A fine “welcome back” to the Nutmeg State…

Anne and I arrived safely in Connecticut last evening, but I didn’t have a chance to go out looking for wildlife until after lunch today. I didn’t expect to see much that late in the day, so I was quite pleasantly surprised when the critters put on a nice mid-day show.

Here’s a trio of shy ring-necked duck drakes that kept just beyond the effective range of my gear. We don’t get to see them very often, so here you go.

This wood duck drake, on the other hand, understood the assignment.

A serious contender for my treat-of-the-day is this Carolina wren. I hear them often out here, but they usually keep their distance. I’ve been hearing one in Estabrook, and would give an eye tooth for a decent photo, but I’ve had no luck so far. This bird, however, popped to the top of a bush right in front of me, and as I tried to bring my camera to bear, it merely moved upwards a bit and then broke out into song. Oh, happy days!

Maybe there’s been something in the water out here, or it’s some kind of holiday that I don’t know about, but the blue jays, who are similarly shy in Estabrook, were really putting on a show today. It is almost as if this one is pausing to ask, “have you noticed the fall colors yet?”

We saw about a dozen cedar waxwings by the pond in Estabrook on Monday, but not one would let me sneak a picture. Meanwhile, this darling let me get off the bike I borrowed from my dad, back up across the bike path, and snap yet another picture I’d love to get back home.

I did manage a nice flicker picture recently, but I still appreciate the opportunity to capture this handsome devil on film.

Finally, I’m afraid that all our sapsuckers have continued south already, but not so here. I saw two today, and this female made the nicer image.

Lastly, even the spotted turtles got in on the act.

I have a hope of getting out early tomorrow, so it will be interesting for me to find out if I see more or less than this afternoon. I’ll keep you posted.