Wednesday, May 30, 2012

herons and turtles

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.

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.)

 
Triple Decker

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.

More Turtles on Awfully Small Log

Some crowded onto small logs. Others spread out on bigger logs.

Yet More Turtles -- Bigger Log
Along the trail on the way back, I stopped to photograph some mushrooms and ferns.
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.

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.