Camping South Central Vermont

Pulled the camper to Springfield Vermont located in South Central part of the state. The campground is located adjacent to a area very similar to Barre Falls Dam. Bird activity was high. I don't believe I have ever seen so many humming birds in one area. I did see what appeared to be two fledged eagles perched on a blow down out 230 plus yards in the flood plain. A fella hiking showed me where the active nest was located. Hiking back to the campground I did manage to get a decent picture of a Broad Wing Hawk perched in a red oak.

 Saturday evening was interesting viewing the meteor showers with little to no artifical light. They were not as spectacular as I anticipated. Sunday afternoon my wife and I headed up to VINS. Vermont Institute of Natural Science. Its basically a facility for housing injured raptors and educating folks. It was an interesting place to visit with the highlight for me being seeing several Golden Eagles and two Great Gray Owls.

Nice Weather For Morning Hiking

Interesting start to  Saturday mornings hike.  I pulled out of the driveway and it wasn't but a minute or so when a bobcat crossed in front of me,  Nice start to the day. I arrived at Gate 16A about 5:30 AM and was off  to the waters edge

Instead of hiking the sane way back I bushwhacked a short way hitting a leg of  the Gate 15 road which  I followed  to the water.
Did get a pic of a distant Pileated Woodpecker.

 The best pic to date for my library.
Sunday mornings hike  started at my favorite east side gate, Enjoying breakfast at waters edge ,I did see a mature eagle and what appeared to be a Great Egret. It was a good ways off , but I did get a few pics.

With the morning hike just about complete I was treated with seeing  these two

A couple of otter pups fishing.

What a nice few days of hiking. Weather could not of been any better. I was able to put 16 miles on my ole' hiking boots.
Jim

Nice Surprise !

Weather was much more fitting of a Quabbin hike this morning. I decided to hike a west side gate and explore some new terrain. Once on the cart road it didn't take long for the mosquitoes to swarm. I stopped and covered my hands face and neck with bug repellent. Timing was perfect ! I came to an area  where I could see 30/40 yards out . I stood for a few moments scanning  when the slight movement of a low hanging branch caught my attention. As I watched , the shadow of something dark moved in the high grass.
It wasn't long before it caught my scent ,  gave me one quick look and GONE !

The sow had at least one cub with her.

Jim

Much Different Today

Misting and raining on my ride out this morning.  Todays hike would take me to a Quabbin southeast gate. I was expecting a damp morning . To my surprise the fog burnt off early and made for a nice morning. I did see several deer along the way.

Warblers were out .

A short way from leaving  Quabbin I happen to be in the right at the right time .

This what I would call a ' Real Good" morning.

Jim

Things Are Slow

Headed out to a northeast gate very early in attempt to beat any showers. It did mist heavy a couple of times ,but not enough to worry about the camera. Again, no mammal activity. Rather surprised with it being  such a dismal morning.  I usually do well with seeing things on mornings like this.Bear sign was consistent throughout the hike. Blackberries are ripe and with the abundance of visible seeds in in the  bear scat.This gate showed similar activity last year at this time. No lack of deer flies and mosquitoes this morning. My head net made for a comfortable morning.
Seeing I have had two uneventful hikes ( unusual )  in a row , I will put some thought to where I hike tomorrow. Weather permitting !

Surfing the net the other night I learned of a fella named Hank Cramer from the New Salem area that has a 40 minute video that he has filmed on Quabbin Wildlife. Has anyone had the opportunity to see it? Any comments?

Jim

Not Much Moving In Today's Heat

 Started  hiking early in anticipation that most wildlife would probably move early. Could not been more wrong. My  hike this morning took me seven miles. I did see a number birds and ONE chipmunk, That's it !
Didn't take long before the sun made it brutal hiking.
 I visited a few swamps hoping to maybe see a moose wading in attempt to get away  from the deer flies. I did sit for a while overseeing a small swamp. My head net kept the mosquito's and deer flies at bay. To keep myself entertained I took a stab at trying to get a pic of a dragon fly.

I am guessing that they may have been mating and this was a male. Similar size dragon flies would chase each other then over for a second or two and take off.

Jim

800 Mile Milstone Reached

I was not sure I was going to reach my 800 miles hiked at Quabbin this weekend. Yesterday the deer flies were as bad as I have ever seen them. I would almost swear the bug repellent attracted them.
This morning I headed out just as you could see dawn setting in. Head net , light gloves made for a comfortable morning keeping the bugs at bay. When the sun reached the forest floor it made for a nice pic.

I did see two deer this morning, The first saw me and bounded off. The second didn't see me until I was about thirty yards from it.

Then moving real slow ,I was able to get  to within about twenty  yards .
Bear sign is becoming more frequent. I know that there is a sow and two cubs in the area. With any luck I will have a chance to get a few pics before fall.

Jim