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.
This week, our kayaks have taken us to the far reaches of Quechee Gorge, up the Pompy, and around Gilman Island into Mink Brook. We’ve seen several eagles and hawks:
I think this one is younger than the next picture. The eyes are darker and there is more white on the breast. The next one’s head is beginning to turn white and the eyes are lighter.
We’ve seen some herons, both great blue and green.
and red-winged blackbirds.
We even saw a few ducks (mostly on the Connecticut and Mink Brook).
The painted turtles can be found on all three rivers.
The damsel flies and dragon flies are flitting around.
and we even saw a strange creature moving slowly through water.
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.
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.
