Picus Blog

Maine trip, Pt 2 - Rangeley

2009-07-10T20:25:00.004-04:00

If you missed part one, you can read it here.

After spending three nights at the Claybrook Mountain Lodge, and being treated like royalty by our hosts, Greg & Pat Drummond who fed us amazing meals, provided warm comfortable lodgings, and guided us to local spots for great birding (even in the rain), it was time to pack up again, and head to Rangeley, ME.

The group that stayed at the Claybrook Mountain Lodge, with our hosts, Pat& Greg (3rd & 4th from left), and Sally (their Great Dane that won everybody's heart).

Before going on, I should mention again that this trip is done annually through the Brookline Bird Club, and our friend Eddie (6th from left, leaning on the sign post) does a lot of research and work every year to keep the trip new and exciting. This is the 12th year that he has done so, although only the first where we spent this much time with the Drummond's.

The second half of the trip was more "traditional" to what has been done in the past. A few people that were on the first part left after Claybrook, and we gained another half dozen or so people for the Rangeley portion. Most of the participants arrange for lodgings in town, either at one of the motels or at an inn, and a group of us rent a house each year. A few hour's scenic drive from Claybrook found us getting settled into our Rangeley digs for the next 4-5 nights. That evening, we had our meet and greet for this part of the trip at the Pine Tree Frostee in town, where everybody introduced themselves and we got instructions for the next day (meeting at 5:30am!)
Over the next several days, we birded some of our traditional spots continuing to look for boreal species in the area. Missing on some (never did catch up with a Black-backed Woodpecker, and that Cape May never did show itself) but scoring spectacularly on others like Gray Jays. While birding on Boy Scout Road, we had a family of Gray Jays (including two fledglings) spend some time with us, which happily accepted some proffered mixed nuts in exchange for some photos.

They were so cooperative, I was also able to get a few videos as well:

One morning Mark & Laura lead a hike up Saddleback Mountain to look for Bicknell's Thrush for anybody who wanted to go. This is the first time I went, and once we started out I was moving at a pretty good pace, but at some point, I definitely was feeling out of shape and decided at the first really horizontal spot that I wasn't going to go any further. We stayed in fog pretty much the entire time, and I wasn't feeling overly optimistic, when I heard a distant thrush. (After I had recovered a bit and wasn't breathing so heavy.) Using the iBird app on my iPhone, I played the song of the Bicknell's, both to remind myself what it sounded like and in an attempt to draw it closer. Indeed, one playing and it popped up near us and gave a few chip calls before disappearing into the foggy trees. I wasn't able to get any photos, but we were able to get in touch with most of the rest of the group, and had the bird come out again for us. Unfortunately, the best hikers of the group were far enough ahead of us slowpokes that they were not able to get back on the bird when they returned. (I believe they did hear a few birds, but never had any sightings) The sun did break through the fog for a few minutes, and allowed me to get a few photos of a singing White-throated Sparrow, which are pretty sharp looking in their breeding plumage.

Less cooperative were other target species like Boreal Chickadee, which we did see, but only one or two of, and only briefly at that.

The weather for this second part of the trip really didn't improve much over the first part, and although it might have slowed us down a little bit (and made photography difficult) we still had a great time. (So much so, that I am having a difficult time just a few days later remembering it all - and those reading this that were on the trip will recognize, that I am jumping all over the place time-wise.) The biggest effect the weather had on the trip was that with all the ran the area had been getting, the Kennebago River where we usually have a canoe/kayak trip each year was running very high and very fast, and was therefore cancelled. There'll always be next year.

One thing I don't want to forget to mention is that every year we have a Boreal Bar-b-que. The food is usually great - standard barbeque burgers & hot dogs, but we have plenty of birders that are talented in the kitchen as well. There is always lots of food, and nobody goes away hungry. And as much as we look forward to the food and social time, the last few years, this has become the time when participant David Hursh challenges us with bird-themed games and puzzles - everything from trivia to anagrams - it really is a blast, and just one more event that makes this trip so special each year.

