Hiking Has Been Great !

I took Friday off  from work in hopes of putting a few miles on the ole' hiking boots. It was a beautiful day for hiking. Mammal sightings have been far and few. Food is abundant which minimizes there travel . Bear scat and puke was in the usual pocketed areas in my 13 mile day . I walked some of the northwest shoreline and did capture a pic of a

                                                                        Greater Yellow Legs
Reviewing my bird books I am hoping I identified the above bird accurately. Interesting reading about it, Typically they are one of the first shore birds to arrive in the northeast . They are also the first to leave in late June and July. This bird is three months behind the average with departing New England.

This morning I headed out early for a morning of hiking at a northeast gate

 Hiked 8 miles today not 'seeing much.  Did hear a barred owl ,  several loons and a pileated woodpecker.

Jim

Bits and Pieces

Not much going on Saturday morning with wildlife opportunities so I decided to hike a few of the roads on the west side. I parked at Gate 25  hiked over to Gate 24,then down to Gate 22. Not a lot of miles  by any means. I just wanted to mark them " Hiked" on my map.

 

I drove over to Gte 19/20/21 just to get a look. You can't hike Gte 21 out to Prescott Peninsula, but you can hike 21A back to Gate 22

This morning I hiked a northwest gate hoping again for a moose. No luck, but I did  see a doe feeding. 
Jim

Not A Lot Going On This Morning

Dispite the dismal morning I did get some hiking in today. I headed out to my favorite eastside gate. The rain let up giving way to a moderate drizzle. Wildlife pic opportunities in these conditions is typically good for me. Bear sign continues to be consistant. Didn't take long before coming upon a pile of bear puke.

Over the next mile or so bear scat was consistent. Probability on my part was high in anticipation of getting a glimpse of a bear this morning. Not to be today !
Oh well it gives me something to look forward to next week

Jim

Plane Wreck

Very quiet , other than the typical birds and small  mammals there were  no photo opportunities ,so I hiked to the plane wreck. Been a while since my last visit. DCR has cleaned up the tree's that were on the cart road.

On the hike back I found where a number of turtle eggs had been dug up.

Jim

Quabbin - South Carolina & Chiggers

Congaree NP large Bald Cypress Tree

Our Charleston SC trip finished with a trip to  Caw Caw swamp in Ravenel ,S.C. It's approximately a 650 acre wildlife sanctuary which includes rice fields and hardwoods. This area is used by many local and migrating birds. Our several mile walk revealed. one alligator . several blue herons. .
many ibis,and a few barred owls calling .

An alligator alongthe rice fields

 

Many information signs In Caw Caw swamp

 

A rat snake along the Congaree trail

Quabbin this weekend.I hiked nearly fifteen miles  in pursuit of a  moose. I found many tracks unfortunately no moose. I did break the 900 mile marker this weekend.

 

Chiggers

While in SC I got into chiggers . The most NASTY  bites I have ever gotten!

 

Jim

 

 

 

Congaree National Park South Carolina

I had a chance to visit Congaree in the spring. It was while on a business trip and only had a few hours to see what I could. Yesterday we spent the afternoon hiking this floodplain forest. The Bald Cypress trees along with the Loblolly Pines are truly amazing. We hiked the Oakridge Trail which took us 6.6 miles through the flood plain.
Pileated Woodpeckers could be heard squawking or hammering throughout the afternoon. Several barred owls where calling " Who Cooks For You". The trail lead to a overlook at Weston Lake. Stopping to rest for a few minutes five yellow-bellied slider turtles were seen.
During the hike we did see a number of wild hogs and one rat snake occupying the trail.
The hike was certainly eventful and I would recommend if you are in South Carolina. I will add pics when back in Massachusetts.

Jim

Mt Greylock Western Massachusetts

I took a detour today, missed work & Quabbin. Mt Greylock has been on my agenda for a while.The day started real early so that the arrival time would be at first light.
Driving up Rockwell Road slow I did see a handsome six point  buck with a doe, Much to early for any pictures.

The view for the summit was nice.

Jim