Common Nature

This cute little redhead is an American Tree Sparrow. They're winter-only birds for us in New England, migrating south into the US after breeding in northern Canada. Their arrival after our summer songbirds have moved on is a welcome marker of the changing seasons here. I usually see them foraging in small groups, and there were two more with this one out of frame.



Despite the name, they are most often seen on the ground. They got their English name from settlers who thought they looked like the also-redheaded but unrelated Eurasian Tree Sparrow.

The New England Aster (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) is one of the latest-blooming native wildflowers where I live, peaking well after the summer flowers are spent.



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I spotted this very Not Camouflaged friend on a dirt road where I was walking. Investigation revealed that it's the juvenile stage of the Eastern Newt. They start out life in an aquatic tadpole stage that lasts a few months, and then metamorphose into this fancy terrestrial form, also called a Red Eft. The bright orange color is a warning that they carry a neurotoxin which Wikipedia says is "the strongest emetic that is known." (Not eager to learn how science found that out.) After a couple of years in this phase, they transform into their green adult form and return to the water, remaining aquatic for the rest of their lives.

The terrestrial stage is supposed to make it easier for them to colonize new habitats so the species doesn't become overly dependent on specific breeding spots.

It's the season for goslings! This pair of Canada Geese I saw foraging at the side of a dirt road had five.



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I ran into this lady while hiking today.



( And she had a friend )

I saw this pair of American Black Ducks recently.



Widespread in the eastern US and Canada, they're often mistaken for female or nonbreeding male Mallards, since they're the same size and shape and have similar markings. It was nice to get a good clear look at some of the differences. Their bodies are darker than the typical Mallard (though not actually black) with contrastingly pale heads. The male (with the yellow bill) has no white or curly tailfeathers and not even a smudge of green on his head. The female's bill is olive-gray with no orange on it.

( The female also helpfully displayed her wing patch when she was preening )

I took these pictures at Shelburne Bay, which is part of Lake Champlain. I think the ice looks so cool along the shore, especially when it encases the coastal plants and rocks.



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