Thursday morning I stopped at the boat launch near the Shaker Bridge over Lake Mascoma in Enfield to photograph the sunrise.
Then I went to the Rail Trail at the base of Ice House Road in Lebanon twice during the day. It was much better in the morning than mid-afternoon. I photographed 5 warbler species including a surprising Cape May Warbler. If I would have walked farther west than I did, I no doubt could have added a Black-and-White Warbler.
I only got a fleeting view of the Cape May. It stayed mostly hidden in the dense pine that most of the warblers seemed to favor. Here is the Cape May Warbler.
And, for comparison, here is a Cape May from Monhegan Island last fall.
And then there was a Chestnut-sided Warbler, a very beautiful bird.
The other three warblers at Ice House Road were all yellow-something. Here is the Common Yellowthroat.
There were plenty of Yellow-rumped Warblers around. Here are some of both genders.
I believe the most prevalent warbler was the Yellow Warbler, a summer resident in this area.
On Wednesday I traveled to Rumney with Jann to a quilting supply store. While there we made a quick stop at Quincy Bog. The water level was high, and we did not bring hip boots, so we only walked a short distance around the loop. As we retreated, we spotted a pair of Palm Warblers.
One allowed me to approach very closely. I needed to, as I was shooting with my walk-around camera rather than my normal “bird lens” which has more magnification. Seeing the bird up close without optics, I was amazed how tiny it was in “real life”.
Back to Ice House Road where not all of the birds were warblers. Here is a quiz for you. What is this bird? What is its Gender? And how old is it? Correct (I believe) answers will follow below.
There was a Gray Catbird lurking in the underbrush.
And a Least Flycatcher overhead.
Back at home, I found a White-throated Sparrow.
So what was that earlier dark bird. I believe I know it because I photographed a similar-looking bird at Bedell Bridge three years ago. George Clark identified that bird for me. Here is the one I found there.
It is a first summer, male, Red-winged Blackbird.
Check out Ice House Road, it can be a nice spot. Even for mating snapping turtles!