September 29th. I think this is a Palm Warbler (Dendroica palmarum).

 

(Low light, noisy pictures of a bird that didn't stay still at all.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First of two Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) at the marsh this morning.

 

Flutter hop.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A second Great Blue Heron quite close to the trail.

 

September 30th. Never thought I'd be glad to see puddles on the trail but after this long drought...

 

...they were welcome indeed. Last night we had more rain than in months. Wind too.

 

But the rain made little difference to the marsh. And what difference it made will be ephemeral...

 

...without a lot more rain.

 

 

 

Hmm, looks like a rock... but rocks don't make ripples.

 

It's the carapace of a large Snapping Turtle (Chelydra serpentina).

 

Today's lone Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) - and just about the only creature I saw besides the turtle.

 

On the hunt for small creatures. What follows is a series of strikes - yielding little or nothing.

 

If you find these pictures boring, think what life must be like for the bird, hunting like this all day long, day after day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wind was blowing at this point.

 

Okay, I got bored and went to check the north side of the marsh. Water slightly higher, but for how long?

 

Thought you'd seen the last heron picture? Ha! Same bird, slightly different angle.

 

 

 

 

 

Can a bird look disgusted?

 

I had planned to check out Grayville Falls but abandoned the idea when I saw barely a trickle of water passing west under Old Colchester Road.

 

October 1st. Can you see the hawk?

 

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus).

 

First Mallards I've seen at the "marsh" in a long time. Walking back to my truck, my right knee let me down, none to gently, and I went straight to the Middlesex ER in Marlborough.

 

October 6th. My first time on the trail since my fall; a brief stop at Cranberry Bog. Rest and a cortisone injection by Dr Dugdale at Orthopedic Associates have made vast improvements. Several Aster species blooming.

 

 

 

Lots of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) on them.

 

 

 

 

 

I saw one young male Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)...

 

...and one young female. (Elsewhere, only one Canada Goose. A large mower parked across the pond may have frightened the others off.)

 

 

 

The barnyard just across Smith Street. At least with the dry weather their crap isn't collecting on the trail after flowing under the electrified fence.