Cicadas

   

There are some things that I really want to do in life that I will be disappointed if I never get to do them. Then there are things you hope you can do but don't really give much thought to. Last year when the south was being invaded by seventeen year Cicadas I have to admit I was jealous. I wanted to experience thousands of those insects. While I think my life would still be complete without seeing a mass of Cicadas it was still something I hoped to experience.

   I was told while at BioBlitz that there was an invasion of Cicadas at the Midway Recreation Area on the Cape Cod Canal. The person that told me about them said they may be there another week or so. I didn't want to waste this opportunity to see Cicadas. I had Wednesday off from work and went down after it warmed up a little.

   I was not disappointed. There were tons of Cicadas. As soon as I opened my car door I could hear the constant buzzing. I saw a few while driving into the picnic area and I knew I had a shot at getting a few photos. For the next two and a half hours I listened to what I can describe as the ultimate white noise. I could have fallen asleep to the relaxing sound of Cicadas. I did hear some individual Cicadas. If you can hear an individual they actually sound like they are saying "pharaoh".  I heard a few and sure enough that is what they sound like. 

   Basically, I spent two and a half hours doing a Cicada photo shoot while listening to the relaxing sounds they make. Plenty of photos below.

These holes are from Cicadas that emerged from 
the ground. It is amazing to me that they have lived 
underground for the last seventeen years

These are the shells from Cicadas. Once they molt
these shells get discarded 

I have to admit, that
it feels like they bite when 
I let them stay on my skin

BioBlitz 2025

 

   Every year the Rhode Island Natural History Survey (RINHS) has a twenty four hour event called BioBlitz. This event is at a different location in Rhode Island each year. The goal is to see how many species can be seen in the twenty four hour period. The Rhode Island BioBlitz is the oldest actively running BioBlitz in the world. This is my third year I have attended. This year's event was held at the Steere Hill property of the Glocster Land Trust 

    BioBlitz happens in early June, or at least it has since I started attending. The twenty four hours start at 2 pm Friday and ends at 2 pm on Saturday. There are teams for every life form imaginable. When you sign up, you can join three teams. I always join the fish, herp, and mammal teams. There are teams for mosses, insects, fungi, trees, mollusks, etc... Most of the team leaders are experts in the field. Many of them are PhDs with years of field work. As far as I can tell there is at least one team for each family of living things in Rhode Island. 

    I choose the fish, herps, and mammals selfishly for lifers. I'm always on the lookout for seeing lifer vertebrates and being around true experts is one way to make sure you don't miss anything. This year I was asked to be the fish team leader. I am assuming that the regular leader couldn't make it this year. I declined the official title but with all of the time I spent trying and failing to find fish, I did in fact become the defacto leader of the broken up fish team.

The woman taking the photo is Kira Stillwell.
She is the main organizer of BioBlitz. The large
tent is Science Central.

   Before I go on, the schedule for the twenty four hours goes something like this. People can register after noon. It is a good idea to set up camp before the horn blows to officially start at 2 pm. Many people that stay both days camp overnight. When you register you sign a liability and a waiver that you will be photographed throughout the event. The horn blows at 2 pm to officially start BioBlitz. Between 2-6 pm go out and look for species. At 6 pm food is served. This year it was a BBQ buffet that was very good. After dinner most people go out again. For example, I went out and checked my minnow traps and rebaited them.

   After dark there is still plenty to do. One guy set up a bat detector and had a large group of people listen to his presentation and look for bats. Down the trail, a couple of sheets with lights on them were set up for moths to land on. These sheets are out all night. I also went on a night walk with Dan Berard and a couple birders from my club Chris and Su. Dan has a thermal imaging scope so he scanned for mammals in the woods. We saw a mouse in a pine tree. I had set up a mammal trap next to my tent. When I got back from the moths/walk I had a White Footed Mouse that I let go.

