I joined Jane, her brother and two sons for a delightful paddle on Ricker Pond. The color was just about peak.
Jeremy took delivery of his new fishing kayak.
We found a parent and young loon
who dove when they spotted an eagle flying overhead.
It has been an interesting few weeks since my last post. My sons visited from Portland, OR. My husband had a heart attack (he is doing well). Instead of a week at Squam Lake we had planned, I was there for just 2 days. But I have been able to paddle my kayak and see some wildlife.
North Hartland Lake closed for the season on Labor Day. We went out on that Saturday and caught our last peeks at the eagles, cormorants and of course turtles.
The ducks are molting into their breeding colors.
We found herons on all 3 of the rivers we paddle.
and small birds and large.
We saw a muskrat for the first time this year on the Pompy.
and a young deer running across the playing field at Kilowatt Park.
The most unusual animal we saw was a Northern phalarope as it was passing through. It nests in the Arctic and winters to the south.
We saw some unusual wildlife (for us) recently. At North Hartland Lake we came upon a bear swimming across the lake.
The next time we were there, we saw a couple of coyotes.
They looked and acted so much like my dog Freya, it was uncanny.
We have been watching green herons, both on the Connecticut and the Pompy.
We also saw some of the more usual wildlife: cormorants, ducks, geese, a merlin and of course, painted turtles.
We have been to our usual rivers in the last few weeks and have seen some changes. We found a kingbird and its nest on 7/19 and have seen the nestlings grow and leave the nest.
We’ve seen cormorants.
The red-winged blackbirds are out of their nests.
The herons are always fun to watch. On the Pompy the other day we came across what looked like a log, but wasn’t. We stopped paddling and drifted about the same speed as the green heron was walking. At first it was a little annoyed with us, but soon relaxed and continued fishing. By this time I had drifted into shore and it walked within just a few feet of me.
The young birds are all around. Some are still in the nest.
Some have just left the nest and are watched over by a parent.
Others are off on their own.
And there are a few adults, too.
Dragonflies and butterflies put in their appearances too.
