It sounds like the eagle chick may have hatched earlier than I thought. Patti Steinman, nature educator extraordinaire, thinks the chicklet may have hatched on the 50th anniversary of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring ( http://www.rachelcarson.org/ )! I suggest we name the new addition to the nursery Rachel, after Rachel Carson!
Furthermore, I know that we have global warming and habitat loss to contend with but I think someone should write a book called Loud Spring, honoring all the incredible things that have happened in conservation since Rachel wrote her world-changing book. I don’t know about you but spring this year was a cacophony of frogs, toads, and birds. Way to go, both Rachels!
It is confirmed, the bald eagles have hatched a chick. Probably on the Saturday or Sunday around Earth Day. Spectacular! They’ve been feeding it and it finally lifted its head above the crest of the nest. What a cutie! The female has been staying on the nest with the male bringing in food. However, at one point, after delivering fresh fish to the nest, the father flew to a nearby tree and then so too did the mother. The chick was a bit disconcerted but it seems they’re preparing the little one to be left a lone on occasion. What a great morning I had, watching the baby chick, the herons, and the other denizens of the wetland. I even had a muskrat scoot by! Coming up this week, some video of the herons, but first, here’s some video of the chicklet:
Well, everyone has been waiting to see if the eggs our new bald eagle couple laid were viable. If they were, the eggs were to have hatched this past weekend, around Earth Day. The couples behavior may be signaling that an egg may have hatched. The couple have been hanging out together on the nest and bringing food to the nest as well. We’ll see as time goes on (click on the image to increase size). Video forthcoming.
Hello Everyone,
Well its official, the hawks I saw in Northampton are Merlins! From what I’ve been told, this is only the fourth time that a nesting pair of merlins were reported in Massachusetts!
What a week! A bald eagle pair have taken over a great blue heron nest. Many people were worried that the Great Blue Herons (over 30 nesting pairs last year) would abandon their rookery but it looks like the Heron’s and the Bald Eagles can live together! Early in the week, the heron’s were courting and pairing off, by the end of the week, many of the pairs seemed to be ready to lay their eggs and begin parenthood. The eagles have already laid their egg(s) and are keeping vigilance on the nest. Video forthcoming.
Hey Folks,
Well I was out on the Honey Pot in Hadley with my friend Ann Kearns, looking for the Rough-legged hawk and clay-colored sparrow. No go, but did get some great video and pics of a young red-tail hawk feasting on what I think was a mouse. There weren’t a lot of duck moving around but this red-tail was a great reward:
Last weekend, I had the opportunity to attend the Cape Cod Natural History Conference at the four C’s. What a great time, presentations ranged from saving dolphins to researching horseshoe crabs to an amazing presentation of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (http://stellwagen.noaa.gov/welcome.html). Getting there was a trial, it was blizzard conditions from P-town down to Hyannis. I almost turned around but persevered, it was worth it. I checked out a couple of places on Sunday where I thought there might be some migrating waterfowl. Saw some bufflehead, red-breasted mergansers, and even Brant Geese! Take a look:
Quick note, I started using my new Canon Powershot SX40. Its a superzoom (28-840) with 12 megapixels and HD video. I love it; its so much lighter than my Canon Rebel T1i with the heavy 100-400 zoom lens with 2x extender (taking me up to 840). My back and shoulders are loving it, and the pictures and video are very good!
Hello everyone,
Some people wanted me to put up pictures from the New Year Day hike and another map. Unfortunately, I didn’t take many pictures. With 60 people, I had my hands full leading everyone through the conservation area. Thanks to Dave and Steve for helping out! I’m so glad we got to the fairy shrimp vernal pool!
Next Hike I’m leading will be a tracking hike into the Marble Brook area of North west Northampton. Its a Valentines Day hike on Sunday, February 12th from 2-4. We’ll meet at the turn around parking area at Sylvester and Chesterfield Roads. If we have time, we’ll get over to the Serafin Property as well, it is in the process of being preserved by Nonotuck and Kestrel Land Trusts. We have a chance of tracking bobcat, coyote, porcupine, fisher. I’ve even tracked a bear back there in the middle of winter! See you soon…
Click on the picture or the map to make it bigger to download.
Well, like last summer, I’m here on Cape Cod, but this time, I’m here for the whole summer. Coming up, seals of Truro, a video study of the songs of song sparrows in Provincetown, and a tour of the Mass Audubon Wellfleet Bay Sanctuary. Maybe even a tour of the Nature Conservancy’s sanctuary in Cape May! First up, a quick video of the seals in Truro!
It sounds like the eagle chick may have hatched earlier than I thought. Patti Steinman, nature educator extraordinaire, thinks the chicklet may have hatched on the 50th anniversary of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring ( http://www.rachelcarson.org/ )! I suggest we name the new addition to the nursery Rachel, after Rachel Carson!