White Footed Mouse 
Photo by Su

   I didn't get much sleep and was off again before 6 am. I checked my minnow traps which had tadpoles but no fish

IO Moth 
Photo by Allison O'Connor 

. After I got back, I spent most of the day with the herp team. We went to vernal pools and small intermittent creeks. My friend Rick Rego found a Two Lined and a Four Toed Salamander. We spent hours looking for Ring Necked Snake but didn't find them.

    My birding and seining friend Allison O'Conner was with me most of the day. We had our tents twenty feet apart. She went with me to set up my minnow traps and was a key member of the herp team.

Spotted Salamander 
Photo by Allison O'Connor 

   While most vertebrate IDs are in the field, much of the work happens at Science Central. Science Central is a large tent where there are microscopes, tables, and other scientific equipment. After registration, it is where many species are brought back to be identified. Some species of fungi and plants can only be identified under a microscope. Something I found out was there are about twenty species of fireflies in Rhode Island. Most are so similar most can only be positively identified by dissecting the male genitalia!!!

Four Toed Salamander 

Two Lined Salamander 

   It is impossible to see everything going on in a twenty four hour period. There is so many interesting things to see. I stick with my vertebrate teams because I keep track of my lifers. However, you are bound to learn from someone. When I was pulling in my minnow traps, a recent college graduate was dipnetting to find Caddisfly larvae. He was explaining the life history to us. Also, everyone is so mellow. It doesn't matter what team you signed up for, you can join anyone in the field or ask questions at Science Central. Being on a team is a start, but I'm sure if I wanted to hang out with the people looking for mushrooms all day, they would have been happy to have one more team member.

My little corner of the tent area

   For me this year, I didn't get any lifers which is probably because I've seen about all of the herps, birds, and  mammals that are not rodents in RI. Having so little water obviously hurt our chances of finding fish. I still had a ton of fun. I had dinner with my favorite people there (Rick, Allison, and Danielle Stebbins). The moths put on an incredible show as did fireflies. We had two very good salamanders. The cute little mouse in the pine tree was pretty dam adorable.

    I had planned on leaving before the closing horn at 2 pm. I really had planned to be home at noon, but looking for Ring Necked Snake and then packing my tent meant that I left at 1 pm. Though I wasn't there, after the horn blows at 2 pm, teams tally up their species and submit them.

    While Comic Con may be the ultimate geek fest, for sure BioBlitz is the ultimate nerd gathering in RI. Everyone is so smart. BioBlitzers are so willing to learn and share information. If you ever really want to learn about nature or even one small branch of it, I highly recommend signing up to the RINHS and going to BioBlitz 2026. Throughout the year the RINHS has other events and presentations. However, there is no question that BioBlitz is the Super Bowl 

Post Script-  This was an extremely long post, but the truth is it is only part of the twenty four hours. I could have written a post just as long about the bat identification equipment or just about what goes on at Science Central. This was about as short as I could keep it.

Many of the photos used above and below are not mine. Thanks to Allison and Su for sending them to me. Info on RI BioBlitz below. 

https://rinhs.org/events/ri-bioblitz/

Rick Rego herp team leader 
and a frog

The herp team looking at a salamander 

Eastern Box Turtle 

   

Spotted Salamander larva

Tadpoles from my minnow trap

A New Hampshire Retreat

 

Someday I'll get a selfie face right

   I spent the last two and a half days in New Hampshire. The main dish was going to be smallmouth with a side of birding and a back up of trout. The plan was to drive up after work on Tuesday night. Lack of motivation, the thought of a warm bed, and then a terrible restless night's sleep meant I didn't get to my first lake until 12:30 pm Wednesday. 

   I fished one of the smaller lakes in the Lakes Region. It was just off of exit 23 so the ride wasn't bad. Despite the bright sun, I caught a fish on my second cast. I caught another five minutes later. Both fish were caught on topwater and I thought I was in for a hell of a day. 

   That last sentence wasn't a prelude to an awful day. I did end up catching nine fish but I didn't smoke them like the beginning of the trip would suggest. The only thing I could get fish to hit was a topwater spook. They wouldn't touch anything else ( except for one little bass that ate a grub). I found it frustrating that they would only hit topwater. I knew the bigger fish would be on a different pattern. I really went on this trip in the hopes of catching a big one. I wanted a four pounder or bigger. Spoiler that didn't happen. 

