Tag: bald eagle

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From my kayak 9/1-24

The end of the summer has come. Many mornings are foggy, the leaves are changing color, and we are using coverings on our legs to keep warm. We paddled several times on the Connecticut and the Pompy and once on Indian Pond, seeing the usual suspects.

Mallards in fog. Connecticut River 9/4/24
Mallard on a log. Connecticut River 9/24/24
Ducks on a log, Mink Brook 9/11/24
Mallard on a log. Connecticut River 9/17/24
Mallards. Connecticut River 9/21/24
Mallard. Ompompanoosuc River 9/19/24
Mallard flying. Ompompanoosuc 9/5/24
Wood duck taking off. Mink Brook 9/11/24
Male wood ducks. Mink Brook 9/11/24
Mallard and green heron share a log. Mink Brook, 9/17/24
Green heron– stare down. Mink Brook 9/17/24
Green heron. Connecticut River 9/11/24
Green heron. Mink Brook 9/24/24
Bald eagle. Mink Brook 9/24/24
Bald eagles. Connecticut River 9/17/24
Peregrin falcon. Ompompanoosuc River 9/5/24
White throated sparrow. Ompompanoosuc River 9/19/24
Cedar waxwing. Ompompanoosuc River 9/5/24
Kingfisher. Indian Pond 9/8/24
Hay bales from the setback. Ompomanoosuc River 9/5/24
Web. Mink Brook 9/17/24
Not an owlet (cat tail seeds) Ompompanoosuc River 9/19/24
Leaf reflected. Connecticut River 9/12/24
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From my kayak 6/20-27

We have been out in our kayaks several times this week. Saturday we started out in a heavy mist, paddling out of Wilder.

Ducklings. Connecticut River 6/22/23
Mostly butts. Ducklings on a log. Connecticut River 6/22/23
Loon. Connecticut River 6/22/23
Loon. Connecticut River 6/22/24
Bald eagle. Connecticut River 6/22/23

On Tuesday we headed to Grafton pond. There were plenty of dragonflies and damsel flies. The goose family was near the boat launch. We only saw three loons: a single adult in the middle of the lake and a pair near the boat launch as we were taking out. We also found a turtle and some laurel and sundew.

Damsel flies. Grafton Pond 6/25/24
Dragon fly. Grafton Pond 6/25/24
Red dragon fly. Grafton Pond 6/25/24
Canada goose. Grafton Pond 6/25/24
Common loon stretching. Grafton Pond 6/25/24
Common loon. Grafton Pond 6/25/24
Laurel. Grafton Pond 6/25/24
Sundew. Grafton Pond 6/25/24
Painted turtle. Grafton Pond 6/25/24

This morning we headed back to the Connecticut and Mink Brook. We saw at least 5 families of ducks, mostly around Kilowatt park.

Mallard family. Connecticut River 6/27/24
Ms Merganser. Connecticut River 6/27/24
Flycatcher. Mink Brook 6/27/24
Ms Red-winged Blackbird. Mink Brook 6/27/24
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From my kayak 6/1 -6/12

We had a few trips in our kayaks, though the weather didn’t always cooperate.

Jane in the rain. North Hartland Lake. 6/3/23
Taking refuge under the highway bridge. Ompompanoosuc river 6/10/23

We did get a chance to see some birds: some unusual ones, and more of the standbys.

Black legged kittiwake Lake Fairlee 6/12/23
Black legged kittiwake Lake Fairlee 6/12/23
Immature cormorant high in a pine tree, panting. Connecticut River 6/1/23
Merganser. Ompompanoosuc River 6/10/23
Bald eagle. Lake Fairlee 6/12/23

The mallard drakes have gathered together and are molting. The baby mallards are hatching, and have to beware of hungry loons and osprey.

Mallard drake preening. Connecticut River 6/1/23
Young mallard ducklings. Connecticut River 6/6/23
Loon chasing ducklings. Connecticut River 6/6/23
Barn. Ompompanoosuc River 6/10/23
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VINS 11/10/2020

On Tuesday, Jane and I enjoyed our trip to the Vermont Institute of Natural Science which specializes in rehabilitating raptors. All the birds on exhibit cannot be returned to the wild for some reason, whether having a missing or injured wing, brain damage, being imprinted on humans etc. Their talks are informative, though for the winter, they only present one bird per talk. We first saw a barn owl.

Barn owl.

We walked through the exhibits, and saw owls, ravens,

Barred owl
Ravens

Hawks,

Red tailed hawks
Rough-legged hawk
Broad winged hawk

and eagles.

Golden eagles
Bald eagle
Bald eagle

We took a walk on the trails including the canopy walk which puts you 30-70 feet in the air, near the tops of the trees.

The tower on the canopy trail.
Eagle sculpture on the canopy walk

We went back to another informative talk on the Harris hawk. This hawk lives in the Southwest and often hunts in packs.

Harris hawk in flight
Harris hawk
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From my kayak 7/13-21

The young birds are all around. Some are still in the nest.

Loon on nest. Grafton Pond, Grafton, NH 7/21/2020
Kingbird and nest. Connecticut River, Lebanon, NH 7/19/2020

Some have just left the nest and are watched over by a parent.

Mama mallard. Connecticut River, Lebanon, NH 7/19/2020
Mallard ducklings. Connecticut River, Lebanon, NH 7/19/2020
Loon parent and baby. Grafton Pond, Grafton, NH 7/21/2020
Canadian geese with two different sets of goslings. Ompompanoosuc River, Norwich, VT 7/18/2020

Others are off on their own.

“Where’s Mama?” Mallard duckling separated from its family. Connecticut River, Lebanon, NH 7/19/2020
Young great blue heron. North Hartland Lake, VT 7/16/2020
Young green heron. Ompompanoosuc River, Norwich, VT 7/18/2020
Wood ducks. Mink Brook, Hanover, NH 7/13/2020

And there are a few adults, too.

Eagle flying just overhead. Connecticut River, Lebanon, NH 7/13/2020
Bald eagle. North Hartland Lake, VT 7/16/2020
Loon. Grafton Pond, Grafton, NH 7/21/2020

Dragonflies and butterflies put in their appearances too.

Tattered swallowtail butterfly on pickerel weed. Ompompanoosuc River, Norwich, VT 7/18/2020
Dragonfly. Ompompanoosuc River, Norwich, VT 7/18/2020
Dragonfly. Grafton Pond, Grafton, NH 7/21/2020
Damsel flies(?). Grafton Pond, Grafton, NH 7/21/2020