Birding With Our Grandkid. And More... 8-25 & 26, 2026

We gave my granddaughter Lilah a pair of binoculars for her 14th birthday and she actually requested that we go up to Maine to take her birding at some point this summer. With Andrea being on vacation, this was the week (also because school starts next week). We made plans to visit an Audubon sanctuary up there but on the way up, Andrea found that it was closed that day. Quickly, she found another spot that wasn't too far off. We picked Lilah up and headed to a marshy area a few towns over from her in Cumberland County.

When we got there, we first went to a spot where lots of people were sitting out with cameras and binoculars but despite that, there wasn't much going on over there, so we headed across the street to walk the trails along the marsh. We saw tones of Egrets, both Great and Snowy, in the distant fields but nothing up particularly close. Finally, towards the end we saw a few birds flitting. I got an ass-end shot of my #73, an Eastern Bluebird.

This Phoebe is molting and looks like it's not happy at all because of it.

We saw a shorebird flit next to the marsh and we snuck over to peer over the edge of the grass and saw a group of Lesser Yellowlegs on the sand. Lilah was ecstatic.

At the end of this path, I looked across the street and saw that there was another parking area and walkway so we headed back to the front for the car. On the way, we marveled at the wind-blown grass.

The next spot was really nice, with loads of Double-crested Cormorants (which entertained Lilah to no end) and plenty of small shorebirds hopping around. On the far side of a marsh was #76, a Common Raven, who also looks a bit disheveled.

Lilah has a pretty keen eye and saw this momma Wolf Spider with a back full of babies.

Some Sandpipers... a Least and a Semipalmated.

I was chuffed when I saw our #77, a few Semipalmated Plovers.

What a treat it was to be out in nature with my grandkid. The apple doesn't fall far, as they say. She's in a Bird Club, is into isopods and all nature in general. It was great to spend some time together doing what we all love.

The next day, we had to stay close and since we slept in a bit, we just went over to our favorite pond in Norfolk County, a place we've been going to for almost 20 years. We didn't expect to see much and we didn't, really. But we got in our 5+ miles despite being a bit tired. Plus, we saw some stuff!

The only turtle on the day, a very happy Painted Turtle.

The pond was low, making for sandy areas to walk along the edges. That scared up a Pickerel Frog or two. This guy was wearing an ill-fitting purple sarong.

Walking along, I thought I saw an acorn top, but then I stopped thinking it looked like a weird design for that. Sure enough, it was the coil of a new model shoestring Garter hiding in the brush, safe and sound.

Up at the Hobo Camp, a super pretty Garter was coiled up in between a couple of flat rocks.

Last up was one more Garter that was near a log I'd planned on flipping. Not an easy shot but it came out OK.

So that was the Tuesday and Wednesday of Andrea's vacation week. I had a doctor's appointment on Thursday so that would be our day off. Maybe. But it was great to be in nature, see my kid and her kids and, mostly, to spend more time together. Good stuff.

Second 10 Species Day in a Row? In MA?? Git OUT! 8-24-2026

We had to stick close to home after a long drive the day before and a planned trip to Maine the following day. We chose a spot deep into Norfolk County that is usually pretty good despite lots of humans. But this was a Monday and while Andrea was on vacation, not everybody was! We were hoping for shoestrings and walking pebbles.

Our first sightings were quite froggy. This Green hopped right in front of me!

Not to be outdone, this Pickerel hopped right in front of me.

Another Green! Hopperiffic!

Out on the archipelago, I saw a random plant wobbling for no reason. I peeked down at it's base and noticed a Garter body was what was moving it. Definitely chomping down some breakfast.

I could see a Painter basking from there, too.

It's good to have Redbacks back!

A culvert that is often good for Garters, especially babies, was good for a medium sized guy this time.

Nearby was a small Pickerel who had best have been careful. He'd have been perfect for that Garter.

Some Painted Glory.

The search for walking pebbles continued and Andrea found what she thought might have been a successful nest. Upon digging in, she startled a wee American Toad.

I unearthed a massive sausage of a Spotted Salamander!

And then, at the other end of the spectrum, I flipped a tiny all-head Redback.

Another six foot, hot lookin', all American Toad.

Then we finally got a shoestring. It was in the grass and I somehow managed to gently corral it and get it into Andrea's hat.

Re-donkulous!

From there, we went for a while with no sightings. Then we got to a pond and a guy was fishing. Politely, I asked him if "they were biting" and he said it had been OK, except for a Snapper that was trying to grab everything and was following him. He pointed over to...

This is an absolute UNIT of a Snapper. We watched it for quite a while, Andrea down on the ground talking to it. Not what the guy was thinking when he pointed to it! I got some film where you can see the algae growing on it... mohawk tail!

It was nice to see some Cardinal Flowers.

A Water Snake having a snooze under a branch.

We were having a sit-down when we saw this Thread-waist Wasp carrying a Saddled Prominent Caterpillar. Weird.

Luckily, I turned on the camera to film it pulling the caterpillar down into a hole.

Wow!

A distant Painter.

Earlier in the day, Andrea had seen a snake slide into the brush and she was chastising herself for not trying to grab it for a photo. She considered this her redemption... a tiny, wee Ringneck.