Unfortunately, it seemed to be over all to soon. On Sunday morning, Pamela and I had packed up and headed out early, anticipating holiday weekend traffic, in order to try to get home in time to relax for a few hours before heading in to work on Monday. We had breakfast and hit the road, and headed back towards Lake Messalonskee, where I was determined to get the kayaks into the water at least once this trip. Luck was with me as the weather was beautiful, and we were able to get out for about an hour and a half. In that time, we had wonderful looks at the Black Terns that breed there:

We also had a pair of Common Loons surface quite close to us while we were there:

In the one week that we spent in Maine, with 6 days in intermittent rain, we still managed to see over 100 species - not a bad vacation!

(Did I forget anything? Probably! But I'll try to add anything I've forgotten in the near future.)

Skywatch Friday 7/10/09

2009-07-09T21:46:00.004-04:00

Rainbow over Rangeley Lake

For more, go to

Maine trip, Pt 1 - Claybrook Mountain Lodge

2009-07-08T19:48:00.004-04:00

For my last few posts, I have been referring to a vacation that Pamela and I took last week. It started on Sunday, June 28th, where we headed up to the Claybrook Mountain Lodge in Highland Plantation, ME. Along the way we made a stop at Lake Messalonskee in Belgrade in hopes of putting the kayaks in for a little while. Unfortunately, as we arrived, the first drops of what would be a regular on-and-off rain started to fall. We satisfied ourselves with some mid-range looks at the Black Terns there, and continued on our way to the lodge, where we our friends, Eddie, Mark, Laura, and a group of other birders from the Brookline Bird Club - as well as Pat, our hostess at the Lodge who met us with homemade cookies and fresh fruit. As we waited for the rest of our group to arrive, we birded the grounds and the road near the lodge, where we saw the first of several pairs of Yellow-bellied Sapsuckers.

Once everybody arrived we headed out as a group to explore some local spots, including a very reliable spot for snipe. We were able to hear a pair winnowing almost upon stepping out of the car, but the rain soon drove us back to the cover of our vehicles. As we were turning the vehicles around, we noticed that the rain-grounded snipe were not on the ground at all!
On returning to the lodge, we had our first amazing meal from our hosts, and many of us stayed up chatting, playing cards, telling bird tales and generally catching up. That evening, while a few of us were still up and hanging out on the enclosed porch, the light drew in a large moth, which turned out to be a beautiful Polyphemus Moth:
And speaking of moths, the next morning there were a pair of Blinded Hawk Moths roosting on the screen in the hall window near where a light had been left on overnight.

Over the next few days, we travelled to various places in the area, often guided by our host Greg, who knows the area very well, and is an excellent naturalist. We explored logging roads and trails (including winding down a questionable dirt road when a bridge was out - great job driving Greg!) looking for boreal specialties like Gray Jay and Spruce Grouse (tho' I missed that one) as well as warblers that were singing on territory like Blackburnian & Mourning.
Although not a great photo, it was probably my best looks at this skulking bird to that point. The next day we would get even better looks, with a bird perched up and singing for a few minutes at a time. Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera with me, as we were hiking up a small mountain, the weather was questionable, and I had broken the shutter release on the camera the day before and I had become a bit disgusted with it. (Thankfully, I was able to work around it for the rest of the trip.) One day we did have a bit of sun, and during that time, a few dragonflies also made their appearance. As I was slowly approaching this Beaverpond Baskettail, it flew up right at me, bounced off of me twice, and landed again on the ground. It was only after a minute of shooting that I realized that it had caught the deer fly that had been buzzing my head only moments before, and was consuming it!

