Last Look For Antlers

I spent the morning looking for antlers from the top of Bear Hill down to the reservoir shoreline. From the top of Bear Hill you can see the reservoir through the tree's. I bushwhacked so  did not bring my SLR. That was a mistake. When I arrived at the Gate ,a  large moose met me. It ran about forty yards ,stopped and just looked back at me for nearly ten minutes. Working my way down the ridge I had a deer walk  to within twenty five yards of me. Shortly after I jumped another deer and watched it bound away.

While sitting at the reservoir I watched a immature eagle fly by.

Hiking back up Bear Hill I came across this Eastern Red-spotted Newt. Not an uncommon site. I thought it looked neat crawling along this log.

Ticks were relentless. !

Jim

Wildlife Everywhere This Morning

Up early and off to my favorite gate. I barely passed the yellow gate there were two does  watching me intently. It didn't take long before they  disappeared A short time later I watched a lone beaver doing his morning check. Walking towards the back of the beaver pond an immature eagle lifted for its perch and glided out of sight

Reaching the reservoir the squeal of wooducks taking off were quickly followed by the enchanting calls of several loons.

Three Kingfishers kept me entertained while I watched over the reservoir.They were extremely vocal. I assumed two males where trying to win over the female
Watching out over the reservoir I did get a distant picture of a mature eagle grabbing something from the water.

A good day to say the least.

Jim

East Side Hike With Bonus

One could not ask for better weather.  Yesterday at dawn my ride dropped me off at Gate 29 in New Salem. My ambitious goal today would hopefully let me exit at the east gate entrance on Route 9  The starting weather was cold with the temperature at twenty five degrees. The warmer weather earlier in the week had the peepers singing in unison. Only a few pitiful sounding frogs would be heard as I started out.

 The air was crisp , keeping me hiking at a fast pace to keep warm.It wasn't too long before the sun started to rise.

The hike would meet up with the reservoir in several places.

Reaching East Street started to show promise of maybe completing this journey.

Stopping to take a drink of water, I spotted this treasure  hanging from a sapling glistening in the sun.

Late afternoon I reached Goodnough Dike.( pic at top of page). From there I had short distance to hike to my truck on Route 9. A rewarding day to say the least
Jim

Lot Of Activity Of All Kinds

Yesterday I headed out to my favorite Northeast gate.  There  were many vehicles already at the gate when I arrived. Opening day of fishing season with shore fishing only. Fog was a concern when passing the yellow gate. The plan for the morning was to head to higher elevation in attempt to gain more visibility and better light conditions. As  I start to gain some elevation I caught  movement in the distance. It was two deer. They had spotted my movement.and slowly bounded away only to stop and look back . They didn't see me so they decided to come see what was going on.

Tail up both were extremely cautious with each step. There noses raise looking for any scent that might be in the air. When  at about 40 yards away from me, I got BUSTED !

Light was poor with moderate fog.

It  sure made for an enjoyable morning.
Jim

Spring In The Air

This mornings hike would take me to Rattlesnake Hill.  Woods were alive with a variety of song birds.
With all the rain during the week I was hoping the reservoir was open. Not quite yet.

With the mild week coming,should open it up.
This turkey vulture kept circling checking things out.

Sure was a nice morning to be hiking.
Jim

No Hiking Quabbin This Morning

I spent the morning putting up a ladder stand in a swamp close to home.

Over the next several months,my plan is to hike Quabbin one weekend morning and sit in the stand the other.

Quabbin does not permit the use of stands.
To prevent any confusion I will keep the Quabbin Blog with Quabbin events and all other events on a separate blog.

http://neoutdoorshikingcamera.blogspot.com/

Jim