Late November

Connetquot River State Park during late November

A fawn that still has some spots, although very faint ones.

Nutting Song

by Paul Laurence Dunbar

The November Sun invites me,

And although the chill wind smites me,

I will wander to the woodland

Where the laden trees await;

And with loud and joyful singing

I will set the forest ringing,

As if I were King of Autumn...

Black Friday in Heckscher Park

 

I was told that a number of unusual birds were recently spotted in our area. Apparently hurricane Sandy blew some birds off course and into our area. A gentleman I met during my walk in the Connetquot River State Park the other day, showed me pictures on his digital camera of a painted bunting that visited his neighbor’s backyard feeder. These colorful birds are very rarely seen on Long Island. His story, along with others I have heard, caused me to fill up my backyard feeders. I am even visiting other parks hoping to catch a glimpse of an unusual bird. Unfortunately, I have had no luck. Today I went to Heckscher State Park (East Islip) to do some birdwatching. My son came along and although we didn’t see birds during our walk, Rich was able to nicely capture the moon rising in the east and the sun setting over the Great South Bay.  When I look at his photos, I feel again the serenity I experienced during our walk. This is why I much prefer spending Black Friday hiking in a park than shopping in a mall. 

Thanksgiving Buck

On Thanksgiving Day during my walk in the Connetquot River State Park, I saw this buck along with six does.  After mating season, he will shed his antlers and will look just like all the other deer, but for now, with those antlers, he is very impressive indeed.

Squirrel House

I discovered yesterday that someone unexpected resides in this Connetquot River State Park building.

Above is a picture of the resident as he came to his door to see what I wanted.

It’s too bad dogs are not permitted in the Connetquot River State Park because I know a feisty West Highland Terrier that would love the job of evicting him.

Juncos

Yay! The Connetquot River State Park is open again and I was there today.  As I walked in the direction of the fish hatchery, I saw Juncos on the path. As winter approaches, these birds migrate in flocks of various size from further north and remain here throughout the season. Juncos have two white feathers in their tails that are not visible except when they fly. When I approached the Juncos I saw on the path, they flew away and I was able to see those feathers clearly. Although they are common birds, they are pretty darn cute, so I always enjoy seeing them.

Life After Sandy

The Connetquot River State Park was closed these past couple of weeks due to damage caused by Hurricane Sandy. For this reason I have been walking on private property (permission given) in Oakdale, south of Montauk Highway. Here is some of what I saw.

This bird perched on a small log is a Double-Crested Cormorant. There were two of them in the same area and both would fly away if I got too close to them. Whenever I see cormorants they are swimming, not perched like this one. For this reason, I had the urge to take a photo. An acquaintance of mine once referred to cormorants as “junk birds.” Well, they might not win a bird beauty contest, but I find their prehistoric appearance somewhat impressive and interesting.

This is a Hooded Merganser flying along a stream. The black and white crest on the back of its head makes it easy to identify it.

During a walk with a neighbor, we spotted this deer. My neighbor said to me, “It’s watching something.” We turned to see what it was.

It was looking at this fox. When the fox realized we saw him, he hightailed it back into the woods.  I only got a photo of his very bushy tail.