July 6

Today I went over to Winthrop to watch the Ospreys. I could see three chicks. Two were more active and dominant. The third was definitely less aggressive and active. Things seem to be going well. I was suprised to see a Mockingbird make several threatening attacks on the adult Osprey on the platform. I fully expected to see shredded Mockingbird but the adult Osprey just ignored the impetuous smaller bird.

Here you can see the Mockingbird soaring up after diving upon the Osprey. It was amazing to watch.

After this I decided to move along the Winthrop side of the creek where I seldom go. A couple of Great Egrets allowed me to approach closer than I have ever been to one of these huge birds. The secret was that I was in my car. I have been told that a car can make an effective blind to observe and photograph birds. Today I found out how true that is.

They are always impressive but this close is almost overwhelming.  I went over to the Key in Revere (another part of Belle Isle - once a military radio station). It was quiet except for a few Great Egrets who didn’t allow me to come close at all. The Key is a delight just to walk. I saw a RedTail Hawk for the first time in several months. It flew past while being harassed by a cloud of smaller birds who were mobbing it.  A particularly obnoxious boater insisted in driving up all the smaller branches of the creek at top speed. I was silently wishing that they would beach themselves but it didn’t happen. Canoes, rowboats and kayaks don’t bother me in Belle Isle but fast moving motor boats are real annoying. They show little respect to the wildlife and the marsh itself.  Maybe I’m just being cranky. It was a nice afternoon to visit parts of the marsh that I don’t get to very often.

Ciao!

-Jorge

This entry was posted on July 6, 2008 at 2:27 pm and is filed under Daily - the next year. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.