   I tried fishing grubs, Ned Rigs, and jerkbaits. I hit points and rocky flats but they only wanted topwater. My biggest fish was decent. It was over seventeen inches. I didn't weigh it but roughly three pounds.

 

Brook Trout

 After fishing for five hours I drove north to the mountains. On my way through Franconia Notch I stopped at Echo Lake. I caught one trout and had three others hit in an hour. All my hits were on a a casting bubble and a fly. Another guy limited out on Powerbait. After fishing I went further north and found a campsite.

   Another terrible night sleep despite a nice campsite. I don't think I fell asleep until 3 am. I know it was well past 2 am for sure. Lying there, I was pissed I knew that once I fell asleep I'd be horizontal most of the morning if not into the afternoon. For better or worse, Least Flycatchers had other plans. Sometime around 5 am they woke me up with their loud singing that did not stop. So I dragged my ass out of bed and went birding at Pondicherry. I was really hoping to see a bear which was my whole reason to get up near dawn. Mother Nature and her children of mosquitoes made Pondicherry borderline unbearable. Any pause in my gate and I'd be swarmed by the mosquitoes that were following me.

 

White Lady Slippers

 Because of the biting pests, I left Pondicherry an hour soon than I had planned in my time budget. I went fishing at Moore Reservoir and was at the water before 10 am. The wind was picking up and I thought better of putting the canoe in the water. Last year near this boat ramp I caught ten Smallmouth from shore so I figured my chances were decent I'd still catch fish. I was mostly wrong. I got two small fish and one Rock Bass. I did catch the Rock Bass on a Ned Rig which was fun. I went back to camp about noon and took a four hour nap.

 

 It is amazing how much you can do in a day when you get up at 5 am. I'd already birded five miles, fished almost two hours and took  a four hour nap. When I woke up I still had almost five hours of daylight. I made myself a lunch and ate it in the car. From there, I went trout fishing again. The lake was windy and it took me a whie to find the fish. I almost gave up after half an hour but figure I had nothing better to do, So I kept searching for fish. Eventually I found some and caught five on a casting bubble/ tan Hare's Ear before calling it a day. I went back to camp and got a more normal night's sleep.

Rock Bass caught on Uncle Ned

   I did get up early on Friday to enjoy my last hours in New Hampshire. My plan was to fish five or six hours then get home before the afternoon traffic started. I researched the smaller lakes in the region before bed the night before but decided to fish the same lake as Wednesday. After breaking camp and an hour drive I was fishing by 7 am. I had to be careful because I knew my trolling motor battery was low on energy so I didn't go too far from the ramp. 

 

  I worked a cove hard fishing every boulder and boat dock picking up a couple fish including my biggest fish of the day, roughly sixteen inches. I caught it on a Ned Rig. The fish were more active this morning than Wednesday and I caught other fish on a spook and jerkbaits. I had three hits on a point and caught two of them. However, after 10:30 am despite some cloud cover I stopped catching fish. If I'd have known that my fifth fish would be my last, I'd have left. But I tried all kinds of lures at different depths and bottom with different bottom structure. I gave up at 12:30 and headed home.

  All in all it was a fun but not extremely memorable trip to the Granite State. I caught fish everywhere I went but never got big numbers. I had hoped for a trophy Smallmouth but never hooked a giant.Most of the ones I caught were quality fish between 12-16 inches with the three pounder. The woods were tough due to the mosquitoes but it isn't a bad Black Fly year. Choke it up to another chapter of many to New Hampshire.

Totals-   14 Smallmouth,  6 Trout

              Good Birds heard- Canada, Chestnut Sided, and Magnolia Warblers

                                   seen- Alder and Least Flycatcher, Bald Eagle flyby while fishing, Loons checked me out at every lake I was at getting too close and I had to wait for them to pass to cast. 