One day, Greg led everyone who wanted to on a canoe/kayak trip on Gilman Pond. Pam was tired, and sizing up the weather, I decided to pass on it, and spend some more time with the resident sapsuckers. I had found one pair visiting a nest cavity, and really was hoping for some nice light for photos and maybe a video or two. Well, the light never got much brighter, but I had the idea of setting up the camera on a tripod and tripping the shutter with the camera's infrared remote control. I was able to get a few nice photos and some video that I was quite happy with. Unfortunately, when I compiled them and uploaded to YouTube, there was quite a bit of degradation in the quality, but you get the idea...

Next post, birding in the Rangeley Lakes area

Wordless Wednesday 7/8/09

2009-07-08T12:26:00.004-04:00

Great Spangled Fritillary

Get Wordless over at Wordless Wednesday

Summertime... and the blogging ain't easy

2009-07-07T07:31:00.003-04:00

Oh, my poor neglected blog, I am sorry for being so remiss in providing you with much of substance lately.

Every now and again, I go through periods where I feel like I am just posting a photo here and there, and not doing any writing. (Which some might argue isn't a bad thing - I'm not sure how much people enjoy my writing, but this is a blog after all and I feel like I should be.) In June I challenged myself to post at least one photo each day in order to make sure that I kept it active, as I felt that the blog was starting to become stale. It's easy to fall into patterns, and I could see that I was only posting once or twice a week and that was primarily for the memes that I participate in. Now that June is gone, and summer is in full swing, I need to really put a stronger effort into keeping the blog fresh and interesting. It's certainly not as easy for me as it might sound, but thankfully I have a few events that I look forward to blogging about. As you might have picked up on by now, I just got back from a week in Maine and I hope to start blogging about that tomorrow. (Working two jobs today and then back to first job early tomorrow, so it just won't happen today) I took lots of photos and have a couple of neat videos that I took also, and am looking forward to sharing them with you.

Then, this coming Saturday, I be joining Dawn, Luke, and several others for the next outing of Birders who Blog, Tweet, and Chirp. You may remember that Dawn and I organized one in MA in June. Well, Dawn is up to it again, this time teaming up with Luke from the Under Clear Skies blog to have an outing in Connecticut. Details about it can be found here and here. Come on out if you are in the area. Last time was great, and I have every confidence that this one will be every bit as much so!
And speaking of those crazy birding, blogging, chirping folks; John from Birding in Maine, has created a web site for Birders who Blog, Tweet, and Chirp! Announcements were made about the unveiling of this site last week while I was away, and I've not had much of a chance to explore the site yet, but what little I've seen looks great. Many thanks to Dawn for starting this all, and to John for carrying the ball to the next step. Check it out and sign up - it's a great way to meet other birders & bloggers.

On Saturday the 18th, I'll also be joining the Brookline Bird Club on their next "extreme" pelagic trip. These trips usually run 3 times a year, and leave from Hyannis, MA and go out past the edge of the continental shelf to Veatch and Hydrographer Canyons in search of whatever pelagic birds can be found. (These trips typically last 17-18 hours!) While not as famous as some of the pelagics that go out south of New England, we've had some really nice sightings in the last few years, including the first NE (and third North American) record of Macaronesian (Little) Shearwater, Band-rumped Storm Petrel, Bridled Tern, both species of Skua, as well as the more expected Greater, Cory's Sooty, Manx, and Audubon's Shearwaters, Parasitic and Pomarine Jaegers, etc. Keeping my fingers crossed for good weather for that one!

Finally, I'll be taking my first stab at hosting an edition of I and the Bird on July 23.

So hopefully, there will be some fun and interesting reading to come this month here at PicusBlog. Stay tuned...

Bird Photography Weekly #45

2009-07-06T08:04:00.003-04:00

Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadenis)

Just got in from vacation last night from a week-long trip to Maine, so I am playing catch-up here. I took quite a few photos, but really haven't had time to do much with them yet. I chose a few quick easy ones to post for this week's Bird Photography Weekly, as a follow-up to last week's. BUT, lo and behold, I just learned that several posts that I had scheduled before I went away never appeared (they just stayed scheduled) which is rather annoying.

