The streak of beautiful, if cold, weather in Connecticut continued this morning, so I was able to get out before sunrise, and this time I headed straight to the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail to see who else might be an early riser.
My first surprise was finding this killdeer in the parking lot of the Bozzuto’s distribution center that the train tracks, which have now become the Heritage Trail, used to service. One of these days, I’ll catch a killdeer not on pavement.
Next, as I checked the pond that lies along the trail, I found a quintet of ring-necked ducks. Outstanding!
Continuing south, in the spot I checked well yesterday in hopes of finding the mockingbird that is often there, look which mimetic I found instead. A pair of catbirds, one singing away and the other keeping quiet, looked to be setting up residence. “Welcome back, Cuties!”
Next, the sight I’ve been waiting for, a tufted titmouse ready and willing to pose for a portrait. Most of them seem to stick to the high canopy, at least when calling, but this little character was singing a different song and doing it in the sun at eye level. I couldn’t ask for a better setup.
Ta da!
Finally, as I neared the south end of my trip, there was even a pair of wood duck drakes.
Lastly, I’ve been seeing these guys on-and-off for years, but today was my day to get a picture of a melanistic form eastern gray squirrel. In the morning sun like that, the black isn’t as pronounced, but on a cloudy day, it would look jet black.
Signs of Life in Estabrook Park 