A Race, Some Birds, and a Birthday

 The Lake 6-27-15

On a cold day in June we gathered at the lake in Colchester, CT where every summer my family has a sort of mini family reunion centered around a road race. It is known as the Annual Adams Family Road Race and those of us who can, either walk or run our old 3 mile high school cross country course. Every one of my siblings and some of my nieces and nephews have been on the Bacon Academy Cross Country Team at one time or another. My middle brother, Stephen, came up with this idea as a way to keep us all in shape as we get older. Nice try, Stephen! One by one we have dropped out for various health reasons, but there are still a few of us who still can walk or run. I have mostly walked the last few years, but this year I declined to even walk as I was still healing from an injury. Instead, I stood at the finish line and manned the stopwatch and the camera, as well as watching birds.

I am always watching birds.

First there is the waiting for someone to round the bend…

 

Then my youngest brother appears!

 

My sister, Mary Grace, my daughter, and my Mom all watching and keeping time as they shout words of encouragement!

 

Then, my brother Stephen rounds the bend and burns it up towards the finish line!

 

Can you believe he is in his 50’s!

We are all in our 50’s now. Except for my oldest brother, who is the first one of us siblings to cross into his 60’s! There were not many runners today, so I did not get many pictures of runners. But, I did see some birds!

After the race was over everyone headed back to the Lake House. Most went in their cars, but I decided to walk and count birds.

I found some Cedar Waxwings gobbling up dog berries alongside the road.

 

Overhead a Tufted Titmouse investigated a crevice on a limb.

 

As I neared the north end of the lake I found a female Red-winged Blackbird in the brush near the swamp on the other side of the road. Female Redwing Blackbirds trip so many birders up, even experienced ones at times, because they can look like some sort of weird sparrow with their streaky plumage.

The amount of yellow-orange can vary in their faces.

But notice their overall body shape and bill shape. This is a blackbird’s bill.

 Two Red-winged Blackbirds in a small tree.

 

 The swamp on the north side of the road.

 

 Water lilies cloak the surface of the water.

 

 Such pretty blossoms!

 

 Song Sparrow and a spider’s web!

 

 Song Sparrow at Lake Hayward 6-27-15

This date was also my mother’s 79th birthday! After surviving two separate battles with breast cancer, we are all so happy she is still here to celebrate her birthday. Her hair was just starting to grow in after her recent chemo treatment earlier this year. She is pictured below with her young friend, Alexis, who is also a breast cancer survivor! They went through chemo together the first time around and have remained friends every since! It was so nice of her to stop by. It made my mom’s birthday ever more special!

Happy Survival you beauties!

Notes from My Nest: Changes

 The Mountains of Maine 6-29-15

It is a cool, gray day here on Mere Point. Gus and I are spending a quiet weekend at home. It has been awhile since I have written and a lot has changed in the past few months. I am done with physical therapy on my shoulder. It is almost as good as new. While I still have a lingering soreness in my thigh from where I had a huge bruise and hematoma after falling through the hole in the floor, most of the other symptoms have resolved themselves over time. I must say that this injury has deeply affected my life and changed me in many ways. I did not like being dependant on others for help. I did not like feeling helpless, and having this happen really made me feel old. While I am starting to feel like myself again, I find I am more cautious and more focused on getting and staying strong and healthy. I still have one remaining health concern. Before I fell through the floor and dislocated my shoulder, and before I had surgery last Christmas, I had trouble with my knee and was on crutches for about 10 days. That problem was never dealt with, but now it is finally being addressed as my knee can be just fine, then suddenly it will lock up on me and I cannot walk. I am going for an MRI this week. Hopefully we will get some answers.

Meanwhile, my time here at Mere Point has come to an end. Our lease on this cottage is up and we have chosen to move elsewhere. While Gus would love to move back to Tucson, (and he has been relentlessly applying for jobs there) so far there is no job offer, so we find ourselves on the lookout for a new place to rent. We have to be out of here by August 7^th and as yet, we have no place to go. Hopefully something will change this week and our path will become clear.

It’s funny how when you think you are leaving a place that everything becomes sharper and clearer. I find myself focusing on the greenness of the vegetation, the coolness of the air, and the scent of the salty sea. Right now the raspberries are all in bloom and their fragrance perfumes the air here in my yard and at the boat launch. Underlying all of these smells is the fragrance of pine and the scent of new mown grass. These are the smells of New England to me, made sweeter by the thought of moving away from them again.

