Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary: Portland, CT (5/12)

After a late night at Foxwoods seeing one of my favorite artists, Chantal Kreviazuk, perform I dragged myself out of bed and headed over to Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary. This property is quickly becoming one of my favorite places in Connecticut. And I had another nice visit. I'm just glad that I made it home (more on that later).

I got to the property around 7:30. It was a beautiful spring morning and the bog was filled with singing birds. They were mostly Grackles, Orioles, and Red-wing Blackbirds but it was still an interesting chorus. I started the loop around the bog admiring the woods in the morning light. As I walked around the first turn I noticed a Beaver munching on a newly felled tree. He stayed put for a few minutes which gave me enough time to take a few photos. Unfortunately the density of the bushes made focusing difficult and I didn't get any really good shots.

After the Beaver swam away I continued on to the portion of the trail where the water has overflowed its banks. I was hoping to find some Spotted Turtles but instead found a few Water Snakes sunning themselves on the beaver dam. Seeing me, they quickly dove into the water to escape.

Instead of getting my feet wet, I doubled back and headed up the hill into Meshamasic State Forest. I've been to the area a few times now so I decided to explore it a bit deeper. The journey started out great. From the trail I heard what I'm sure was a Worm-eating Warbler. I did some bushwhacking to try to find the bird. But, its call makes it maddeningly difficult to locate. I tried several positions (including on top of a large boulder) but never spotted it. I did find a Scarlet tanager though.

I continued on down the trail taking different forks as I hiked. Eventually the trail exited the woods near the Portland Reservoir. The area was a large field with two white tanks. A dirt road led from the tanks, over a bridge, to a residential neighborhood. As I walked to the bridge I heard several songs. There were plenty of Chipping Sparrows and Phoebes but the most persistent call was from a male Blue-wing Warbler. I chased him long enough to get at least one nice picture.

I headed up towards the reservoir but unfortunately it had restricted access. From the road I did see some Rough-wing Swallows swooping up and down over the water. I headed down the road a bit to see if there was anything to be found. I'm glad I did too since the call of a Red-eyed Vireo drew my attention to one particular tree. As I was looking for the vireo, I spotted a Magnolia Warbler working the branches for food. Before finally turning back I took a quick detour into the woods for a look at the stream that drained from the reservoir.

I headed back to the tanks and then decided to explore one more trail before heading back. I heard several more Scarlet Tanangers and other woodland birds. When I came to an area with lots of pine bark littering the ground, I couldn't help but turn a few pieces over. The second piece was hiding a Garter Snake. I took some close-up shots of this beautiful creature before replacing the bark and leaving him in peace.

This is where it started to get a little dicey. I took a trail that I thought was the way out but after a half a mile or so I realized that it was the wrong path. I backtracked to the tank area and found another trail. This one looked much more familiar. But, I still made some wrong turns before finally making it back to the bog.

As I hiked thru the mid-mourning the butterflies really started to emerge. I spotted several Juvenal's Duskywings and one Spring Azure. One the ride home I saw a pair of Tiger Swallowtails, some Cabbage Whites, and one Lady species.

Birds: Veery, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-wing Blackbird, American Robin, American Crow, Baltimore Oriole, Northern Flicker, Canada Goose, Gray Catbird, Blue Jay, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Common Grackle, Downy Woodpecker, Ovenbird, Northern Cardinal, Black-capped Chickadee, Brown-headed Cowbird, Mallard, Mourning Dove, Tufted Titmouse, Scarlet Tanager, Worm-eating Warbler, Wood Thrush, Chipping Sparrow, Blue-wing Warbler, Black and White Warbler, Eastern Phoebe, Rough-wing Swallow, Song Sparrow, Red-eyed Vireo, Magnolia Warbler, Great Blue Heron, Hairy Woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird