A lucky find

Again, there were not many land birds evident around the marsh this morning, but I did get lucky and spot three White-throated Sparrows in a chokecherry tree. This one held still long enough for me to snap this picture. White-throats may remain into November; some may even winter over.

Hanging in there

Today the wind was back with a vengeance, and the temperature had plummeted. Although there were many ducks on the water - including these two male Northern Shovelers - for the first time, I saw no cormorants or wood ducks. As birds often move at night when they migrate, and the arrival of a cold front can prompt migration, it could be that they have left the marsh for the year.

Down the hatch

The robins were still much in evidence at the marsh this afternoon. I caught this one feeding on hawthorn berries (or haws) - first, with a berry in its beak - then with the berry in its throat!

Eating on the go

I saw more muskrats this afternoon at the marsh than I have over the last two months, I think. I counted seven before I was done. This fellow interrupted his swim to nibble on a piece of vegetation.

Rare visitor

This is another first for me. While scanning the marsh from the viewing stand this afternoon, I spotted two male Redhead ducks way out on the water, continually diving for food. These ducks are natives of the prairie provinces, and are rare for our area. Their primary wintering grounds are off the Gulf coast in the U.S., but apparently some winter off the Atlantic coast, which may account for their presence here.

This isn't a very clear shot since the duck was far out on the water, but I think its features are evident.

More smart dressers

When I made my way through the woods to get a look at the wood ducks on their usual perches (there were at least a dozen that I could see), I spotted these two male Hooded Mergansers in the same location. They are now in full winter plumage. There have been Hooded Mergansers on the marsh in the past, but these are the first I've seen this year.

Shades of summer

I finally got to the the marsh with my camera this afternoon, the first time in four days, what with the rainy weather we've been experiencing. Not a whole lot has changed, except there was a decided absence of land birds, other than the blue jays. I was a little surprised to see this bumble bee gathering nectar from a New England Aster blossom. I'm sure the unseasonably warm temperatures of the last few days may have something to do with the reason this bee was still active.

A common feeder bird

Today was mostly a duck day, sightings-wise, but I did catch a White-breasted Nuthatch scouting for tasty tidbits on this Scots pine tree this morning. I was alerted to him by his distinctive call, a nasal "yank, yank, yank." A pair are frequent visitors at my backyard feeders.

Iconic duck

When most people think of a wild duck, the Mallard is probably the first to come to mind. The marsh has supported a fair-sized population of mallards all season. Lately they have been feeding at the upper end of the marsh among the cattails, where the water is shallower and there is shelter from the wind. This morning there were about 25 of them there. This shot is of two Mallard pairs, plus a black duck, far left rear.

Newcomers to the marsh

This morning the waters at the marsh were alive with ducks, more I think than I have ever seen. There is a huge flock of primarily Ring-necked and Bufflehead Ducks there now. But when I was scanning the waters with my binoculars, I was excited to see a group of ten ducks that I hadn't seen before - with tails standing almost straight up in the air! I thought they had to be Ruddy Ducks, and when I enlarged the shots, sure enough, that's what they were. This time of year the male's body is mainly brown rather than the ruddy one we associate with this duck (see posting of June 11th) . The shot is of four ruddies plus a female bufflehead, front left.

Another smart dresser

Keeping the wood ducks company on the sewage lagoon yesterday, were two male Northern Shovelers. They, too, have beautiful winter plumage, although this male hasn't quite reached his peak color-wise. I'm a little surprised some of the shovelers are still here; I expect they will be on their way to their wintering grounds in the southern U.S. and Mexico very soon. (The poster edges filter was used on this shot.)

Coat of many colors

Yesterday, although cloudy, cold and windy, there was still a goodly number of birds to seen around the marsh. On the sewage lagoon, the Wood Duck pair were still present, and luckily for me, closer to the fence, so I was able to get this clear shot of the male. Now in his full winter regalia, he has to be the best dressed duck on the marsh. No sign of him today, however; maybe he's now the best dressed duck heading south!

Smart dresser

This is another sighting that pleased me this morning, as seldom have I been able to get this close to the American Wigeons. This male was one of five wigeons that had been resting in the cattails fairly close to the railbed, but that moved away as I approached. He has nearly completed his molt into his winter garb, so is looking rather fetching.

Sparrow quandary

The odd sparrow still flits from stem to stem along the banks of the marsh as I walk the trail. They are difficult to catch 'on film' as they seldom hold still long enough. I did get this shot this morning, but still was far enough away that the image wasn't that clear, so, again, I applied a filter to improve the quality. I can't say for sure whether it is a Song or a Savannah Sparrow. (Does anyone know of a good sparrow course??)