 Me and my siblings 6-27-15

It is no secret that I have married a gypsy boy. He likes to move around, and I have been grateful for all the places that we have been able to see and experience, but now I am ready to settle down and quit moving. I want my own house again, and Gus wants to move to Tucson for good. He has decided it is his favorite place on earth and it is where he would like to retire. All of this makes me pensive and sweetly sad as I think of leaving my family once again. Yet, there is no telling when that might happen. Either way, we have to move and there will be yet another new yard and a new yard list. In my 18 months here, I have seen 117 species of birds. This has been THE BEST YARD ever.

In yet another change, I am sad to report that the Birding is Fun blog is going into retirement for now. I have enjoyed my time as a writer for this blog and am proud of my association with it. When Robert Mortenson was at the helm it was of unparalleled quality. I was sad to see him step down and now I am even more sad to see it end. But, as the saying goes, “To everything there is a Season, and a Time for every purpose under heaven…”

Here are some scenes from where I have been birding lately:

 6-20-15 Messalonskee Boat Ramp

Gus and I stopped by here on our way to visit Dad the day before father’s Day. I was able to see 4 Black Terns flying out over the lake as well as my first ever in Maine Pied-billed Grebe! Just a short distance farther up the road I got my Purple martins for the year!

 6-26-15 The boats are back in the water at Mere Point Bay

 

 6-27-15 Mom’s backyard sanctuary in Colchester, CT

On the weekend of June 27th we travelled to Connecticut for the annual Adams Family Road Race and Mom’s 79th birthday! I did not run, of course, but took photos and counted birds! I was hoping to find a Yellow-throated vireo and I think I may have heard one, but I did not see it so I did not count it because I was not sure. I counted a total of 20 species for Lake Hayward on this day. As you can see from the photo below, Mom’s hair is finally starting to grow back in after her latest battle with breast cancer. We are all so glad that she is still here to celebrate her birthday!

 7-27-15 Mom and her kids and one grandkid and their spouses

(My oldest brother had already left by the time it occurred to us to get a family photo!)

On June 29th I drove to Franklin County to count birds. This is yet another of the under-birded counties here in Maine. It was late in the day when I arrived after dropping my daughter off at her current residence in Livermore. I drove up the road to discover a place called Pine Island in the middle of the Androscoggin River.

 6-29-15 Bridge to Pine Island

I crossed the bridge and followed a path down to the woods by the river. I saw several warblers down in that cool green place, as well as a mink that came slinking out of the undergrowth. We were both surprised to see each other and I slowly raised my camera hoping for a photo, but the small brown animal quietly turned and slipped back into the green foliage before I could focus on it! I counted 10 species on Pine Island before heading for Wilson Pond in Wilton, Maine where I counted 8 species. It was getting late by now and I only had a short time to count birds before it got dark. While I did not see a lot of birds at the lake, I did see a pair of loons and some tree swallows.

6-29-15 Sunset on Wilson Pond in Wilton, Maine

 

6-30-15 Back at home, a raccoon has been hanging around the yard!

 

 7-2-15 The South End of Brunswick Landing airfield.

I counted 23 species in 1 1/2 hours while driving 4.4 miles through Brunswick Landing on this day. There have been a lot of changes to the Landing since I moved here 18 months ago with new businesses going in and lots of construction going on. One of my favorite areas to bird is down in back where the old army bunkers are, but it has been gated off and one can no longer drive down there. I believe you can still hike in, but it is a bit of a walk with lots of black flies and mosquitoes and with my knee being the way it is, I have not attempted it.

 

 7-3-15 Blueberries on Bowdoin Island Mill in Topsham, Maine.

Gus and I went here for breakfast yesterday. It was so nice that we sat outside and of course, I counted birds while we ate! There were song sparrows and yellow warblers singing in the trees and bushes while chimney swifts twittered overhead. Afterwards I walked over to the river’s edge where I saw dozens of herring gulls, three Great Blue Herons, and a Bald Eagle! I counted 10 species in the 45 minutes we were here.

 7-3-15 Bricks and roses under a bright blue sky on Bowdoin Mill Island

Then, we stopped by Wharton Point on our way home.

 7-3-15 High Tide at Wharton Point

The Song Sparrows and Bobolinks were singing up a symphony here!

 7-3-14 Horseshoe crabs were too busy mating to notice the birds!

So, Happy Fourth of July everyone!

We can only wait and see what the Future holds!

But for now…I think I’ll take a nap!

