Spring +3

Today was a very good day.  Although the temperatures rose into the lower 40s, there was a stiff Northwest breeze that made it feel colder than it was.  That, however, didn't dampen the photo ops.

Starting the morning at Hammonasset Beach State Park resulted in this very nice opportunity to capture both male and female Red-Breasted Mergansers.  Your daily mergansers:

The park, however, was growing quite crowded very quickly, what with a lacrosse tournament, an organized gathering of horse trailers, and other miscreants drawn to "nature" by the first weekend of Spring.  

So, I moved on to a location in East Haddam to which I had been alerted by my wife.  This is a pond with many standing deadwood trees.  In these trees are to be found multiple nests.  At most times of year this would be a puzzlement - what creatures, exactly, would choose to nest in a colony, with up to three or four nests in the same tree, over water?

The answer is Great Blue Herons:

This is just one example; truthfully, most of the other photos were either too far out or bad exposures.  I counted at least six nests occupied while I was there, with four or five more open.  The two herons above were preening each other, and one detail the photo fails to illuminate is the breeding plumage, complete with the feathers trailing from the cranium. 

Who knew that there was such a concentration of these beautiful birds nesting in one place in Connecticut?  Certainly not I.

Later, as I made my way home, I took a second tour through Hammonnasset State Park where I found a group of three Killdeer acting strangely.  Upon further observation, it was clear that one of the three was a female, most ready to mate.  The other two were probably males, both interested in mating with her.  But, she was having neither of them!  Although she would frequently stop and elevate her backside, whenever either of the would-be suitors approached, she would run away.

Poor fellas.  (I've omitted the salacious photos ...)