Tourist Traps

Tourist Traps
Originally uploaded by Captain_Peleg

Newburyport actually goes to the trouble of stacking picturesque wooden lobster traps on the Riverwalk for tourists to photograph. This amuses me.

I took this at the beginning of September just before Hurricane Earl swung by out at sea.

sandhill cranes!

I had a nice surprise this rainy afternoon: 2 sandhill cranes only 3 miles from my house! They were hanging out with a whole lot of Canada geese in the corn stubble at Barker's Farm. Cranes and geese alike were eating up a storm. One of the cranes picked up a whole ear of corn and started pulling off the husk. It was cold and raining but I hung out and watched for awhile and tried to get some pictures. I went off to the farm stand to buy some corn and tomatoes for myself -- maybe the cranes were making me crave corn -- and mentioned to the woman there that there were two very beautiful sandhill cranes in the corn field. She said she knew about them and other people had mentioned them. After I got my produce (corn, tomatoes, Macoun apple) I went back for another look. The cranes were a tiny bit closer to the road and the rain was a little lighter so I got the above picture. A few other birders came by while I was there.

On the way back home to cook the corn, I met a flock of wild turkeys blocking the road. Quite a birdy day!

catching up 1: ASRI raptor weekend

The weekend of September 11-12 we attended Raptor Weekend at the Audubon Society of Rhode Island's education center in Bristol. We watched flight demonstrations, presentations by Mark and Marcia Wilson of Eyes on Owls, got to meet Webster the ASRI education owl, and took a walk through the sanctuary's meadow out to the bay. Took lots and lots of pix. These are only a few.

Narragansett Bay

Spectacled Owl

Snowy Owl

Snowy Owl Spreading Its Wings

Another Snowy Owl (I love snowy owls)

Eastern Screech Owl

Webster

Nancy and I were keen to meet Webster because we contributed to the fund to pay for cataract surgery for him so he could continue to live and educate at Audubon Society of Rhode Island. We were thrilled that he is recovering very well and can see well enough to catch his food and not fall off his perch. May he live many more years!

Harris' Hawk

Harris' Hawk

Great Horned Owl (not Webster -- one of the Eyes on Owls birds)