Hike in New Hampshire

I continue to hike in the woods and take pictures at Monson Village, Beaver Brook, and up North to see animals, birds, scenery, etc.   I wish I could tell you I take pictures of unique subjects no one has seen before ... like a White Water Lily ... or a Blue Bird ... WAIT ... how about this Water Snake or this Dragonfly.

Am I the first to take a picture of a Frog ...the Monarch Butterfly is rare ... NOT ...


I WANT ACTION SHOTS.  Something unique ... a different angle. 




This Blue Heron coming in for a landing had more action. 

I WANT TO SEE A BEAR IN THE WOODS !!!  WITHOUT USING THE NEIGHBORHOOD BIRD FEEDER ... WHERE ARE THE MOOSE ... YES I KEEP SEEING DEER IN THE FIELDS BUT THEY DON'T COUNT ... although they are pretty and the bucks are in velvet. 

I need apples, bird seed, corn, Frank's food plot ... or $25 to purchase one ticket to the ZOO !!


Now that I vented ... my hikes will continue ...

Monson Village - Great Blue Heron

I went to Monson Village to see if the Great Blue Heron were building nests. 

I counted 6 nests that were being built.  I saw Blue Heron flying around retrieving branches then arranging them in the nests.

It appeared like there were more birds than nests so there must be others around that I couldn’t see.  The birds were paired up and seemed to be coddling one another.

I caught these 2 in the act !!!

I don’t know the timings of eggs being laid then hatchlings, etc.  I will wait another month or so and go back to see if I see little bird heads sticking out over the top of the nests.

They blend in so well and were difficult to spot with the trees and branches in the background. 

Stay tuned ...

A Quick Hike in Monson Village

It was a cool windy day with clouds rolling by.  I thought I would take a quick hike at Monson Village to see the Great Blue Heron in their nests.

I counted 11 nests this year.  The distance to the nests, the mostly grey sky, the color of the trees, and the bird colors all blending together, made it difficult to spot the birds without a zoom or binoculars.  I had both.

Birds in flight can be interesting.  I watched and waited long enough to see a couple Heron make their approach and land by their nests.

I saw a couple geese also.  The prior year I didn't see any geese or ducks.

I didn't expect to see synchronized swimming on my walk in the woods?

The Heron were paired up.  Each nest had one of the pair sitting.  I saw no little ones in the nests so the eggs have not hatched yet.  When not moving around in the nest it is hard to make out anything but a head and beak.  I spotted a couple heron on the ground gathering more nest material.  I may return in a few weeks to look for the youngsters.

As I headed for my jeep, dark clouds rolled in.  Unexpectedly, it started to hail.  Hail makes lots of noise in the woods!  Once I cleared the woods to the open field, the hail slowly turned to rain so I picked up the pace.  I wasn't expecting to get wet with my camera and all.  Next time I will check the weather report and plan better.

Beaver Brook - A Trek to the Pond ...

I have been doing a fair amount of hiking in the local area this spring.  Through some exploring I have found some nice loops that are several miles long.  

I found a couple remote ponds.  One I have been to 7 times and have only seen a couple other people pass by walking their dogs.  The end of March I saw many geese and quite a few ducks. 

I am no expert when it comes to waterfowl.  The Canadian Geese definitely sounded off when they saw me and would slowly swim away.  The ducks were pretty skittish and would fly away.  I guess the trick is a stealth approach … and a zoom lens.  I saw Mallards, Wood Ducks, and I was told a Hooded Merganzer.  The ducks seemed to stay close to the grass and I wasn’t able to get very close.

Stealth worked with the geese and I was able to get closer.  I spotted these 2 turtles on a log.  They were checked out by this goose but stood their ground.

Several weeks later the geese disappeared and no ducks spotted.   

I spotted this Great Blue Heron with it's wings extended.  Question: Is this heron sunning itself ... praying ... drying off ... covering up its kill … What? 


After a few minutes it brought its wings back in.  As I moved closer it spotted me and flew off.  I repositioned myself under a big pine tree.  10 minutes later I was surprised to see 2 Blue Heron flying together circling.  It was a bad position on my part being under a tree with my camera on a tripod.  I was only able to get one picture of them flying in the same frame before they disappeared.  I also saw these two geese mating.

I spotted this Heron and moved closer.  I watched it fishing in the shallow water.   As I watched it a duck came out of a duck box nearby and sounded off as it flew away.  I didn’t know ducks could fly so fast.  

I did not get a picture of the beaver swimming before disappearing under the water.

Walking through the woods I have seen a beaver, hawk, deer, porcupine, turkey, and an owl.  I would like to see and get a picture of a bear (they are now searching for food), fisher, fox, and a bobcat.  

My treks to more ponds continue …