Able wader

I was able to get this fairly close shot of a Greater Yellowlegs this morning, also on the stream next to the marsh. The tide was partway out, leaving mud banks exposed, which made for easier feeding. There were a number of these sandpipers running along the banks and into the water foraging for food.

Infrequent visitors to the marsh

Another unusual sighting this morning was these two Common Mergansers on the stream next to the marsh proper. I believe the one on the right is an adult female, while the one on the left is a juvenile, but whether male or female I'm not sure, as apparently the sexes look similar at that stage in their development. I've seen the Commons here before, but only occasionally.

Another first

Today was another excellent day as far as sightings went. Again, there was a preponderance of birds at the marsh. The robins were especially active, and among them was this thrush, which flew right over my shoulder before landing in the tree. Unfortunately I didn't get as clear a shot as I would have liked, so I was unable to tell whether it was a Hermit Thrush or one of the others. However, I was quite excited as it is the first sighting of a thrush for me at the marsh (other than the robins, of course, as they are thrushes). I put the photo through a poster edges filter to sharpen it.

Seek and ye might find

Yesterday I wanted to see if the Wood Ducks were still with us, so first checked the sewage lagoon - there were two there - then I checked the dead trees where they often perch. I could make out at least four fairly well hidden, including this pair. So at least some of the flock remains. (That's a female bufflehead duck in the top background of the shot.)

Mid-morning Snack

Yesterday morning I spotted my friend Chippy run into his hole, so I waited to see if he would re-emerge. It didn't take long. He poked his head up and looked around, came out and picked up an acorn lying near his hole (he lives under an English oak tree), jumped up on the back of the bench beside the trail, and proceeded to peel the shell off the acorn and eat it. This is my kind of live entertainment.

Nose to the grindstone

What a difference a change in the weather can make as far as wildlife sightings goes. With the absence of wind this morning, ducks were much more in evidence on the water, and birds were plentiful in the trees, including this Downy Woodpecker which I heard before I saw. He was moving so quickly up and down and around the tree, it was hard to get an unblurry shot. Notice his feet, how they are able to cling to the bark of the tree while he pecks and pokes with his bill.

Return of the warblers

The last few days haven't produced any sightings of special interest at the marsh. The northern shovelers - and two wood ducks - were on the sewage lagoon yesterday. Today there were more bufflehead ducks flashing the white of their small bodies out on the marsh, among the ring-necked ducks and American wigeons. At least 25 green-winged teals have moved over to the little pond alongside the railbed, possibly finding the feeding easier, as the water level in the marsh proper is still quite high. However, this morning I did sight a few Yellow-rumped Warblers, including this one. The migrants that had been present at the marsh for several weeks appeared to have left earlier in the month, but in the last few days a few stragglers have reappeared.

Feeling their oats

Again today, as was the case on Thursday, the wooded section of the trail was alive with robins, swooping through the trees and criss-crossing the trail. It was a fair-sized flock of birds. Even a couple of blue jays were in on their antics. (I added a watercolor filter to my photo as the quality wasn't to my liking.)

Not camera shy

I only got a little wet this morning when I made my (almost) daily visit to the marsh. These two juvenile American Black Ducks were feeding at the water's edge as I approached - and surprisingly did not swim away, as is their usual response.

There is still a significant number of ducks on the marsh. When I stood on the viewing stand later and scanned the marsh with my binoculars, I could make out over 300. And that's just the ones I could see.

Hanging in there

There are still a fair number of ducks on the marsh: mallards, ring-necks, American wigeons, wood ducks (hiding in the dead trees, at mid-day anyway), black ducks, and many Green-winged Teals. These are two male green-wings I watched feeding in the shallows this morning. They will be some of the last ducks to leave the marsh.

Rare encounter

I observed something at the marsh this morning that probably not too many people have seen in the wild. While watching a pair of Green-winged Teals swim around clumps of grass just before the spot where the wooded section begins, I happened to see something move into the water, which at first glance I assumed was a muskrat. Then it climbed up on a fallen dead tree right in front of me, and I could tell it was a mink! While I watched - and kept snapping shots - it rubbed its body on the tree trunk for awhile, scratched itself, then settled down to sleep in the sun. It was disturbed by another itch and began scratching again. At this time, I made a little noise to get its attention - and a face-on shot - then it jumped off into the water.

The diet of mink includes frogs, ducklings, song birds, small mammals, and fish - and mink are major predators of muskrats, so personally I hope this one is just visiting!

A yoga position??

This is probably the same Great Blue Heron I've been seeing at the cove at the sailing school recently. It seems to be checking out its foot, but whatever it's doing, it sure looked strange to me.

Sparrow puzzle

Again today, there was no lack of birds at the marsh. I could hear bird calls at most locations, although I had difficulty identifying some of the callers. This was one of two birds seen feeding in goldenrod and this hawthorn bush this morning. It is a sparrow, and has many features of a swamp sparrow, but I can't say positively that's what it is.

