We have been out on various local lakes and rivers a couple of times a week and have seen a lot: ducks, herons, other birds, deer, beaver, and flowers etc.
We got out a few times in October, before the weather turned too cold. We saw some of our usual suspects: Common mergansers and mallards, loons, blackbirds and kingfishers, a hawk or two, a painted turtle and a beaver.
We also found a few interesting things: rocks that look like elephants, a large black ball with a handle, a log that looks like a wolf. The foliage turned colors and the leaves fell. The mornings were cold and the valley was full of fog.
Most of the birds have flown, and the kayaks have been put away for the winter. It was a good season.
The kayaks are put away for the winter, but we had several trips out in late October, a couple with Jane’s family.
The water fowl are skittish, and harder to find.
but there are other birds to be found.
We have had a lovely fall. Plenty of sun, reasonable temperatures, not much wind. We saw some of the standbys: cormorants, loons, mergansers, eagles, ospreys and mallards.
This time of year, we see some more unusual birds, many passing through.
The foliage has been lovely.
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.
We also saw a family of common mergansers.
