Along the Air Line Trail - Stan Malcolm Photos

Along the Air Line... 2024 - Fall, Part 11
The Air Line Trail in Eastern Connecticut - Stan Malcolm Photos

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November 8th. Frost where the sun hadn't reached yet.

Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) checking out a Wood Duck house.

A peek through the chain link fence as I passed the Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum in Willimantic.

They're closed for the winter.

Just past the museum, the Air Line Trail passes the start of the Hop River Trail.

That's the Hop River Trail which runs beside the...

...Willimantic River for awhile.

.I turned back towards downtown Willimantic.

I owned this 3 family house for a year or two circa 1979. It was painted yellow that year so long overdue for a repaint. The lattice fence at the far left was one of my projects.

November 9th. At Raymond Brook Marsh, two duck hunters and a child were out in a kayak. Heard one shot. Later, I went to Cranberry Bog where there were half a dozen or so Canada Geese (Branta canadensis).

A Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) flew past me, over the pond, and landed atop a power pole.

November 10th. Twentyfour degrees, most of the leaves are down...

...and there's a thin layer of ice on the still waters of the marsh, except where the Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos) are gathered.

An American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) investigating an old Oriole nest. The Goldfinch seems to be a male in winter plumage, though it could perhaps be a female.

There were a few Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) around.

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis).

A Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus).

American Robins (Turdus migratorius) in good numbers.

Lots of Eastern Bluebirds (Sialia sialis) around. This is a female.

This is a male, and he has captured an insect. My best guess is a Leaf-footed Bug (Family Coreidae). Perhaps a species in the genus Anasa?

Another view of the insect but little better for an ID.

This female Bluebird was scoping out the Wood Duck house, as have others in recent days. A winter refuge, or a memory to recall next spring when nesting begins again?