              No mammals to mention

              One frog at Pondicherry with weird coloration that could have been a Mink Frog but it jumped in the water before I could get a photo so I will never know.

Amoskeag Fish Ladder

    I had plans to hang with my friend Nicole on Monday. We had hoped to go birding on Plum Island but the forecast was for really strong wind so we ditched those plans. A few rare birds showed up at Swan Point Cemetery so we went there early hoping to see them. We did not see any of the three rare birds reported but did see three other rare species (Lincoln's Sparrow, Yellow Bellied Flycatcher, and Least Flycatcher).

   From there we went to the Amoskeag Fish Ladder in Manchester, NH. The fish ladder side steps a dam on the Merrimack River making it easier for species like herring and shad to reach breeding grounds. I wen t last year and saw a Smallmouth Bass and a Sea Lamprey besides seeing the herring. 

   The viewing area of the fish ladder is open Monday-Friday 9-3 pm. It is weird to me but it is closed on weekends. It is free. There are two windows where you can watch fish in resting steps on the ladder. The room isn't very big and each window is about ten feet across. 

   The water was a little cloudier than when I went last year. We couldn't see the bottom or the other side of the wall. Still, we saw tons of herring. The only other species we saw was one bluegill. We spent about an hour looking at the fish.

   If this is something that interests you the season runs only in the spring while fish are making their way upriver. Check out the Amoskeag Facebook page for dates. The viewing is best on a sunny day because the light penetrates the water and makes it easier to see the fish.

Revenge Tour

Yellow Billed Cuckoo

    Last year I kept a list. While every species only count as one check on the list, some species mean more than others. Obviously any lifer is special as is any state bird. There are other species that I also want to see more than others for various reasons. A bird could be really pretty or it could remind me of a special memory. Some species I have only seen a few times and usually only count them as "heard only". It is nice to see those hard to find birds.

   My friend Richard Tucker uses the term "revenge tour" when it comes to seeing species that he missed the year before. In most instances, I don't care too much if I miss a bird or even a mammal. I missed moose last year and would have loved to see one, but I have seen many and am okay that I missed it. However, there were some species of birds that I really wanted to  see that I missed. Though I'm not keeping any lists this year, I still know what species I wanted but missed last year. So I am on my own personal revenge tour. 

   There are six species of birds (Don't get me started on Northern Pike!) that I missed last year that I really wanted. These are species that I enjoy seeing. But also selfishly, if I would have seen any one of the six I wouldn't have driven to the New Hampshire coast to see American Pipits in December. Pipits were my 300th bird. Any of those other six would have saved me the drive.

   Of the six species, four are woodland birds and two are shorebirds. The two shore species are Western Sandpiper and Black Tern. If they show up, they will be during the late summer.

   The other four species are as follows...Cape May Warbler, Wilson's Warbler, Black Billed Cuckoo, and Yellow Billed Cuckoo. This spring I have seen three of the four. The Wilson's has eluded me. 

    I got the Cape May early in the month at Miantonomi in Newport. It was high in a tree (where they usually are). I got a great look at it on my best day of birding for the year. No photos. Despite many days looking for migrants, I did not come across a Wilson's even when one was reported.

   After seeing virtually nothing at Mia except for good friends on Saturday we went to Francis Carter Preserve.  Carter was great for nesting birds. We had Orchard Oriole, Prairie Warbler, Brown Thrasher, and Grasshopper Sparrow. We also heard both species of Cuckoos. I love hearing Cuckoos so just hearing them would have been mildly satisfying. But I was hoping to see one (or both). So when the group moved on the path Laurie and I stayed in the area he heard them. 

   We had turned a corner looking at the edge of the woods when a Black Billed called. We went to that area and I found it in a pine along the edge of the trail. I whispered Laurie over and watched it until it decided to fly across the field.

Black Billed Cuckoo

   A few minutes later the Yellow Billed started calling regularly. It sounded very far back to me but somehow Laurie spotted it through a hole in the branches in a tree about five layers back from the path. We watched it for ten minutes and could see it make noise with its throat. The little opening was only big enough for each of us to look one at a time. Both birds were hard to get photos of due to branches but am quite happy I got some not awful proof shots. 

