Starting Out

This is the 2nd time I've started this blog....the reason being I forgot the blog name and URL address the first time I tried this. How sad is that? Since I'm not sure if I'm really cut out for "blogging" I thought I'd start out slowly and share some photos I've taken while we've been out and about doing the Breeding Bird Atlas this year -- hope you enjoy them!




Taken at the Allen's Pond MAS in Westport, I just love the "punky haircut" on this bird. It was great to watch the Goldfinch work to get out one of the sunflower seeds out and attempt to get a hold of it in it's beak.


One of best places in Massachusetts to see Cliff Swallows is in Cheshire. We counted over 200 nests this season during our atlasing and got to watch them in all stages of development. This little guy still has a lot of the juvenile plumage.


Okay, I definitely have a soft spot in my birder's heart for hawks of all kinds....but watching 2 gawky young Cooper's Hawks fly up from the middle of the road (and I'm stretching the use of the word "fly") and then run from one part of the tree to the next and eventually land on a house roof and run all around was definitely worth the price of admission.


While out atlasing in the Brookfields we came across this Elderberry Longhorn beetle (Desmocerus palliatus) which is a very uncommon beetle. And it was on elderberry! Even though I'm not a huge fan of insects, I was totally impressed by this guy and very glad to get a number of good shots.


The lupines of Singing Brook Farm....I could have wasted an entire day photographing the fields there!