Same state, different pond…

The weather was still pretty nice out here in the Nutmeg State this morning, even though the skies are no longer crystal clear. My sister also had today off of work, so we headed out early to visit Hanover Pond and the Quinnipiac River Gorge Trail, where we’ve had some good luck before.

Our first treat was spotting another bald eagle, either looking for or digesting its breakfast from a perch high over an island in the pond. Either way, I was able to get a recognizable picture this time.

There were also herons, egrets, cormorants, swans, geese, and ducks out on the water, which are all great to see, but it’s a pretty big “pond”, and so my pictures ain’t all that great. Eventually, we figured we had seen all we were going to see, so we started up the trail, and it didn’t take long for this little cutie to allow me about the nicest picture I’ve ever gotten of a Carolina wren.

Perhaps the close confines of the narrow gap in the trees along the Quinnipiac River deserves all the credit, but soon after the wren, this youngish female belted kingfisher, with an interesting take on their usual crest of feathers, did me a similar favor.

Even a great blue heron got in on the act.

Those are the highlights from this morning, so here’s another cemetery bird from Friday, this time a young-looking northern mocking bird.

Finally, we have dragonflies out here, too, if you can believe it, and here’s a blue dasher from my folks’ yard.