October 14

 Today was a bright fall day filled with crisp clean air. It was like drinking from the well at my aunt’s house down east in Cape Breton. The thickets and the park were filled with Yellow-rumped Warblers. It was a convention or an invasion. They were just simply everywhere. I caught sight of a Downy  and a Flicker as well so there were woodpeckers about as well.

The south flats were quiet except for a few Great Egrets way out.  As I started out the path to the Overlook, I could not avoid the Sumac fruit, the red of a cardinal’s robes.

The Overlook was quiet. A few ducks desultory browsed the panne but there wasn’t anything else. Then I started to walk across the high marsh towards the Boardwalk. I was startled by an American Bittern bursting out of the grass just twenty feet away. Of course, I froze in marvel and forgot to try for a photo. They are a subtly beautiful bird and quite large. That was supposed to be the end of surprises but just a few feet further on, a Snipe broke cover and startled me again. I was almost giddy with delight. These are terrific birds to see so close. The Boardwalk was quiet. There are several wooden Stonehenges dotting the marsh nearby. These are the remains of the salt marsh haying that used to go on here at Belle Isle a long time ago.

At the top of the park meadow, the milkweed was letting go its seed in the breeze.

On the way out to the parking lot, a small flock of these White-crowned sparrows were feeding in the mown grass.

The Bennington St. bridge spanned the creek at low tide as these Yellowlegs were foraging in the mud.

The return of cold air spared a few bumblebees and even a butterfly or two but not for much longer. It’ll get down into the thirties tonight, a night for hot apple cider.

Ciao!

-Jorge

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