Home Again: Visiting South Shore Haunts


Young American Robin

Came home from Scotland to find that the downy woodpeckers have had a baby boy as well as a girl this year. The white-breasted nuthatchs have had two babies, both are very silly and noisy and look impossibly young. The chickadees have also had a baby. And of course the horde of European House sparrows have had many many babies, one of which is incredibly aggressive and chases all the other birds, no matter how big, away from the feeders on my deck. There is also a big fat garter snake living under the front porch. He/she is welcome to all the mice it cares to feed on. Having mounted quite an extensive mouse relocation program last winter I opt for the snake to do most of my work for me this year. There has been no sign of the red-bellied woodpeckers at my feeders, though. This worries me. I wonder if they’ve been evicted by starlings or grackles? There is an American bittern haunting the shores of the lake here as well as some great blue heron.

Baltimore Checkerspot, view of the outside of its wings

Baltimore Checkerspot, view of the inside of its wings

Made my first journey of the year to the Silver Lake Sanctuary in Halfiax. Had a good look at a black-billed cuckoo.

Not a great photo, but it is a Black-billed Cuckoo

Daniel Webster Sanctuary, Marshfield
Saw: Osprey (2), Least Tern, Green Heron (2), Female wood duck with seven babies, Canada Geese (of course), Mallards (can’t forget them), Yellow Warbler, Red winged black bird, yellow throat, gold finch, robin, cardinal, song sparrow, bobolink, grackle, tree swallow, king bird, and two glossy ibis.


American Toad

Tree Swallow

Bobolink

Glossy Ibis

Green Heron

A Cottontail Rabbit, very young, who was not at all camera shy.

One of my several Downy Woodpeckers, female

Dragonfly

Bobolinks in flight

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