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.
We visited our usual haunts this week: the Connecticut River out of Wilder, the Ompompanoosuc River and the North Hartland Lake. The wildlife did not disappoint.
The kingbirds on the Connecticut are sitting on their nests again.
The young mallards are nearly full grown and seem to enjoy snails for lunch.
We saw a couple of mammals on the Pompy.
We rounded a corner and came across this doe only about 15 feet away.
North Hartland Lake presented some of its usual suspects. Both adult eagles were near the nest, but we only saw one juvenile.
One of our favorite paddling spots, North Hartland Lake, is now open Wednesday-Sunday! The eagles have built a nest, but we didn’t see any evidence of eaglets.
We saw the usual painted turtles and spotted sandpipers and were treated with some deer.
The next day, on the Connecticut River, we came across a large snapping turtle sunning himself. Over the years, we have seen him a few times before, but always underwater.
The kingbirds are trying for a second clutch of eggs in at least two nests.
And the damselflies are out and about.
Today on the Ompompanoosuc, we found the family of geese, now getting their adult feathers.