Birding at Waseeka Wildlife Sanctuary

My son and I hiked out to the dam at Waseeka in Hopkinton for a quick lunchtime outing.  It was 68 degrees and sunny!  Is this November in Massachusetts?  It's hard to believe!

Here are today's highlights:

Golden-Crowned Kinglet

I love this little bird, but it sure is a challenging subject to photograph.  It almost never stops moving, and the only way I can get a photo of it is by pure luck at being focused on the spot it happens to hop towards.  There was more than one in the trees, but this is the only one I was able to photograph.  The other one had an orange-ish color on its crown (indicating it was a male), and I sure would have liked to photograph that one!  Oh well!

 There was a pair of hooded mergansers just on the other side of the narrow peninsula.  You can barely see the male in this photo.

 It doesn't seem to matter what time of the year we visit, there is always something beautiful to be found here.  Today, these reflections caught my eye.

We heard several blue jays cawing in the woods, and shortly thereafter, who should fly out seeking a quieter place to hunt but this beautiful hawk.

Red-Tailed Hawk

Hairy Woodpecker

While we were hiking in toward the dam, I was telling my son that I had found a good website explaining providing a visual comparison between a Downy and a Hairy Woodpecker and that I hoped I finally had figured it out.   Yes, I'm sure his eyes were glazed over and I just didn't notice.  He was a good sport.   I said to him that I realized that all the woodpeckers I had seen so far had been Downy.  Wouldn't you know.....I saw a Hairy Woodpecker on the walk out!  Whoo hoo!  (Note the large, long beak and the black comma-shaped marking extending from the shoulder down onto the white breast.)

Nice lunch break.  One-on-one time w/ my son, a life bird, pretty scenery, and Indian summer!