Anyway, last week I had intended to post some older photos of Gray Jays that I had taken, and I thought I post a few more this week, since they were such a big hit with everybody else on the trip. (And really, they are such charismatic birds, why wouldn't they be popular?)

To see some great bird photos from around the world, check out:

Fragile Forktail for June Photo-a-Day

2009-06-30T06:00:00.001-04:00

Fragile Forktail (Ischnura posita)

I was able to id this particular damselfly by the "exclamation point" stripe on the thorax.

So this will be my last post for a few days. As you are reading this, I am in Maine on vacation, hopefully seeing and photographing birds, dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies, moose, and whatever else puts itself before my lens. (And hopefully it's not raining!)

Bird Photography Weekly #44

2009-06-29T07:00:00.002-04:00

Gray Jay (Perisoreus canadenis)

To see some great bird photos from around the world, check out:

Widow Skimmer for June Photo-a-Day

2009-06-28T06:00:00.000-04:00

Widow Skimmer (Libellula luctuosa)

Tree Swallow Fledglings for June Photo-a-Day

2009-06-27T18:25:00.004-04:00

With barely a bill to speak of yet...

Red-tailed Hawk for June Photo-a-Day

2009-06-26T08:14:00.003-04:00

When I set this challenge to myself to post at least one photo a day for the month, I (with a little hesitation) thought to myself "I've taken a lot of photos, I should be able to do this." And I do have quite a few photos, but honestly, it has been pretty challenging to find at least one photo each day that I think people might find interesting - and especially one that I haven't posted before. Take this red-tail for instance. I'm pretty sure that I have not posted it yet, but I had to think long and hard over whether or not I did. (and I'm still not 100% sure, but I can't seem to find it in posts from the time when I took it) I also thought that I'd get out birding a lot more this month. Unfortunately, with the weather the way it's been, we really haven't been out as much, so my June photos haven't been racking up the way they'd been for the previous few months.

Special props go to Steve Ingraham who does this EVERY day (not just in June!) at his Pic of the Day site.

Anyway, just four more days to go (and for 3 of those days I'll be away on vacation) so I'm going to have to buckle down tonight or tomorrow and decide on what they are going to be.

Bobcat for June Photo-a-Day

2009-06-25T07:34:00.003-04:00

I digiscoped this beautiful cat in Madera Canyon, southeast of Tucson, AZ back in 2006. Pamela and I had been hiking and birding around the area, when we heard the afternoon thunderstorms rolling in, so we were heading back to either the car (or at least shelter if we couldn't make it to the car before the rain came). Suddenly Pamela says "I think I just saw a cat" and sure enough a few hundred yards away, this bobcat was trotting along. Thankfully it stopped for a few moments, allowing me to snap off a few quick photos before continuing on it's way and essentially disappearing before our eyes.

It delayed us for just enough time for us to NOT get to the car or shelter before the rain came.

Worth it. Totally worth it.

Wordless Wednesday 6/24/09

2009-06-24T15:44:00.003-04:00

Get Wordless over at Wordless Wednesday

Summer Tanager for June Photo-a-Day

2009-06-23T06:00:00.000-04:00

Summer Tanager (Piranga rubra)

Bird Photography Weekly #43

2009-06-22T06:00:00.001-04:00

Hooded Oriole (Icterus cucullatus)

It has been a very slow week for me bird-wise. It's been raining a lot here in New England, and I've not been able to get out with the camera as much as I'd like. So, of course, I am day-dreaming about other places, and birds we don't see here. These Hooded Orioles were photograhed a the famous feeders at Neal's Lodges in Concan, TX.

