November 2021
November 1 We've been having glorious weather - crisp cool air, piercingly blue sky, sun. At the pond, the early morning light filtering through the trees creates a tunnel of gold.
November 3 The tree across the street from my house is particularly spectacular, seeming to just keep getting more brilliant red each day.
November 4 Seeing more hooded mergansers - yesterday a lone male and today a single female, both at Leverett Pond.
November 6 Went to Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge in Concord early this morning, getting there around 8. Great Meadows is not actually a meadow, but more of a marsh with two ponds separated by a dike, and separated from the Concord River by another, perpendicular dike. It was cold when I arrived - 28 F - and a thick hoar frost coated every bulrush, leaf and twig, sparkling in the sun. Another beautiful fall day. By the time I left, you could see that the frost had disappeared where the sun had warmed the ground, but was still there in the shaded areas.
Mostly Canada geese in the ponds, some flying in large flocks, honking as they got into their V formations. As I walked along the dike separating the pond from the river, I saw a Northern harrier take off from a tree right next to the path - very cool! Further along, a pied-billed grebe swam close to the edge of the pond, diving over and over, feeding. At far end of the pond, a boardwalk goes over a concrete drainage channel that connects the pond to the Concord River. As I looked up, a great blue heron was standing on the channel, fishing. A couple in front of me walked over the boardwalk right by it and a pair of women joggers who came up a minute later told me that they see it there every time they go for their run.
Walking back through the woods on the opposite side of the pond, saw a Carolina wren and a red-winged blackbird. Wondered when the blackbird would be migrating south.
November 7 Drove to Plum Island, on the Atlantic shore, just south of New Hampshire, this morning, hoping for migrating ducks. Another perfect fall day: brilliant sun, clear blue sky, perfectly calm, although there were large waves rolling into the shore, presumably from some distant winds.
Opposite the dunes is the Great Salt Marsh punctuated by many pools and little creeks. At the Salt Pannes, dozens of Nothern pintail ducks, the males with their elegant, thin white curl along the side of their chocolate heads. Lots of green-winged teal, delicate little ducks. A couple of American wigeon and a single great blue heron, its head and neck just visible among the reeds on the opposite edge of the water.
At another little pond, a group of birders coming back to their cars, excited to have seen an American bittern - a very timid, streaked yellow and brown wader, very well camouflaged when it hides among the marsh reeds. But by the time I walked the 100 feet to the pond, it had retreated into the reeds again. Rats. But I did see the snow buntings on the ground, feeding.
Went on to another of the ponds, beautifully serene, but no birds.
On the way back along the road, stopped at the pond with the bittern and this time, it was there! I saw it walking along the edge of the pond, dipping its bill into the water, sometimes catching some small fish or invertebrate. And the snow buntings were lined up along the top ridge of the roof of a maintenance shed, looking very alert.
November 9 Went for a walk around Ward's Pond and along Leverett Pond this morning, the leaves turning the light golden.
Found this little scene in the woods along Ward's Pond.
And two pairs of wood ducks and one male ring-necked duck at Leverett Pond.
November 10 Jeannie's Christmas cactus is starting to bud once again. It just keeps getting bigger and more spectacular. She would have loved this. I'm a little surprised that I've managed to keep it happy by just watering it twice a week.
November 11 Sunrise on my morning walk with Maddie.
And later on, the Muddy River as it runs along Brookline Ave. I still find it hard to believe this is just a couple of blocks from the Longwood Medical area with all the big teaching hospitals: Brigham and Women's, Beth Israel Deaconess, Joslin Diabetes, Children's, and Dana Farber. Thank you, Frederick Law Olmsted, designer of Boston's Emerald Necklace.
November 13 Went to Mass Audubon's Broadmoor sanctuary in Natick for a walk. Another perfect fall day, after nearly a week of perfect fall days. My favorite walk here is along the marsh boardwalk, past the little waterfalls and through the woods to the Charles River. Loads of families with young children, squealing with the delight of just being out on a beautiful day in the woods. The kids usually make it to the waterfalls, about 1/2 mile from the parking lot and then head back.
With yesterday's heavy rainfall there was more water in the falls than usual; I love the sound of it babbling.
I walked on another mile or so, to the Charles River, looking so rural compared to what it looks like at MIT, surrounded by all the buildings of Back Bay on the Boston side and MIT on the Cambridge side.
On the way home, I stopped to have lunch at the small dam along the Charles.
And, for my brother John, who loves to read historical plaques, here's the one for the dam. The first dam at this site was built in 1760; this newer one in 1934. I noticed the town committee at the time included Daniel Sargent, perhaps of the old Boston Brahmin family of Sargents that included John Singer Sargent (1856-1925), the painter, and Charles S Sargent (1841-1927), the first Director of the Arnold Arboretum. And that the engineers were Fay, Spofford and Thorndike, founded in Boston in 1914, that operated for over a century until being acquired by another firm. Spofford was a professor of civil engineering at MIT; there still is a larger than life size portrait of him in one of the hallways there.
November 18 At Jamaica Pond this morning, more hooded mergansers, 2 pairs, diving over and over. Usually, as the fall progresses, up to a dozen may show up. The ruddy ducks are starting to appear, too; I see just one this morning, but by Christmas, there will probably be a few dozen.
Spectacular weather - sunny and warm - 65F - probably the last day of the year like this. No work meetings, so I headed up to Cape Ann, north of Boston; really an island jutting out into the Atlantic, separated from the mainland by a narrow water passage. It's a great time of year to go birding there, as the beautiful sea ducks that winter along the coast are arriving. I start at Magnolia, near Manchester-by-the-Sea, and right away see a red-throated loon in the harbor, diving once in a while, but mostly just swimming along, not far from the dock I'm standing on. Shortly afterwards, a bufflehead flies in and lands on the water. I love the little buffleheads, with their formal looking black and white feathers and crisp white head patch. And there's something amusing about the name bufflehead.
