August 1: Mouth of the Ducktrap

Low tide at the Ducktrap--

from our perch on the stones

we hear distant terns.

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June 17: On the trail

Paul and I birded along the Ducktrap River this morning.

 

In the streamside mud,

two tiny animal tracks.

We'll never know more.

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May 21: Trillium

Led a bird walk this morning for Coastal Mountains Land Trust at the Ducktrap River Preserve: drumming grouse, gobbling turkeys, warblers, and spring's early wildflowers--which are as much a joy to see again as the birds.

While birds sing above,

faces of old friends

shine on the forest floor.

Painted Trillium

Red Trillium

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April 22: In the woods

Hiking together,
we're too noisy to hear the thrum
of a drumming grouse.

December 9: Ducktrap inlet

(Sorry for taking two days off while we had a house guest.)
 
Birding up and down the coast today, we stopped at Howe Point, a cobble beach jutting out into the mouth of the Ducktrap River. From the shore, we scoped the waters, finding ducks, grebes, and gulls, as an eagle soared overhead. The tide was low, exposing rocky flats--where my family used to pick mussels when I was a kid--and sandy ridges creating riffles for gulls to bathe in. As we watched birds bob in the waves, the Islesboro ferry crossed by. Somewhere in the trees behind us, a crow rattled and barked.
 
River meets bay.
Eiders bob offshore,
dive for shellfish.

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