September 29, 2009 by OrientSee.

 Bennington St. is still full of construction crews pulling up the street and replacing pipe. It’s noisy and urban. Loud and dirty. Twenty feet away from the street lies this little glade of flowers and calm. The brush muffles the sounds away and the air is muted in the shade. So very close to the tumult but miles away in mood. The thicket was quiet and the south flats held a few egrets.

Lawn and Palermo were quiet as well but full of apples. The path out to the Overlook was another story. A Yellow-rumped Warbler bounced around as at least two other species of warbler flitted back and forth. These birds do not sit still and are hard for a neophyte like me to identify. I am somewhat consoled by the term used in the bird books, “confusing fall warblers”.

The Overlook panne had a full party of Yellowlegs and ducks. A lone Snowy Egret stood with the boatyard as a backdrop.

At the Boardwalk, a few Great Egrets floated about like dandelion fluff. This single Great Blue Heron was hunched over as if it were December and only twenty degrees out.

Up at the top of the meadow, I found this dry glass of seed, waiting to empty itself to the wind.

A few feet further on, this glass was empty.

I walked down towards the park entrance. I turned and saw a scene from Lord of the Rings, “the road goes ever on”.

Finally, at the Bennington St. bridge, there was this bright still life of fall at Belle Isle Marsh.

The day was bright and still warm but the trees are starting to let go. Although there still are bumblebees and mosquitoes, there’s no mistaking the season. For me, this is the best time to be out walking.

Ciao!

-Jorge

Posted in Daily | No Comments »

September 26, 2009 by OrientSee.

 This morning the temperature dropped to 44. It was the first below 50 degree night. The sun climbed above a dew sparkled marsh. At the far end of Rosie’s thicket, a Downy Woodpecker stopped. They have become a regular fixture in the thicket. The flats were empty but brilliant in the fall bent light.  In this season the angle of the sun changes and the result is a very different quality of light.  It becomes fall bent.

At the end of Lawn Ave., a terrible predator lay in wait.

I saw my first Cormorant vee of the autumn heading south.

The path out to the Overlook was loaded with Yellow-rumped Warblers. In a few moments, I saw more warblers than I got to see in the entire month of May. It was a disappointing spring but today was just full of hopping, noisy warblers.

The Overlook panne was host to the Egret Breakfast Party. I was surprised to see them still clumped together this late in the morning (9 a.m.). There were ducks, Yellowlegs, Great and Snowy Egrets and even a Cormorant diving in the very shallow pond water. It was wonderful to watch all the activity.

Beyond the panne, a Great Egret was feeding in a tiny pothole. His head was barely above the grass.

The Boardwalk was beautiful but empty except for the noise of barking dogs. The Egrets rose up from the Overlook panne and one flew past very close.

The meadow was full of weed flowers including this arrangement.

By the Bennington St. bridge,  a very calm  Yellowlegs browsed in the mud.

I took a moment to check out the Hidden Pond (actually they are a few more). It was serene and covered with pollen.

Today the marsh was a gift. It really can fill you up with bright images. It’s a yoga kind of place.

Ciao!

-Jorge

Posted in Daily | No Comments »

September 17, 2009 by OrientSee.

 Today is a real beginning to fall. I was thinking about Goldenrod and Monarch Butterflies because of a column in today’s New York Times by Verlyn Klinkenborg ( http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/opinion/17thu4.html?_r=1&ref=opinion  ). He writes a column called The Rural Life and I thoroughly enjoy its every appearance. I walked into Rosie’s Thicket and found these flowers each with a Bumble Bee in the center.

I walked along the edges of Rosie’s Pond and startled a Snowy Egret who was hidden in the tall grass behind the sewer shack. It took off and cruised over to another pool out of my sight.

At the far end of the thicket, a female Downy Woodpecker was feeding in the bark of a dead tree.

At the south end of Palermo St. underneath my favorite apple tree, I saw this strange wet object in one of the drainage ditches. It was moving at a good clip but I didn’t know what it was.

It popped up. It was a Cormorant busy fishing in the rising tide.

Further along towards the South Dike, a Great Egret calmly ignored me while it was fishing.

On the path out to the Overlook, the Sumac canopy is rapidly thinning as fall gets closer.

The Outlook panne had five Snowy Egrets preening quietly.

The Boardwalk view was filled with Egrets. I counted nine Great Egrets and nine Snowy Egrets. This was just a narrow view of some of the egrets

In the meadow I found Milkweed pods reaching  a size that made them obvious.

Finally from the Bennington St. bridge, I got a photo of a Cormorant just emerging from a dive, shaking himself off.

Today was cloudy cool day full of wind. It was an enjoyable walk with plenty to see and my pockets full of apples.

Ciao!

-Jorge

Posted in Daily | No Comments »

September 10, 2009 by OrientSee.

Walking into Rosie’s thicket today was a step out of the city into the wild (except for the empty beer bottles). It was quiet enough that only the insect buzz could be heard above the wind. The pond is nearly overgrown with the Spartina but strolling through an empty space was a Snowy Egret.

Further out on the flats a half dozen Great Egrets were feeding while a lone Great Blue Heron patrolled in the distance. Close to the tree line, I found a bumblebee clinging on to a weed. It was barely moving because of the cool day.

Lawn and Palermo Streets filled my pocket with apples for my afternoon walk. There were more Great Egrets to be seen way out in the flats. The Long Thicket and the  Overlook were very quiet. A pair of Yellowlegs poked around in the mud. The Boardwalk was an egret-palooza. Easily a dozen Greats and Snowies were feeding and resting as the tide came up.  This pair were right across from the Boardwalk.

It was fun to see this Snowy parading in his finest including his yellow spats!

The wind was discouraging most of the birds. Starlings and more starlings but not much else in the meadow. I left the park and caught another bee burrowing into a dense display of flowers on a Goldenrod.

The sky was filled with big puffy clouds and the temperature was mellow enough to discourage the mosquitoes. It was a delightful day for a walk.

Ciao!

-Jorge

Posted in Daily | No Comments »

September 8, 2009 by OrientSee.

 I’ve been gone a while and the old paths have started to overgrow. I had made my own game path following my usual footsteps. Rosie’s pond was lush with the late summer growth of grass and reed. This dark seed head on a phragmites will soon be turning silver and white. The foxtails will soon be flashing in the sun.

Along Lawn and Palermo, I frightened this predator who was very wary of me.

The sumacs as usual are the first to loudly announce the season’s change.

Surprisingly this year, the peach tree has not been raided. The richly colored fruit are a sort of Christmas ornament for September.

The long thicket was overgrown in places with drooping reeds. I startled a large hawk. Actually it startled me enormously. I lost sight of it until I got to the Overlook. It was a juvenile Harrier with a long tail and that bright white patch on its lower back.  It was fun to watch it fly over the reeds and in and out of the thicket.

From the Boardwalk, several Great Egrets were feeding across the flats and way off there was a prominent Great Blue Heron. A few Brown Ducks were hopping from one puddle to the next. I was surprised to see a few Tree Swallows still chasing mosquitoes overhead. Up in the meadow, there were lots of butterflies including this small version of a Monarch.

From the Bennington St. bridge, a pair of Semipalmated Sandpipers were feeding in the mud.

Back along Bennington St, a pair of Cedar Waxwings were hopping from tree to tree gorging on the last of the wild cherries.

It was an enjoyable walk with plenty to see.  It was terrific to spend a few hours back out in the marsh.

Ciao!

-Jorge

Posted in Daily | No Comments »