Saturday, May 23, 2015

Porcupine at Burncoat Pond Wildlife Sanctuary

I can't believe I had to wear gloves today, after 10AM, on May 22.  Crazy!  It finally reached the 40s, so I headed out to hike (I know, I was wimpy), but it was still breezy and very cool in the woods.

Mass Audubon's Burncoat Pond Wildlife Sanctuary was my destination.  I read somewhere that they may have red trillium, and even if they were already gone by, I was hoping to see some so I'd know where to look next year.  I had no luck.

That didn't make it a bad hike, though.  There were plenty of interesting things to look at, including:

Common Yellowthroat

A porcupine (my first)!!

We met on the trail, and he/she continued toward me, which was a bit intimidating.  I turned back a few steps, and then turned around to watch.  Again, the porcupine really seemed irritated that I was not letting it continue along the path.  I then talked to it, saying, you're going to have to leave the path because I'm not going anywhere.  And then, of course, it listened to me and went off into the woods.

Pink Ladyslipper
(at least half a dozen along the trail)

A distant Pileated Woodpecker
chiseling out a rather large hole

Striped Maple
(the first one I've seen outside of Garden in the Woods)

Eastern Wood-Peewee

Jack-in-the-Pulpit

Eastern Towhee

My view of the pond from Richard's Rock

 Juvenal's Duskywing
(I had my gloves off by this time)

Rhodora
Azalea (not everything pink in the wild is Rhodora!  See comment from Josh below.)

 Partridgeberry

White Corporal

 European Starling
about to feed nestlings
I doubt this is the bird that they want using this box!

 Lupine! (in the parking lot)

Brown-Headed Cowbird

Also seen but not photographed (at least not well):  Scarlet Tanager, Rose-Breasted Grosbeak, Indigo Bunting, Ovenbird and Clouded Sulphurs

1 comment:

  1. Dawn: The rhododendron flowers you show have 5 stamens and 1 pistil each, ruling out Rhodora (Rhododendron canadense) which has 10 shorter stamens and 1 pistil. But no doubt this is one of the pink flowering Azaleas (Rhododendron sp.).

    As for the dragonfly... I'd say White Corporal (Ladona exusta).

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