July 19

July 19, 2008 by OrientSee.

The Ospreys appear to be doing well. This picture gives you an idea of who their neighbors are and how close the planes come to the platform. Several years ago before the nesting began, an adult Osprey was taken out by a plane. It is a very busy place to be raising kids. The thickets were filled with Robins today. Everywhere I looked there were Robins. It looked like a gigantic Robin nursery. The Redwings have become scarce. I only saw two today and their calls are rare now. The Robins have taken over in the noise department.

The flats and pannes were deserted. This photo is not of rain drops but of protein. Those ripples are insects which all the birds feed on and which often feed on me if I forget the bug spray. Grass, bugs and fish are the basis of the marsh food economy.  Things are getting a little dry. No high tides and not a lot of rain recently leads to the inevitable mid-summer parch.

It’s normal for the grasses to look like this. I had been out to the Nashua River Trail ( a really great trail to walk or bike from Ayer to Dunstable) for a long bike ride and haying had started at several farms along the way.  The bane of allergy sufferers is starting to bloom now. It causes a lot of runny noses and headaches but it is actually luminous with color.

I’ll be going out with my scope for a closer look at the Ospreys tomorrow after my 50 mile ride. Today was not the most pleasant walk because of the heat and humidity but I was glad to see the marsh in all its full summer lushness.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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