There were two girls there and I asked if they wanted to see it and they were both huge snake fans so this wee cutie was very popular!! "Oooh! Bee-bee!" They both held it, though obviously, it slipped away and hid under one of the girl's legs! That made for a cute coil shot when she got up.

I pointed out a Water Snake that was also nearby and the kids cooed at it and watched it lovingly!

More hope for the future and once again proving that I have more in common with teenage girls than people my own age.

Hey, what do you know. We were at ten species! Everything else would be gravy! Like this stern looking American Toad.

Another small Pickerel.

Up on a small deck platform, this 4" or so young Snapper tried to hide under a leaf. Not sure if it was unable to get down. Couldn't even figure out how it got there. We put it in the water's edge. He was stinky!

Last up, an American Toad.

So, wow... a second 10 species day in a row. Ice Cream was had. Could this have been the best Monday ever? It's possible!

Missing Targets but Kicking Ass. 8-23-2026

It was going to be another overcast morning so we got up early and headed into Plymouth County to try our luck with the elusive Massachusetts Box Turtle. At our destination spot earlier in the year, a guy said he'd seen one and proved it with a photo taken near where we stood. So, at least one Box Turtle is in the area. We knew our chances were slim but we got out early, ate on the road and headed out, getting there early on a crisp morning.

We went through the woods, to a field, then back to some other woods, using every bit of our Box Turtle experience (very little) to seek out signs of them The first critters we saw were Fowler's Toads.

Andrea surprised me and herself when she flipped a small Spotted Salamander!

A good sized Wood Frog was also out hopping around.

But, alas, no Box Turtles. We gave ourselves two miles of searching but came up empty. Upward and onward to the mill area where much flipping was to happen. And did. But by now, the sun had started to think about shining and nobody was under cover anymore. All we wrangled up at that site was an American Toad.

Walking around the front of the mill to carry on in the lake and bog area, a couple pointed out a massive Bullfrog sitting on a board. Could this be the beast that made the splash that we'd heard on our last visit?

Note the healing cut on his back... this is one tough frog!

By the lake, I flipped over a board and saw two things... a small Pickerel Frog...

and what I want to say is a Spiny-cheeked Crayfish. A big one.

The bogs had good water in them and Painted Turtles kept slipping away from my camera. I took this (less than satisfactory) shot from a distance, before they plopped and it turned out to be my only Painter shot of the day!

Then we found where all of the Bullfrogs are this year. We saw dozens of them.

We got into the car to move to a different bog in the same area. Bullfrogs persisted.

We walked over to the dam area where we usually see Water Snakes and Musk Turtles. Since the sun had started to work its way out from behind the clouds, the top layer of the dam was warming and Water Snakes were waking up. I stood on the edge and looked down and saw this gal's big noggin poking out.

We named her Headly.

More Nerodia were peeping out...

Here's Headly from a side angle.

From the edge of the left-hand side, we looked down and saw a Water Snake speeding away.

We looked down to see where she'd come from and saw a Musk Turtle on his back, struggling to get turned over. Poor thing.

We ran down to help, noting that it had made some lovely sand-angels. Andrea got it.

She put it into the water and before long, it zipped off.

Whew!

More Water Snakes were swimming along as we walked along the beach area.

Back to the dam area, we saw that Headly was still there but noticed an even bigger snake right on the other side of the plant!

This guy was scaling the wall like it was a Rat Snake. That's me getting the picture in the reflection.

Ever read B. Kilbans Never Eat Anything Bigger Than Your Head? This Water Snake hasn't.

We walked down the other end of the beach and didn't see any more reptiles or amphibians but the freshwater bivalves were cool and we could see a trail where one had "walked".

Last sight at this spot was another Water Snake! But of course!

We drove over to another area in Plymouth County, but it had started to rain pretty hard so upon arrival, we sat in the car to wait it out. But it only rained harder. I decided to take a run into the spot and look at all of the spots where we'd seen Water Snakes and turtles before but nothing was stirring. I made it back to the car and we headed to a store to shop for a bit.

Upon getting out of the store, it was sunny again so we headed to a flippin' spot nearby. We were now in Bristol County. We got there and proceeded directly to the flipping area and quickly uncovered two Garters. That second one has NO dorsal stripe!

It should be noted that I did see my first shoestring Garter on the year but it was in the grass and disappeared.

We wanted to head to a sandy sunny area to see if any turtles had been hatching. On the way to the trail, I saw this... and had no fucking clue what it was.

My friend Jef told me it was a Conifer Bagworm Caterpillar (thanks, Jef!) and further research showed me that they are pests, but pretty damn cool.

The pond next to the sandy area had the amphibian of the day... a Bullfrog!

This is the place where we've had our Black-eyed Toads but all of the Fowler's that we saw here were normal. As normal as any toads are, anyway.

Back to the parking area, a Bullfrog (naturally) was next to a mud puddle, ready to launch if needed.

We ended the day with a small Pickerel who was mostly noggin!

So, we missed our target but saw ten species of reptile or amphibian again so we're happy and figure we're on a roll! A great day in the field and many miles of hiking with each other. Not a bad Sunday at all!