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.
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 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.
We also saw a couple of great blue herons.
and of course a painted turtle.
We were the first people at the lake this morning and it makes a difference on what we see. We started by watching a family of killdeer at the beach.
We saw at least 4 groups of deer, mostly at a distance, but one fawn swam across the river near us.
A great blue heron flew down the river, the first we’ve seen this year.
The eagle’s nest was a center of activity. An adult was in a nearby tree, being attacked by a kingbird.
There were two immature eagles on branches near the nest. And a second adult eagle was across the lake.
The wildflowers were different than last week.
And the painted turtles were out sunning themselves.
We have seen eagles everywhere we paddled this week, as well as other interesting stuff.
