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| North Andover/Boxford Great Blue Heron Rookery |
Grr. Realized I started writing this on May 7 but a bunch of things got in the way of finishing/posting.
So, it (May 7) was a gorgeous day at the heron rookery. On the walk in, I ran into two women who told me they had seen snakes. "There are some cool snakes here," I replied brightly. They allowed as to how they were not interested in snakes. Too bad, because you can see northern water snake and eastern ribbon snake here.
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| On the Nests |
The adult great blues were very active. The one on the top right (above) had just arrived with fish when I snapped the photo. (Gotta get me some digiscoping gear someday.)
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| Triple Decker |
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| Turtles |
Turtles were everywhere I looked. I counted 17 that I could see from where I was standing. There were probably way more. Every log had its turtles.
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| More Turtles on Awfully Small Log |
Some crowded onto small logs. Others spread out on bigger logs.
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| Yet More Turtles -- Bigger Log |
Along the trail on the way back, I stopped to photograph some mushrooms and ferns.
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| Mushroom on a Log |
I ran into two birders equipped with scopes. One was wearing Tilley hat. The other was wearing the old blue mesh ball cap version of the USFWS volunteer hat -- so old and faded that he either volunteered decades ago or somehow bleached the hat.
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| Ferns |
Haven't been back to the rookery since I started my current job (ah the life of a contract tech writer), but have heard that the young are thriving. No word on the snakes.
