Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Amazing Nature!

Sunset at the Bangor Municipal Golf Course
Sunset on our way out of the City Forest, Kittridge Road
An amazing Sunset, Saxl Park, Bangor, Maine
Blueberry flowers
Asters
Some small mushrooms
Pyxie Cups
Some tiny red mushrooms
Unknown to me Mushrooms
Porcupine!
A killdeer faning a broken wing.
A Killdeer
A wild turkey hen crosses the road.  Right after, a flock of her large babies fly across.
Wild turkey- Bangor City Forest
Great Blue Heron in the Kenduskeag Stream- Bangor, Maine
Great Blue Heron flies down stream
Sandy Point State Park, Osprey and Cormorant nesting
An Osprey guarding the nest.
An Osprey
A Raven in the Bangor City Forest- They nest right near the Orono Boardwalk entrance.
The parents were teaching there young how to fly better.
Or they were just out on a family outing and decided to show the young ones what dogs are.
Bald Eagle over Pushaw Lake, Glenburn Beach side
Again, another Bald Eagle in Glenburn, Maine
A Loon in Pushaw Lake
Sandy Point State Park, a little lopsided, but a beautiful day with fog  present
Autumn at the pond at the Bangor City Forest
Lover's Leap on the Kenduskeag Stream, Bangor, Maine
A Great Blue Heron flying over us at Sandy Point.

Lightening Strikes!
Look at the damage done to this tree by lightening
It came right down the side of this tree
Chris stands next to a large splinter that we found stuck in the ground!  The lightening threw large splinters like this all over the area.
You can see how the lightening just peeled down the middle of the tree.
And left a deep crack that went all the way to the bottom of this tall tree.
  Here are some more large splinters
Another huge splinter thrown off this tree.
Below is Rosie standing next to the splinter that shot into the ground.


There were a few powerful storms that went through the area this past summer, bringing with them not so much thunder and lightening, but also powerful winds.  We would go to the forest a day after and see all this large and small trees that had just toppled over, roots and all.  We had a very wet year, and the stream in the City Forest actually overflowed, rushing water OVER the bridge and down the other side to make its way down to the bog.  The bridge, reinforced with large granite rectangular stones were moved slightly, but the earth on either side of the stones had an eroded path from the water flowing down the side.

My friend and I, faithful dog walkers at these woods, were caught in a couple of terrential down pours and the water that accumulated and puddled on the road turned into a virtual river (though not a very deep one.)

Here is one such down pour with the water gathering on the dirt road.  It was quite deep.

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Birds from Spring & Summer Outings 2009

Osprey in a nest
Osprey in a nest- Stockton Springs, Maine
Osprey in flight
Osprey in flight- Stockton Springs, Maine
Mom and Dad Osprey
Mom and baby Osprey
Mom and Baby- Stockton Springs
Guarding the nest
Mom and Baby
More of Mom Osprey




Osprey parents



I had a great time this summer photographing the Osprey family again.

Mockingbird- Mocking me?
Haven't you ever seen a bird before?!


Northern Mockingbird, top photo is down at the waterfront this summer... the last 2 are some of my favorites, of birds that have stalked us in town.









a Loon looks for dinner at Sandy Point, Stockton Springs, Maine

A Great Blue Heron flies over.
A Great Blue Heron- Stockton Springs









A Great Blue Heron visits Kenduskeag Stream in Bangor, and another checks out the food at Sandy Point.





A Cooper's Hawk checks out Saxl Park for dinner.





Eastern Kingbird checks out the scenery at the pond in the Bangor City Forest.

Canada Geese at the lake.
Canada Geese on a lawn in York, Maine

Ducks feeding
Ducks swimming up at Great Pond, Northern Maine
Ducks in Kenduskeag Stream








Crows in Bangor, both at home (with a nest next door) and Saxl Park.





A wild turkey (and her older chicks) in Herman







Bald Eagles at Pushaw Lake















Cormorants chillin' and Nesting at Sandy Point.











Bobolinks in Saxl Park

I know that some of this will be a little outdated, but I DID say I would post them. What better time to take a look at some of the birds I saw this past Spring and Summer, but at a time when sadly, they have (for the majority) all headed south. Their voices and sounds are dearly missed on my walks, and the fact that I will soon be moving to the Pacific Northwest makes this even more bittersweet. This season is the last season I will hear and see these particular birds. My beloved Raven family, my little woodpecker friends, all those silly Mockingbirds, the skydiving Eastern Kingbirds over the beaver pond, all the R2D2 Bobolinks in the field, the little sparrows that live in the low bushes in almost any parking lot in town that will even eat chicken McNuggets... So lets look back at the birds I was able to catch with my camera: