Saturday, October 17, 2015

I Investigate Bradbury Mountain

1. view from the top-kab The View from the top of Bradbury Mountain 6-14-15

Bradbury Mountain is a well known birding Hotspot in Maine where birders gather in spring to watch the raptor migration. I was not able to go earlier this year due to my dislocated shoulder, but by June I was well enough to venture out on my own. I followed the back roads down through Freeport and into Durham, where the park is located. After paying the entrance fee, I found a place to park and followed the sign to the trail.

1a. trail sign-kab There are two ways to get to the top of the mountain. One is a slow but gradual climb to the peak, while the other is a short but steep climb. Since it was already getting late and I tend to be impatient, I chose the short but steep route. I mean, how hard could it be?

1b. bradbury mountain trail 6-14-15 The trail started out wide and easy.

 

1c. Bradbury Mt. 6-14-14 Rocky Ledges But soon became steep and narrow!

 

1d. Bradbury Mt. 6-14-15 Roots After clambering over roots and rocks…

 

1e. Bradbury Mountain Summit 6-14-15 I emerged to see this! Bradbury Summit!

 

2. Turkey vulture-kab And then this happened!

 

3. turkey vulture-kab Turkey Vultures!

 

4. turkey vulture 6-14-15-kab 

5. TUVU-kab 

I saw several vultures, but only photographed one.

6. view from the top-kab While I was taking in the view, I kept hearing some sort of birding singing. What was that bird? I knew I should recognize the song but I was unsure…and then I spotted it!

8. junco-kab Dark-eyed Junco!

I don’t often hear them sing in winter when they are at my feeders.

9. darkeyed junco-kab After checking each other out, it was time for me to head down the mountain.

This time I was taking the scenic route. After all, it really didn’t take me long to get up here! Besides, I am like Alice in Wonderland, and my curiosity always gets the best of me! However, I was careful not to nibble on any mushrooms!

7. into the woods-kab That dark opening is the path into the woods.

On the way down I did find a few woodpecker holes, but no woodpeckers!

10. weeping woodpecker tree 6-14-15

Notes: I originally wrote about this trip back in June using only my cell phone photos. I have used a couple of those to fill in the gaps between my Nikon D90 photos which I have posted here now.

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2 comments:

  1. Fabulous views and that wa a wonderful series of shots of the Vulture. Love the trees and their roots

    ReplyDelete

Welcome to my nest! I hope you will enjoy spending time here with me and the birds. Thank you for your comments. I will try to get back to you as soon as I get back from counting more birds.