Barn Island Wildlife Management Area
Pawcatuck, Connecticut
Yesterday Janet and I explored Barn Island Wildlife Management Area in Stonington, the “largest primitive coastal area left unspoiled in Connecticut.” It was a cloudy, chilly winter afternoon, with snow flurries starting up just as we were leaving.
As always, your photos are exquisite Barbara. We saw a loon? Really? How cool is that!
I believe the unidentified plant with the white veined dark green leaves is “spotted wintergreen”.
Thank you, Janet. After lots of digging for an identification I’m pretty sure it was an immature loon. They look so different when they reach adulthood! Thanks for identifying the spotted wintergreen ~ I will edit the post.
Beautiful post, Barbara. And that merganser made me smile – what a funny looking bird! 🙂
Thank you, Val. The merganser is a breeding male – I guess he thinks that hair style will attract the ladies. 🙂 (Though I didn’t see any others, male or female, in the area.)
Exquisite photos, Barbara, but they made me cold just looking at them! The birds seem fine, though a bit (perhaps) numbed with cold? 🙂 Winter has a majesty to it, doesn’t it?
Thank you, Pam. My fingers were indeed getting colder and colder each time I took off my gloves to get a picture. But, there were no mosquitoes!!! A definite plus for winter. 🙂
Haha. I know, I hate the mosquitos/bugs in the summer, but I’ll take them over the frigid temps. ;-0
Speaking of summer, Viking Days at Mystic Seaport will be June 1-2 this year, in case you’re still interested in making the trip. 🙂
Oh, I am! Thanks for the info – just put it on my calendar.
🙂
Yes, that’s a Great Blue Heron. His feet must be freezing. I reflected on the fact that there is always so much beauty to observe in nature, even in the middle of winter … great pictures!
Thanks for confirming the great blue heron identity for me, Tiny! He looked similar to the ones in your posts, which put me on the right track, but he’s all scrunched up, no doubt because of the cold! It’s true, I think every season and every climate has its own beauty to enjoy.
Barn Island certainly is filled with natural beauty. I love the formations of ice, and the loons, oh, and the great blue heron. Everything looks magical, and so different to the Australian landscape. 🙂
Winter in New England does have a magic all its own. This walk was such a treat because I saw two “new” birds I have never seen before, even though they are native to this area. And although I’ve seen loons before, they were always too far away to photograph. Love the pictures you share of your enchanting Australian landscape. 🙂