Making a couple of stops along my way to Gloucester, I see white-winged scoters a little offshore and another red-throated loon that swims right past me, close to the shore, as I'm standing on the pebbly beach, diving as it goes. At Gloucester harbor, where the passage separating Cape Ann from the mainland narrows before emptying into the ocean, right where the current is strongest, a couple of dozen common eiders, diving and coming up with what looks like mussels in their bills. What surprised me was that they seemed to be swallowing them whole; I didn't
see them trying to open the shells to pry out the fleshy innards. And now that I'm checking Cornell's Birds of the World, I see that it says that they do eat mussels and that, during periods of repeated diving, prey items are stored in their esophageal cavity and then, when the birds are resting at the surface, prey moves through the gizzard where it is crushed. The birds are so close to the walkway that I can get a photo just with
my phone. And I can see the glossy greenish tinge to the back of the
males' heads. Wonderful.
Past the commercial fishing harbor and the fish processing plants, past Gorton's of Gloucester, with its trademark fisherman at the wheel logo, is an artists colony, with studios and a theatre. Just offshore, saw a common loon and a female common merganser, cruising along the shoreline.
Heading out of Gloucester, along route 127A, hugging the rocky shoreline, more white-winged scoters and buffleheads.
Harlequin ducks often winter close to the shore just off the Emerson Inn, north of Rockport, as well as at Halibut Point, a state park at the northern tip of Cape Ann. The aptly named males are ridiculously colorful: mostly slatey blue,
with chestnut sides, and dots and dashes of black and white highlights. Sure enough, I see them at both places - fantastic! Half a dozen off the Emerson Inn, far away enough that I need the telescope to get a good look at the 3 males and 3 or 4 females - it's hard to count as they keep diving. At Halibut Point, I at first see only one male. But then as I watch him swim along the shore towards me, another group of 4, males and females, appears from around a corner, and then a little later, yet another group. Standing on the huge boulders near the shore, warm in the sun, I'm basking with delight at the sight of the harlequins and in the warmth of the day. An excellent day of birding.
November 19 After breakfast, I let Maddie out into the back yard and hear a Carolina wren singing, one of the few species that is still singing at this time of the year. It thoughtfully waits for me to get my binoculars and I find it perched on the electrical wire at the end of my yard. I often hear them on my morning walks and now that I have the Merlin Sound ID app, I've learned to identify them by their song. On my morning walk, I see the two pairs of hooded mergansers at Jamaica Pond again, close to the same spot as yesterday.
November 20 I got an email last night that about a fox hunt today at Powisset Farm, one of the Trustees properties in Dover, about a half hour southwest of my house. Well, not an actual fox hunt. Just the scent of a fox, pre-sprayed along a route across the fields at the farm. I've never been to Powisset Farm before and have wondered what it was like so off I went this morning. Got there early, checked out the farm store - local meat, all sorts of bottled sauces, I assume they have more veggies in the summer and earlier in the fall - and went for a walk along one of the trails. Back at the main farm building and grassy area, the horses started arriving. I thought there might be a dozen or so, but it turned out that there were probably around 40 or 50. And then the pack of about 15 hounds came along, all excited, knowing they about to go off on the chase. Lots of families with little kids, also excited, watching it all. The riders warmed up by circling in one of the fields before taking off on the hunt. I got a kick out of seeing the riders, horses and hounds.
November 23 Went to a Mass Audubon event at the Magazine Beach on the Charles River, next to the Boston University bridge. Mass Audubon is partnering with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation to use the newly restored Powder House, built in 1818 to store gunpowder, as an urban nature center. Wonderful energy at the event - lovefest all around at the prospect of city kids bonding with nature. And here's a red-tailed hawk that came along, too.
November 24 More hooded mergansers at Jamaica Pond this morning - love seeing more and more arrive as the fall progresses. I counted about three dozen - it's hard to get an accurate number with them diving and swimming about.
Jeannie's Christmas cactus now in full bloom.
And the unseasonably warm weather has confused one of the trees in my neighbourhood into blooming; there were dozens of little blossoms tentatively opening.
November 25 On my way with Maddie to Nova Scotia, to visit my friends Pete and Trish at their place on the shore south of Halifax, near Mahone Bay. Cutting across from Bangor, Maine, into New Brunswick, the road was pretty isolated, running through forested hills. At one point, I saw a bald eagle flying just off the roadway, headed in the opposite direction to me.
It's a long drive, so I stopped overnight in St. Andrews, New Brunswick, just over the border. It's a bit of a resort town, with cafes and craft shops, at the tip of a narrow peninsula, giving it great views of the nearby islands and the ocean. This is the view driving along the edge of the peninsula, not far from the town. The hills in the distance are in Maine.
Taking Maddie out early the next morning, we saw a group of common eiders and a few buffleheads in the harbor.
November 27 It was great to see Pete and Trish. Lots of hanging around, talking, catching up and taking Maddie for walks along the little roads near their house. This is the view from one of our walks. Maddie loved the new sniffs and ocean smells.
November 28 Drove further south along the shore to Hirtles Beach. Waves coming in, wind bitingly cold. But beautiful. There's a lovely hike around Gaff Point, which you can see in the distance, that starts here; Jeannie and I did it with friends on an earlier visit.
There are quite a few deer in their area, one of which is white. We didn't see it, but this is a photo from one of Pete and Trish's friends.
November 30 We headed back home, stopping overnight in St. Andrews again. Saw another bald eagle fly across the highway in New Brunswick. And here's a tired Maddie at home the next day.
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