Cape Cod Day 2: Wellfleet Bay MAS (7/29)

On Sunday everyone got up, had some breakfast, and headed over to the Wellfleet Bay Massachusetts Audubon Society sanctuary. The morning started out relatively cool but it got steamier as the day went on.

We started at the visitor's center where we happened to run into Dan Berard. We met Dan during one of Mark Lynch's bird classes at Broad Meadow Brook. Dan was working for Wellfleet Bay and was actually on his way out to the bay to release a baby Diamondback Terrapin. He showed us the turtle in his bucket and then headed out into the field. We enjoyed the displays in the visitor's center for a little longer before following him out.

We caught up with Dan again at Goose Pond where he had stopped to sort out the sandpipers. A Painted Turtle swam back and forth in the brackish water and a Belted Kingfisher perched on a large pole in the center of the pond. Yellowleg or two ran haphazardly in the shallows and several Green Herons stalked small fish in the deeper water.

We moved on down the trail switching positions with Dan. He caught back up to us where the trail opens up to the salt marsh. We were admiring the holes made by hundreds of Fiddler Crabs. Dan told us that there were actually two species of Fiddlers on the sanctuary: Mud Fiddler Crabs and Sand Fiddler Crabs. I tried to catch a few of them to check out the difference but they were too quick (or maybe too smart) for me.

As we got closer to the bay, Dan found a good place to release the baby Diamondback. He carefully took it out of the bucket and placed it in the sand. Dan and I both took this opportunity to take some pictures of the turtle who seemed to look up at our lenses inquisitively. He moved around a bit and eventually took some shelter from the sun beside my sister's sandal. He looked pretty hot.

And so were we. We made it out to the bay and looked around a little. My parents were able to spot a Piping Plover amongst the more common birds (like the Least Sandpiper). Soon we were just too hot to stay any longer and we headed back to the visitor's center. With the sun out, the nectaring animals had gathered in the flower garden. We spotted a American Lady and a Ruby-throated Hummingbird. At this point, we were so hot that we fled to Marconi Beach for an afternoon by the water.

Cape Cod Day 1: Travel (7/28)

The last week of July was the annual Walker family vacation on Cape Cod. Shannon came out to spend the first weekend with us. She and I left Connecticut early and rendezvoused with the rest of the clan at the Bird Watcher's General Store around noon. After browsing the store for a bit we headed next door to get some Chinese food for lunch.

While we were in the restaurant, there was a light rain shower. When we left, the rain had stopped but it was still pretty cloudy. So, we headed over to the Cape Cod National Seashore visitor's center to look at the exhibits and catch a viewing of "The Sands of Time".

By this time we could finally get into our summer rental. After unpacking, Shannon, my parents, and I all took a drive to Nauset Light Beach for a swim. Refreshed, we came back to the house and had dinner.

After dinner, we made the short drive over to First Encounter Beach to do some birdwatching and watch the sun go down. The bird activity was fairly light but the sunset was nice.

Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary: Portland, CT (7/21)

On Saturday the 21st I took a morning hike at Helen Carlson Wildlife Sanctuary in Portland. My bird list was pretty small. I even tried to call in the Worm-eating Warbler with a recording but he didn't bite. It was so quiet that I didn't take any bird photos. I did manage to take a couple of usable shots. The first was an unidentified dragonfly and the second was another Red Admiral (they certainly were common this year).

Birds: Blue Jay, Eastern Phoebe, Common Grackle, Red-wing Blackbird, Baltimore Oriole, Hermit Thrush, Tufted Titmouse, Black-capped Chickadee, Mallard, American Goldfinch, Mourning Dove, Belted Kingfisher, Red-eyed Vireo, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Eastern Kingbird, Northern Flicker

Northampton/Amherst 4th of July Butterfly Count (7/22)

On Sunday the 22nd, my parents, Elise Barry, and I participated in the Northampton/Amherst 4th of July butterfly count. We had a great day and counted a good number of butterflies. Unfortunately it was many weeks ago and I don't remember too many details. Here's a summary of the count from Mark Fairbrother:
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With 2-3 precincts still to report, the totals for today’s Northampton/Amherst area 4J count stand at:

44 species,
2160 individuals.

Butterfly highlights include Hickory Hairstreak, 6; WHITE-M Hairstreak, 1; Common Sootywing, 97.

Taken from the clutches of a spider or assassin bug was a duskywing which may turn out to be a Horace’s Duskywing.

The compilation for this count is held at the State Reservation on top of Mt. Sugarloaf in South Deerfield. The avian highlight of the day was watching a very vocal pair of Peregrine Falcons chasing each other at length, generally at eye level and occasionally within 50 feet of the observers.

Glastonbury, CT (7/15)

During the heat of the day I spotted a Monarch and a Common Buckeye at Shannon's rental house on Naubuc Ave. Later in the day the clouds rolled in and it started to rain. When the heavy precipitation ended we decided to take a walk around the block at her home. It was pretty dark and there was still a good deal of mist in the air. To my surprise, I spotted two bats flying around. Their size suggested Big Brown Bats but I certainly can't be sure. The bats seemed to be hunting for insects. I'm guessing that the rain would play havoc on their sonar but they seemed to be swooping and diving anyhow. I couldn't tell if they caught anything but it was fun watching them try.

Blackstone Valley Corridor 4th July Butterfly Count (7/14)

My next butterfly count was the Blackstone Valley Corridor which is hosted by my friends, Tom and Cathy Dodd. This was our best count of the year with tons of butterflies (individuals and species). Unfortunately, being over a month ago I don't remember many of the details.

The most memorable sighting of the day was a smallish turtle sticking its head out of a small pool in a revine. The water was nothing more than a large vernal pool so I don't think that the turtle lives there permanently. But, it was still really cool to see.

I'm guessing that it was a Musk Turtle but it could have been a small Snapper as well. When we tried to get a closer look, he retreated into the muddy bottom of the pool.

Butterflies: Black Swallowtail 26, Tiger Swallowtil 26, Spicebush Swallowtail 29, Cabbage White 41, Clouded Sulphur 72, Orange Sulphur 66, American Copper 111, Bog Copper 3, Coral Hairstreak 13, Banded Hairstreak 5, Hickory Hairstreak 1, Striped Hairstreak 9, Gray Hairstreak 1, ET Blue 30, Summer Azure 29, GS Frit 55, Aphrodite Frit 6, SB Frit 9, Pearl Crescent 104, Baltimore 37, Question mark 2, Ea Comma 10, Milbert's Tortoiseshell 1, Am Lady 16, Red Admiral 103, C Buckeye 3, Red Sp Admiral 2, Viceroy 16, N Pearly-eye 3, Eyed Brown 7, Ap Brown 38, Little Wd Satyr 172, Com Wood Nymph 436, Monarch 73, Silver Sp Skipper 92, Horace's Duskywing 8, Wild Indigo Duskywing 6, Common Sootywing 10, Least Skipper 7, European Skipper 6, Tawny-edged Skipper 2, Crossline Skipper 18, Northern Broken dash 42, Little Glassywing 63, Delaware Skipper 41, Mulberry wing 15, Broad-winged Skipper 1, Black Dash 7, Dun Skipper 84, Two-spotted Skipper1, Large Frit (spp) 20

Totals====>1958
Total Species===>50
# of participants 12
Party Hours 39.5
(car) 6
(foot) 33.5
Party Miles 108.7
(car) 87.4
(foot) 21.25
Count Date 7/14/07
Compiler Tom Dodd