Did someone mention Canada geese? They too have been a regular presence the last two weeks. Some groupings have been a dozen or so, but a neighbor's recently cut cornfield is drawing in numbers between 200 and 350. There is speculation these are local birds gathering. They fly in low and have been hanging around for several days. Where are they in the summer? Certainly wherever they are, they are not those numbers.

Yesterday, a male, ruffed grouse was seen displaying in the driveway a few yards in from Whipple Hill Rd. Seven wild turkeys were observed feeding in a field across from the house. Last Saturday, a pair of brown creepers was seen spiraling up an apple tree outside the kitchen.

An adult and juvenile loon are seen regularly on Post Pond. Three black ducks were seen on Tuesday.

The Grant Brook outflow into the Connecticut River has been hosting half a dozen common goldeneye for the past week. Otherwise, the river and its inlets have been quiet; no mergansers, ring-necked ducks or other  migrants one might expect to see now.

The species count on or above the home property to date, beginning Sept. 22nd, is 25.

Blake Allison