To see some great bird photos from around the world, check out:

Skimming Bluet for June Photo-a-Day

2009-06-21T10:11:00.005-04:00

Skimming Bluet (Enallagma geminatum)

It seems inevitable to me, that anybody who develops an interest in birds, also gains a greater appreciation for the rest of the natural world around them. After all, birds are just a piece of the eco-puzzle, and to understand them better, you really need to know more about the world they inhabit. I'm not saying that all birders must become interested in other things - but those that go beyond just looking at the birds (and there is nothing wrong with that) will eventually find the other members of the ecosystem interesting too. As I have become more and more interested in what birds do, why they do it, etc, my interest in the rest of the natural world has grown too. No where is this more evident to me than in my growing interest in dragonflies, damselflies, butterflies, moths, and various bugs. I know several birders that have been interested in dragons and damsels for a while now, but until this past year I liked seeing them go by, and maybe was able to identify one or two of the easier ones. Now I am making a much more concerted effort to photograph and try to identify them - and have even started to consider purchasing a good dragonfly net to help get a closer look at some of those ones that just won't seem to sit still for more than a second.

Has you interest in birds led to any other new hobbies?

Red-eared Slider for June Photo-a-Day

2009-06-20T22:17:00.002-04:00

Another photo from the last time I was in the Lower Rio Grande Valley. Still dreaming about going back in Novemeber.

Green Jay for June Photo-a-day

2009-06-19T09:24:00.003-04:00

Although this digi-binned photo doesn't show all the wonderful gaudy colors which places this beautiful bird high on many a birder's 'need to see' list (and rightly so) I feel that it certainly conveys their attitude.
I took this photo on my first trip to the Rio Grande Valley in November 2005. My friend Kurk and I flew down for a few quick days of birding, and we just happened to be there at the same time as the Rio Grande Valley Bird Festival, although we didn't participate. I've been intrigued by the festival ever since that time though, and this year it looks like Pam and I are going to go.

I've been thinking about it quite a bit latey, because the web site for the festival has been recently updated, and they've developed a twitter and a facebook presence.

Have you been? Any suggestions on which trips you thought were best?
AND
Are you planning on going this year?

Bird Photography Weekly #42

2009-06-18T09:29:00.003-04:00

Black-bellied Whistling Ducks

Wow - I can't believe that this is the first week, that I forgot to post this on Monday!
Must've had something to do with the great weekend (followed by Monday illness.)

To see some great bird photos from around the world, check out:

Moose for June Photo-a-day

2009-06-17T21:51:00.001-04:00

Photographed in Denali National Park (on one of the few days when it stopped raining for a little while on our honeymoon!)

Beaverpond Clubtail for June Photo-a-day

2009-06-16T11:32:00.003-04:00

Male Beaverpond Clubtail (Gomphus borealis)

Photographed a few weeks ago at Pondicherry National Wildlife Refuge in New Hampshire

Birders who Blog, Tweet, & Chirp Field Trip

2009-06-15T07:10:00.011-04:00

On Saturday we had a birding fled trip of a different sort. A group of us who blog, and/or use twitter and chirptracker got together to meet face-to-face and bird for the day. The idea was proffered by Dawn, who is currently in Massachusetts. Via twitter I had invited Dawn an her husband Jeff to go birding when their travels brought them to New England. A few weeks ago, she mentioned the idea of gathering a group of birders who blog, twitter and chirp. We started mentioning it on our blogs, twitter, chirptracker and on Facebook and before you knew it, we had about another dozen people interested in joining us - some from as far south as New Jersey (Bev) and as far north as Maine (John).

The first arrivals

We planned to meet at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge visitor's center at 8am. (Which is across the street from the Mass Audubon Visitors center - a bit confusing for those who had not been before - a mistake on my part!) A few photos were taken and we introduced ourselves - both by real names and blogs, twitternames etc. Dawn had the foresight to bring name labels, which helped to match names to faces for a little while - remember this is the first time that most of us had ever met face-to-face, and sometimes those little photos and avatars are difficult to relate to a real person. It was evident right from the start that the group was going to get on wonderfully. Everybody was talkative and animated, chatting about each other's blog posts, what software they used, comparing cameras, etc. After a little while, we rounded up the troops, figured out carpooling and headed to the refuge.

