the hole. The male landed on the tree and tapped a "secret knock" on the bark. The female flew out of the nest leaving the male perched over the hole. For some reason he just sat there for several minutes. Finally three hikers coming down the road appeared to scare him and he retreated into the hole. But, he was only there for 30 seconds or so before he flew away as well. At this point we were worried that we could be scaring him off the nest so we continued on.
We headed back to the barn via the road. According to the sanctuary's map, this area is noted for its spring flowers. We saw lots of evidence of plants such as Trout Lily and Bloodroot but we could only find four flowers (all Bloodroot). It was surprising to see flowers growing on such a rocky cliff face. Some of the plants seemed to be growing right off the moss covered rock (with very little soil to support them).
The rocks themselves were really cool too. We found several that appeared to have amethyst crystals embedded in them. As the surrounding rock eroded, the amethyst poked out all over.
We continued on and took a side trip to the Cascades. The waterfall was really flowing and we spent some time just sitting on the rocks enjoying the sun. As we left the area, we noticed the trees were in bloom. They looked similar to a magnolia by the petals were pointier. I'm thinking that they may be Star Magnolia but I'm not sure.
We finally made our way back to the parking lot and sat by the river to eat lunch. Several times we heard calls from a Belted Kingfisher ring out but we never located the bird. After lunch, we headed back to the barn. On the way we found a dead Brown Snake in the road. It was strange too since he didn't appear to be crushed. I could only find one small mark on the body. But, I guess when you're that small, a car can literally scare you to death.
After relaxing on the picnic table for a few minutes we decided to take one more look around before heading out. There's a small native garden located between the barn and the river and we were happy to see that some of the flowers had started to bloom there (maybe because its warmer in the sun than it is in the deep woods. We saw some Bloodroot and Round-lobed Hepatica that were in full bloom. As we admired the flowers, a beautiful Eastern Comma flew by and paused for a few seconds in the leaf litter. We also spotted what I'm guessing was a young Garter Snake.
Our last sighting of the trip was another bug... a Six-spotted Tiger Beetle. These guys are an incredible emerald green in the afternoon sun.
But overall I was a little disappointed. I was hoping to see some warblers especially since I had so many on Saturday morning. I guess that I'm just rushing the season a bit.
We did have two memorable sightings though. First, we found a Hermit Thrush during our walk thru the woods. And, I brought them to the tree where I had seen the Pileated Woodpeckers working on what I thought was a nest hole. When we got there I could see that the hole had be substantially opened up since my last visit. And, as we watched, the male Pileated flew into view. On his approach, the female poked her head out of the hole. The male landed on the tree and tapped a "secret knock" on the bark. The female flew out of the nest leaving the male perched over the hole. For some reason he just sat there for several minutes. Finally three hikers coming down the road appeared to scare him and he retreated into the hole. But, he was only there for 30 seconds or so before he flew away as well. At this point we were worried that we could be scaring him off the nest so we continued on.
We headed back to the barn via the road. According to the sanctuary's map, this area is noted for its spring flowers. We saw lots of evidence of plants such as Trout Lily and Bloodroot but we could only find four flowers (all Bloodroot). It was surprising to see flowers growing on such a rocky cliff face. Some of the plants seemed to be growing right off the moss covered rock (with very little soil to support them).
The rocks themselves were really cool too. We found several that appeared to have amethyst crystals embedded in them. As the surrounding rock eroded, the amethyst poked out all over.
We continued on and took a side trip to the Cascades. The waterfall was really flowing and we spent some time just sitting on the rocks enjoying the sun. As we left the area, we noticed the trees were in bloom. They looked similar to a magnolia by the petals were pointier. I'm thinking that they may be Star Magnolia but I'm not sure.
We finally made our way back to the parking lot and sat by the river to eat lunch. Several times we heard calls from a Belted Kingfisher ring out but we never located the bird. After lunch, we headed back to the barn. On the way we found a dead Brown Snake in the road. It was strange too since he didn't appear to be crushed. I could only find one small mark on the body. But, I guess when you're that small, a car can literally scare you to death.
After relaxing on the picnic table for a few minutes we decided to take one more look around before heading out. There's a small native garden located between the barn and the river and we were happy to see that some of the flowers had started to bloom there (maybe because its warmer in the sun than it is in the deep woods. We saw some Bloodroot and Round-lobed Hepatica that were in full bloom. As we admired the flowers, a beautiful Eastern Comma flew by and paused for a few seconds in the leaf litter. We also spotted what I'm guessing was a young Garter Snake.
Our last sighting of the trip was another bug... a Six-spotted Tiger Beetle. These guys are an incredible emerald green in the afternoon sun.
Birds: Black-capped Chickadee, Killdeer, American Crow, Song Sparrow, American Robin, Red Wing Blackbird, Red-bellied Woodpecker, American Goldfinch, Chipping Sparrow, Eastern Bluebird, Tree Swallow, Northern Cardinal, Brown-headed Cowbird, Tufted Titmouse, Downey Woodpecker, White-breasted Nuthatch, White-throated Sparrow, Wild Turkey, Eastern Phoebe, Mourning Dove, Double-crested Cormorant, Dark-eyed Junco, Blue Jay, Common Merganser, Wood Duck, Pileated Woodpecker, Field Sparrow, Great Blue Heron, Mallard, Northern Flicker, Turkey Vulture, Cooper's Hawk, Hermit Thrush, Belted Kingfisher
Butterflies: Mourning Cloak, Spring Azure, Eastern Comma
posted by Mike @ 10:39 AM
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