Catching up on posting blog posts that I didn’t finish.
This describes an outing from April 14.
We seized one of the only fine days and took a hike to Osprey Overlook/Great Esker Park, both part of the Back River trail in Weymouth. All the kids except Sophie came with me.
We saw the osprey nests and got a chance to see the osprey fishing. We saw egrets and ducks. And right as we were leaving I spotted what first looked like a songbird perching on a stick in the marsh grasses. Then as it flew off to a tree I thought: that doesn’t move like a songbird: what is it?
I staked closer and got pictures of two of them sitting together on the branch, then they both flew to a utility pole. And then each soared off, one at a time. I snapped pictures with the long lens on the camera, while my bad eyes could not make out identifying remarks. When I got home and enlarged the photos on the big screen, I was able to see that they were a pair of kestrels, male and female.
I’ve been wanting to explore more of the nature preserves near us for a while, but there never seemed time. Now, they’re the one place we can go. Bella, my birder, is very happy. She shared some of my photos with her online ornithology class. Looking for the silver linings, and trying to seize the day when we can.
It’s been a terribly cold and rainy spring, though, and we’ve been inside a lot. I’ve really been missing our museum trips. The museum is a lovely refuge when the weather is too blah to tramp through the woods.