Home sweet home

This is a shot I've been hoping to get all year. I've seen the chipmunk run into his hole a number of times, but this is the first time I was able to catch him sitting in it! The hole, an entrance to one of his tunnels, is right in the path itself, next to a big clump of English oak trees - prime property when you're a chipmunk. Acorns are scattered all around the hole, evidence of his handiwork.

Playing games

I was playing tag with this Blue Jay this morning. As soon as I tried getting closer to him, he would move a little farther along the trail. When he stopped for a few seconds on one of the tree swallow nesting boxes, I managed to get this shot.

October at the marsh

It was a gorgeous fall day, and the marsh was a great place to revel in it. This shot gives a taste of the beauty of the scene.

Fall-colored dragonfly

I was a little surprised to see a dragonfly which landed on the railbed this morning, not expecting to see one in October, although apparently it's not that unusual. This pretty one is a new one for me, one of the Red Darners.

Mission accomplished

The red squirrels were busy and vocal at the marsh this morning. I first noticed the three shallow holes at the base of a pine tree, shown in the top photo. The hole in front has two pine cones in it, obviously the work of a squirrel. When I started to take a picture of the holes, the squirrel appeared on the tree trunk - with a sprig of rose hips in its mouth. Now, I'm standing no more than six feet from the tree at this point. Poor Reddy, he didn't quite know what to do. First he dropped the rose hips on the ground near the holes, and then ran back up the tree. I thought perhaps he intended to bury the rose hips as well, but didn't because of my presence. But then he came back down the trunk, picked up the rose hips (bottom photo above), went back up the tree to a branch, and proceeded to eat the rose hips. When he finished the last one, he wiped his mouth on the branch, and moved off in the tree canopy.

Thinning out

There were a number of ducks at the sewage lagoon this morning. I counted at least a dozen Northern Shovelers and nine Wood Ducks, including this pair, an adult male and a juvenile male. Whether the rest of the wood ducks have already migrated is difficult to tell.

Dining out

I thought I might have some difficulty finding enough to post to this blog today, but I needn't have worried. For starters, when I walked up to see if there were ducks at the sewage lagoon, I noticed this crow in a near-by wild cherry tree. It had something yellow in its claws that it was eating, but I couldn't make out what it was.

They're back!

This morning, for the first time since last May, I spotted some Bufflehead ducks among the many ducks way out on the marsh. They breed farther north, but often return here in the fall. They will probably be on the marsh until it freezes over, then may move to the river for the winter, or move farther south.

Feathered flotilla

The last couple of days, the waters of the marsh have been alive with ducks, in addition to those resting on the islands. This shot shows just a portion of the nearly 200 Ring-necked Ducks that are now on the marsh, usually forming a large, loose grouping. They could be here for a few more weeks yet.

Wings high, eyes left!

I chuckled when I saw this cormorant quartet lined up, wings out-stretched, on the edge of the wharf at the sailing school this morning. The wing feathers on the one second from the right seem to be rather tattered, perhaps an older bird. These birds should be packing their bags before very long.

Classic pose

This Great Blue Heron was standing in the stream next to the marsh this morning. It flew off as soon as I took the shot. The fall colors and the direction of the light made for a fair portrait, I thought.

Family portrait

Yesterday while waiting to get the shot of the chickadee, I heard some commotion off to my left, just below the sewage lagoon. When I looked, I noticed it was a group of deer, probably the same ones I saw on October 2nd. This time there were five in total. It appears to be an adult doe with four young ones likely born early in the year. They were slowly moving around the sewage lagoon, but stopped to look at me every few steps.

Friendly forager

Yesterday I finally got a decent shot of one of the many Black-capped Chickadees that are present at the marsh these days. This one had just found a tasty morsel on the bark of a willow tree.

On October 4th, someone in Antigonish County, in the span of 1-1/2 hours, counted 814 chickadees, in waves of 30-40 at a time, flying in a westerly direction. What a spectacular sight that must have been!

New construction in the neighborhood

I noticed a new feature at the marsh this morning: this muskrat house. Fall is the time when muskrats build their houses, which they construct of cattails and other marsh vegetation. The houses have underwater entrances. This probably wasn't the smartest location for a house, as it could be reached easily by foxes and other predators.

Messy eater

This female Purple Finch was obviously enjoying a feed of rose hips in a multiflora rose bush this morning at the marsh. I must admit it looks a little macabre.

Leaving soon

Just as I was watching some Black Ducks, Mallards and Green-winged Teals on the marsh this morning, a group of about ten ducks flew in and landed among them. They were Northern Shovelers. This male is still molting out of his eclipse plumage into his winter garb. It won't be long before they'll be leaving for their wintering grounds.