Unfortunately, we started the day by losing one of our group. Andy got an early start, only to have a flat when he got to the meeting place, and had to have his car brought to the Saturn dealership to have it fixed. By the time it was done, he didn't have enough time to rejoin the group. (Just one more reason to do this again!)

The first stop was at Lot 1, where we watched and photographed the Purple Martins at the boxes that are there, while Laura broke out her homemade cranberry-blueberry bread that she had just baked that morning. (mmmmmm)

We then made a quick stop at the ocean to see what could be seen from there, and where I caught up with Janet, who was at her post as a volunteer Plover Warden on the refuge. She helps to make sure that the area remains safe for the threatened Piping Plovers who use the beach area for nesting. From this spot, the plovers are quite difficult to see, and she mentioned that she'd not heard yet that the parking lots at the south end of the refuge were full, and suggested we head down there before they did, as there was a fishing program going on that day. Heeding her advice, we made plans to catch up with her when her shift was over, and carpooled to the south end of the refuge to Sandy Point. Along the way, we spotted several of the expected birds of the refuge at this time of the year (just past migration) including Yellow and Common Yellowthroat Warblers, Eastern Kingbirds, Cedar Waxwings, Greater Yellowlegs, Great and Snowy Egrets, etc.

Sandy Point is a public beach just beyond the refuge boundary, and between the fishing program and the beach-goers (especially after several days of drizzly cool weather) there was not a parking spot to be had, so we headed back to the Hellcat Marsh area, where we would be able to get out of the cars, and interact more.
We walked the boardwalk through the marsh in hopes of seeing Virginia Rail (where Amanda had seen a mother with chicks earlier in the week) but today remained hidden. A few in the group heard a few short clicks which we interpreted as mama rail calling her chicks in close to avoid the large group of pink monkeys walking the boardwalk. The Marsh Wrens though were less shy and popped out and "sang" for us a bit. A Red-winged Blackbird also perched out on a reed and repeated let us know that we were in his area, with incessant "conk-la-ree" calls.

In the flattened reeds we spotted a few pairs of Gadwall, and we also heard many (and spotted a few) Willow Flycatchers along the way. We worked our way around the boardwalk for a while, then headed back to walk up dyke and look for Least Bittern. While searching I received a call from Lauren to let me know that she had finished up doing her rounds in New Hampshire and would be joining us shortly. It was getting closer to the time where we needed to meet with Janet also - although the group was still far from heading back to the north end of the refuge. Everybody was having such a great time talking and catching up with each other, we were moving at a much slower pace than if we were seeing a lot of migratory birds! So after Lauren caught up with us, I headed off to meet with Janet and rejoin the group.

Once we got back, we learned that the group had spotted a Least Bittern - excellent! It was also a good time to try a get a group photo.

Front left to right: Jeff , Bev, Lauren (Lowie)
Second row left to right: Catie, Dawn, Sharon, Janet, Steve
Third row left to right: Amanda, John, Laura, Pamela, Mark, Dan

A little past noon, a few of our group needed to move on with the rest of their days. The rest of us continued north along the refuge. Our next stop was at the North Pool Overlook where we were treated to an up-close (within a few feet) and personal concert from a Savannah Sparrow. I believe this is the same bird I have photographed and posted about earlier - and it was great to be able to share it with this group of bloggers and photographers. This is also a great spot for Bobolinks and Eastern Meadowlarks. At the "Wardens" our next stop, a perched up Eastern Kingbird gave us nice looks as well as the nesting Barn Swallows.

