I was out walking the Methuen Rail Trail with some folks from the Eagle Tribune online and we discovered that the Baby Herons have popped up all over the place.
This area is a few hundred feet north from the MSPCA road, just to the east of Route 93. All the heron nests perched in trees, vaguely resembles pterodactyl nests, and the baby herons are sticking their heads up.
Since I was feeling jaunty, I decided to see how the northern section of the trail was looking from the saddle of the bike. I was surprised at how not too bad it was. The hard packed surface we can credit to the folks who ride that section regularly. I don’t advise the rail bed for skinny tire road bikes, but the ’69 has a short wheel base and a low center of gravity, so she did moderately okay, but she needs fatter tires. The packed earth sections were a piece of cake, the real challenges are the sections with heavy leaves and fresh gravel. (the fresh gravel from the Gas Line project) You most definitely need a fat tire bike to do this section as a regular thing. I had to spend the money I was saving for an off road bike on a silly old starter for the truck. I only wiped out once on a patch of deep leaves, and if I get up there again I will bring some lopping shears for the low hanging branches.
The painted turtles are all out laying eggs and the rail bed is the sandy part, so watch out for these little guys.
I also saw a scarlet tanager but i wasn’t fast enough to get my own image.
I helped rescue this Red-Tail Hawk who was sitting in a drainage ditch. The wildlife rescue vet who came out to collect him says he will probably be okay. She will let me know tomorrow.
and THAT was the highlight of my day.
a Milk Snake stopped by to say hello.
and we found about 3 -4 wood chuck dens. We must have made too much noise for anyone to stick around.
Early in the day is probably the best time to catch a glimpse of ‘Bob the Builder’- Beavers are quite common on the Spicket River, but any time of bright day is a good time find raptors, like this red-tailed hawk. There were also many pairs of nesting ducks, geese, blackbirds, cardinals etc . . .
Since they will be with us through the year, I have decided to name them George and Gracie. Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) are monogamous, and most couples stay together all of their lives. The female lays 3–8 eggs between March and June. Even though both parents protect the nest during this incubation, the female spends more time at the nest. But both adults lose their flight feathers, so they cannot fly until their eggs hatch after 25–28 days. The offspring enter the fledging stage any time from 6 to 9 weeks of age. They do not leave their parents until after the spring migration, when they return to their birthplace.
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