Photographs by Frank

29 September 2015

A Long Weekend at Star Island

Filed under: Autumn,Birds,Landscapes — Tags: , , , , — Frank @ 11:00 PM

Last Friday afternoon we boarded the M/V Thomas Leighton and headed to Star Island for a birding weekend organized by Eric Masterson. This trip is timed to be able to see southward migrating birds, especially warblers*. We arrived back on the mainland about 3:30 PM on Sunday.

Saturday dawned blustery and although there were birds present, they were pretty much hunkered down inside the brush and therefore impossible to photograph. The wind died down on Saturday evening and Sunday was much calmer and the photography more productive.

I discovered that (compared to the spring time) photography was much more difficult since most of the plants which were bare in the spring were still more-or-less fully leafed out. Thus getting clear views of small birds was difficult.

The most common warbler we saw, by far, was the yellow-rumped. In addition we observed two rarities for New Hampshire… a lark sparrow and a lazuli bunting; both are western birds. The bunting is the first sighting of this species in NH (if it is accepted by the Rare Bird Committee).

Anyway, without further excuses or ado, here are the photos:

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Another difference between our spring trip and this one, was the number of people. The spring trip occurred before the official opening of the season so the only people on the island were the maintenance staff and a couple of dozen birders. This past weekend us birders shared the island with at least three other groups… the Star Island board of directors, sailors participating in the Gosport Regatta and a group of kite fliers.

I took time away from birding on Saturday afternoon to photograph the sailboats as they neared Star Island (both the windward mark and the finish line were close by).

Here are the sailing photos:

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The sunset on Friday night was spectacular. Here are a few photos of that and a mishmash of other subjects:

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* We participated in a similar trip, timed for the spring migration, in May of 2014; see this post and this one for the details.

 

23 September 2015

Flying Guys*

Filed under: Off Topic — Tags: — Frank @ 3:30 PM

Last weekend was Antrim’s Home and Harvest Festival… a combination of street fair, parade, barbecue with fireworks, etc. A little bit of something for everyone.

That little bit of something for me was the competition at the skateboard park.

Although I am too old for skateboards now and their introduction on the east coast was a bit late for me to catch in my youth, I greatly enjoy combination of athleticism and revolt (outsiderism?) that skateboarding represents.

Thus, I took up a position behind the quarter pipe and snapped away while dodging the occasional errant skate board.

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* I usually photograph flying animals (odes and birds)  so maybe this is not as far off topic as it seems!

 

13 September 2015

Powdermill Pond Shorebirds

Filed under: Birds,Early Fall,Monadnock Region — Tags: — Frank @ 1:00 PM

The water level in Powdermill Pond remains very low due to the work on the paper mill dam. (See Solitary Sandpipers for more information.)

Yesterday (Saturday, 12 Sept), Joan and I spent the afternoon paddling the pond from the launching spot on Route 202 to the covered bridge and back*.

Amazingly, the only company we had during the roughly three and a half hours we were on the water was a lone fisherman in a kayak. We did, however, see a large group of birders (the spotting scopes and binoculars, were the field marks we used to make this ID!)  scanning the pond from a spot on South Elmwood Road.

We saw a nice assortment of shorebirds, but no really rare ones.

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* We also spent some time out on the pond last Thursday afternoon. We saw lots of migrating shore birds, as well as a juvenile bald eagle and at least two dozen great blue herons. The skies were heavily overcast and thus conditions were lousy for photography; I did not get any “keepers”. Yesterday, the skies were mostly cloudy but the clouds were thin, This made nice light for photography.

 

9 September 2015

Solitary Sandpipers

Filed under: Autumn,Birds,Monadnock Region,Wildlife — Tags: — Frank @ 11:00 PM

The Monadnock Paper Mill in Bennington has drawn down the water level in Powdermill Pond so that they can work on their dam. This has exposed large expanses of mudflats. The last time this happened (according to the Fall newsletter from the Harris Center*) thirteen species of shorebird were found using this temporary habitat during the Fall migration.

This afternoon, I headed over to the NH Fish and Wildlife boat launch in Greenfield to see what was around. As I was standing on the boat ramp (which ends a good thirty feet from the nearest bit of water), I saw four peeps come in for a landing on the flats and promptly lost them. They really blend in well!

I shouldered the tripod and Big Bertha and headed over closer to where they landed. By the time I got the tripod set up at kneeling height, one of the peeps showed itself at the waters edge.  I spent the next hour watching six solitary sandpipers “do their thing”. (I’m not sure if the additional two where already there or if they flew in and I did not notice.)

The birds spent most of the time foraging and twice I saw dragonfly nymphs being consumed. There was also some bathing and preening activity.

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* Eric Masterson from the Harris Center will be leading a trip to Powdermill Pond on 16 Sept. to look for shore birds; check out the Harris Center calendar for details.

 

Abstracts and Cattails

Filed under: Landscapes,Summer — Tags: — Frank @ 3:00 PM

Yesterday found Joan and I in our kayaks on the Connecticut River in Hinsdale, NH. Joan was hunting rare plants and I photographs.

The weather was partly sunny and as long as the sun covered, not too hot. The thermometer in the car read 92 oF as we headed home in the mid-afternoon.

The abstracts are a collaboration.

For the first four photographs, a long gone graffiti artist applied paint to a concrete bridge abutment. Weather and time did their job. I framed and “captured” the final work.

My collaborator in the final work was mother nature. She provided an iron oxide stain on a rock just at the waters edge.

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Joan’s survey site was near a number of large beds of cattails along the riverbank,  I had an enjoyable time trying to find interesting photographs where plant emerges from water. (Being low to the water in a kayak enforces a certain viewpoint.)

I also looked for photographs along other parts of the riverbank, but was only satisfied with one.

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7 September 2015

Brimstone Corner Road

Filed under: Monadnock Region,Odontates,Summer,wildflowers — Tags: , — Frank @ 12:30 PM

Yesterday afternoon, I made a right at the bottom of our driveway and headed out on a short stroll on the unmaintained section of Brimstone Corner Road. I was expecting to find both meadowhawks and asters. I was not disappointed.

I saw about six meadowhawks in total, including a single red (i.e. male) individual. The others were yellow… i.e. either females or immature males and hard to tell apart without netting them. My guess is that they were autumn meadowhawks but, again without netting them, it is hard to be certain. These were the only odes I saw.

There were many asters along the roadside; mostly the small white type that grows in large clusters. However, there were scattered larger, more deeply colored types mixed in here and there.

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Juvenile Ruby-throated Hummingbirds

Filed under: Birds,Monadnock Region,Summer — Tags: , — Frank @ 12:00 PM

For the last few weeks, we have had many juvenile ruby-throated hummingbirds in the yard near the feeder and flowers. They seem to come in groups of three or four feeding and flying around.

The juveniles also seem to perch near the feeders much less frequently than did the adults, especially the males, did earlier in the summer. The juveniles prefer perches higher up and farther away from the feeder than the adults. The flight of the juveniles also  has a much more “playful” character than that of adults.

All of this is, I imagine, tied into to territoriality. The adults were protecting “turf” by perching near the feeders and flying to drive away interlopers. The juveniles are eating and flying around in a “pack” at breakneck speed just for fun.

When they return next spring, this summer’s juveniles will be as “serious” the adults were a couple of months ago.

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