Our last stop on the refuge was at the Salt Pannes, where we did finally spot a few Common Terns, and a few cars picked up a few shorebirds - including a White-rumped Sandpiper. At this point a few more participants needed to peel off (Dan's son was sick, and he didn't want to be away for too long, and Janet was struggling to stay on her feet after staying up late for the Sox game before working the refuge early in the am)

The next stop for the rest of the group was for lunch at the Courtyard restaurant in Newburyport for roast beef sandwiches (and Dunkin'Donuts for those needing a caffeine fix) . Then we headed north to New Hampshire, following Lauren to one of the Mississippi Kite nest sites, where one bird was on a nest. We spent some time in the area, hoping that we'd spy a second bird flying in the area, but we just had to be satisfied with the one. Aw, shucks. Then John and his wife, as well as Catie and her boyfriend had to get going.

Then we were off to Chapman's Landing for sharp-tailed sparrows. There were plenty of Saltmarsh Sharp-tailed Sparrows and a few Nelson's which gave us some comparative (and occasionally confusing) views. Lauren had to leave as she was heading much further north in New Hampshire to catch-up and camp-out with friends. Before the rest of the group left, we had a Virginia Rail calling within 10' of us, but it remained hidden in the reeds.

At this point our group that had reached 16 was down to 8. We made one last stop while still in New Hampshire for Upland Sandpipers at Pease. Upon arriving at the airport, we found an adult Raven feeding fledglings. The Upland Sandpipers were there, but so far away as to be simply distant specks in the spotting scopes - hardly a satisfactory view. Nevertheless, everybody seemed to be happy with the way the day had gone. As dusk settled, we decided to finish up the day with another meal - why not, friends always enjoy a meal together. Since we needed to head back to Newburyport anyway to where some cars were still parked, we decided to have a meal at Andaman Thai in Newburyport. We toasted the day, and more so - new friends.

Once again I'd like to thank everybody that came along and made it such a wonderful day:
Dawn & Jeff from Dawn's Bloggy Blog
Bev from Behind the Bins
John from Birding Maine
Sharon from A New England Life
Catie from Birding Girl
Janet from The Plover Warden Diaries
Steve from Shooting My Universe
Amanda from The Fledgling Birder
Lauren (Lowie)from Worn Field Guide Blog
Laura from The Interstitial Spaces
Mark from Strack16 Blog
Dan from Nature Observances by Forestal

Please be sure to check the blogs of these great writters and photographers to see their photos and get their takes on the day.

Song Sparrow for June Photo-a-day

2009-06-14T15:20:00.002-04:00

Today's post is just a simple Song Sparrow, as I don't have the time to go into a full post yet about Saturday's outing with all the Birders who Blog,Tweet, and Chirp. (I just got in from running some errands and as much as I would prefer blog about how wonderful it was to meet with everyone, I need to head to work in a few minutes. So for the moment, just take my word for it - it was a great day!!)

I expect to be able to put together a full post tomorrow - hopefully with a few photos.

I didn't take quite as many as our participants, many of which are not only great bloggers but excellent photographers, and I expect that once everybody has recovered, we'll see some great posts over the next few days - and I'll be sure to post links to them as I see them.

White Admiral for June Photo-a-day

2009-06-13T23:22:00.003-04:00

White Admiral (Limenitis arthemis)

I'm a little late today posting a pic for the "photo-a-day" challenge that I have given to myself.

BUT, I've got a good reason. Today I had the pleasure of meeting about 16 other bloggers/tweeters/chirpers, and we spent the dy birding and socializing, sharing information, stories, meals and drinks. It was a fantastic day, and I look forward to blogging a bit more about it in the next day or so...

But for the moment- I'm exhausted and heading to bed. Stay tuned...

Mississippi Kite for June Photo-a-Day

2009-06-12T06:00:00.000-04:00

Keeping with the theme of birds we might see this weekend, (when we have our field trip for Birders who Blog, Tweet, and Chirp) I am posting some photos that I took last year of one of the Mississippi Kites that were nesting in Newmarket, NH. Hopefully after Saturday, I'll have some new (and better) photos to post of this beautiful bird.