7-4-15 Kitty Bliss

Family and Birding

 The Adams Family 6-28-14

Yesterday was the Annual Adams Family Road Race in Connecticut. Every year my family gets together as sort of a family reunion and runs our old cross country course from when we were all in high school. then we eat and celebrate my mother’s birthday. We are all happy to still have her here to celebrate with since it has been two years of her surviving breast cancer. You can find the results from this year’s race here.

 Gramma and her great grandson.

 Tony (This one’s for you, Betty!)

I didn’t take many photos of the road race since I didn’t run but was instead the person who kept track of all the times. My friend, Chris Rohrer took some more photos for us but I still need to download them.

Chris and Micheal are here visiting and we have been straight out birding! Here they are at Plum Island, looking for birds. We are off to the White Mountains of New Hampshire tomorrow to look for the elusive Bicknel’s Thrush, among other birds. Since his arrival Chris has seen over 90 species in Maine, 49 species in Massachusetts, and 49 species in Connecticut. He has seen over 101 species over all and he has added 23 species to his Life List while I have added three species to my Life List, bringing my total to 473 species! We are all hoping for more! Below is a peek at just a couple of the birds we saw on Plum Island in Massachusetts on June 26th.

Piping Plover Chick seen at Sandy Point, on Plum Island 6-26-14

 

Least Tern on Sandy Point Reserve, Plum Island, MA

Notes From My Nest: Family

My grandson, Xavier 6-2-14

One of the reasons we moved back to Maine was to be near family. Both Gus and I have most of our family here on the east coast, but we do still have some in other parts of the country. When Gus and I left Tucson, we left our oldest son and our grandson behind. Xavier lives part time with his dad in Tucson, and he spends the summers here on the east coast with his mom and her family. Earlier this month it was time for Xavier to return to his mom, and it gave us a chance to see him again after living with him for 18 months and then leaving him behind when we moved in February. We were only able to see him for a few days before it was time for him to go to his mother’s, but I have high hopes that we will see him again before the summer is over.

Besides spending time with Xavier and my son, I have also made several trips to CT to see my Mom and some of my siblings. We have been to see Gus’ family here in Maine several times already, but it was made even more urgent when my father-in-law fell and broke his right arm just below the shoulder. An emergency operation was performed and pins put in to keep his arm stable until it healed. However, he is still too weak to go back home, necessitating a stay in a rehab center. Though the center is very good, it is hard to see him there when all he wants to do is go back home. Dad is 84 years old now and had survived the Korean War, four kids, 62 years of marriage, 2 Triple bypass surgeries on his heart and a stroke! He constantly amazes me with all he does. He’s a tough old sailor who just wants to continue taking good care of his family, which he has always done.

Ever since moving here it seem to me that the days have just flown by! When there is a lot going on I do not have time to sit and blog like I would like to. I still need to get more boxes unpacked. I still do not feel like I have settled in! I am constantly amazed at seeing all the green around me after having lived in Tucson for 18 months and then moving here in February. I remember there were times when I thought the snow would never melt and go away and I tried to imagine what it would be like when all of this turned green! I find that after all the sunny, hot and dry days of living in the desert I have come to appreciate the cool gray, rainy days of New England! However, I DO NOT appreciate the ticks, which are as thick as fleas here in Maine! It has caused a debate here in our house: Which is worse, ticks or scorpions! While scorpions seem more scary and deadly, I can say I have never met anyone who has been stung by one. While here in New England I have many friends and family members who have contracted Lyme disease from being bitten by deer ticks. I have already pulled several ticks off my clothing and one got embedded in my flesh, but it was a dog tick and not a deer tick. Still, it’s frustrating when all I want to do is be outside and everything outside at this time of year wants to bite me and suck my blood! Besides the ticks there are also mosquitoes and black flies! But I knew it would be this way before we even moved back. I knew what I was getting into.

I have also had the opportunity to meet up with other bloggers and friends, and then, in less than a week, my friend and birding buddy, Chris Rohrer will be arriving for a two week visit! We will be birding like crazy trying to get him Life Birds and hopefully I will get a few as well. My Life List currently stands at 469 species of birds. I only need 31 more species to reach 500, which is approximately half of all the species that can be seen here in the United States. I know that I will have to travel to Alaska and a few other places to reach the 1000 possible species and I do not know if I will get them all before I die, but I sure do plan on having fun trying! Meanwhile, I do not think there will be much blogging going on while Chris is here! Because, besides all the birding, there will also be our annual family event, The Adams Family Road Race! I will probably be walking it this year, but before the race even starts, I know that Chris and I will be birding!

Family and friends; it’s what life is all about for me, as well as the birds.

Notes From My Nest: Birds, Beasts, and a Grandson

 Barn owl in Tucson 9-17-13

It’s been over a month since my return from our trip to Yellowstone and Utah. While I am still busy processing photos and writing blog posts, I have also still been out birding. With migration practically over, I have seen the changes in the bird populations around town and in my yard. Autumn has brought a return of our winter raptors, while the summer birds have flown away. One windy, stormy day  as I sat on the balcony watching birds I added three new yard birds in one day with a Black Phoebe that was blown into my yard, as well as a Northern Rough-winged Swallow seen flying overhead. Then, to my utter surprise, I saw a couple of Vaux’s Swifts! A few days later a Ladder-backed Woodpecker came by increasing my Tucson Yard List to a total of 67 species of birds! I saw this Barn Owl at Sweetwater Wetlands one night when I met my friend, Chris Rohrer there in the late afternoon. As evening fell we found this bird hiding in a willow tree.

Cooper’s hawks are here year round, but it seems we see more of them in winter. After a calm period during the month of August the Cooper’s Hawks have returned in force to my back yard and have been hunting my feeders on such a regular basis that all the birds have become skittish and I rarely see them at all during the middle of the day. There have been times when the Coop’s has swooped down repeatedly, or taken up residence in either my front or my neighbor’s backyard mesquite tree. Sometimes I do not know it is there until I hear its “bark” as its calls from deep within the foliage. But the birds know it is there, and they vanish, and my yard falls silent.

I continue to count birds at Michael Perry Park and was amazed to find a Northern Harrier there one day in late September.

Chris and I found these Turkey Vultures one Saturday in September along Mile Wide Road just west of Tucson. It’s funny that the Turkey Vultures usually leave Tucson for the winter but can still be found up in Phoenix. We saw some at Gilbert Water Ranch when we went birding there this past weekend.

Western Kingbirds on Mile Wide Road 9-20-13

These are probably the last Western Kingbirds we will see until next spring.

I love puffy cloud days and this one was a beauty back on September 20th. I took this shot in the Tucson Mountain District of Saguaro National Park. Little did I know back then that the government would shut down and I would not be able to go back into the park for over two weeks! In truth, I have not been back since it has reopened. So, I am equally glad that I visited the Rincon Mountain Unit with my friend, Celeste of Celestial Ramblings on September 24th. We had a breakfast picnic at the Javalina Picnic Area, one of my favorite places to bird.

As we sat sipping our tea a young Cactus Wren popped up to say hello!

A little Antelope Ground Squirrel came begging.

Then a Rock Squirrel came by!

One of these moved into my back yard recently and excavated a huge den. I saw the beast a few times climbing my trees and scurrying over the rocks, but suddenly I have not seen it al all and I wonder what has happened to it.

After our picnic Celeste and I drove the 8-mile loop road through Saguaro NP and we were pleased to find this pair of Coues White-tailed Deer peacefully meandering along the roadside. This species of White-tail is much smaller than its eastern counterpart but nonetheless serene looking with wide soft eyes.

Like everywhere else, our days are getting shorter and our temperature is fluctuating. Last week it seems we had a stretch of endlessly dull days with clear blue skies and warm temperatures and no wind. I start to feel dull and stupid myself after a few days of sameness like that. I like a little drama in my sky and in my weather. Yesterday a cool front blew in some clouds and though today the wind has died down, there are still a few lingering clouds and a few strong gusts of winds to remind me that change is in the air and the dullness is blowing away!

My Grandson, Xavier running his first Cross Country Meet 9-30-13

I feel such need for a change, to do something different; to be creative. I have spent a lot of time recently playing with my photos and creating pictures for my Artsy Fartsy Fridays. This has helped dispel the dullness that I feel, and it just makes me smile. I have also had fun writing poetry and creating pages and poems for Halloween. I have a Halloween Post scheduled for this blog, and for over a week I have had poems and pictures on Kathie’s Poet Tree. It is all kid friendly, so bring your children and grandchildren by to see the pictures and read the poems. There is even a link to a You Tube recording of Mother Ghost Nursery Rhymes, a recorded book from back in the 1960’s which I remember from my childhood and which my grandson, Xavier just loved when I played it for him. Yes, I have also been a busy grandma baking cookies and going to my grandson’s first Cross Country Meet. With a family that is obsessed with running we are all glad to see him take an interest in this. Perhaps next summer he will be ready for the annual Adams Family Road Race!

• Mother Ghost Nursery Rhymes-Scholastic
• Mother Ghost Nursery Rhymes-Kathie’s Poet Tree