    On my revenge tour I got three of the four woodland birds with little chance of the Wilson's. It is unlikely but possible I see one in the fall. I am happy with three out of four. Hopefully the sandpiper and tern make an appearance when I'm not working in August. 

Last thought- I don't know how many species I've missed this year and I doubt I will end up with a number. BUT I do know some of the species I haven't seen that do mean something to me. I still don't have the Wilson's. I also haven't seen a Cerulean Warbler or a Tennessee. Always trying to figure out my own head... I wonder if I will care next year if I do miss them. Will I even remember and brood all winter and go on another revenge tour next spring?

Possum and a Prothonotary

  Prothonotary Warblers are a pretty rare warbler in New England. They nest in the south so when one shows up here it is usually an "overshoot". These are birds that get driven past their destination, usually by strong winds while they are migrating. A couple of Prothonotary Warblers show up in Rhode Island every year. If you are keeping a state list, this bird is worth the chase when one is reported. Not only do less than five show up each year but they are beautiful. They are kind of tough to photograph because they tend to stay in dense undergrowth. 

   I am not keeping a list this year so a "tick" on my checklist means nothing to me. Also, I probably can not get a photo upgrade because they are actually very common in North Carolina and I got great photos of multiple individuals. Last year, when I kept my vertebrate list I got to see a Prothonotary very early in the spring in Marshfield, MA. It was right out in the open in a swamp for fifteen minutes. I got a fantastic  look at it. When one showed up in RI, I didn't chase it because of the Mass bird. 

   A Prothonotary Warbler showed up in Smithfield, RI a few days ago. It was a male and it is building a nest hoping to attract a female. They have bred in Rhode Island before so it is possible some lost female could stumble upon him. I really didn't plan on going to see it. However, on Monday I spent many hours at Miantonomi Park in Newport birding. It was a good day and I saw a bunch of birds. After five hours I was getting bored. When someone asked if I'd seen the Prothonotary I thought I might as well. I had to work at 3 pm so I had about a half hour to look for it.

 

 The bird was right next to the parking lot. It was singing its little heart out. I was glad to see it and if I could get a photo all the better. As I said, I knew I wasn't going to get any photo upgrades.

    After less than a minute of watching this guy I noticed some rustling in the leaves. It was an Opossum. Now, a photo upgrade of an Opossum is a different matter all together. I don't have any good photos of an Opossum. The best I had was a blurry photo of the only one I saw last year at Great Swamp through sticks and brush.

   This little guy was walking along the edge of the water following the shoreline. The path was between twenty and forty feet from the water. I followed parallel to it. Every time there was an opening in the brush, I'd stop and take photos. I'd then move a little ahead and find the next opening. I had no idea if any of my photos would come out. I finally downloaded them to the computer and they are way better than I expected shooting into a dark swamp.

   After the Opossum  moved out of view I did watch the beautiful Prothonotary take a bath and stay into view until it was time to head to work. But I'd be lying if I said the warbler was the star of the show.

Trying to take in May

 

 There is so much to see and do in May that I really don't know how to do it all. FOMO (fear of missing out) is real this month. No matter what I am doing, I wonder if I should be somewhere else. With so much to see and do, I really love May. 

   So far I have fished for trout four times. I've done well twice (over ten each trip) and blanked twice. I've gone birding twice (more on yesterday below). I have only went striper fishing once so far which is my biggest regret of the spring to this point. Almost every shift I've worked lately has been a night shift so finding time for our seven lined friends has been hard. I've tried to get out bass fishing for largemouths but either wind or the search for birds has limited that endeavor. 

By far, my best photo of a Nashville Warbler.
Possibly my first photo upgrade of 2025

  Last Saturday I went birding at Miantonomi in Newport with Laurie and just about every RI birder. It was a fun day but the highlight for me was a picnic right in downtown Wakefield where we had chicken salad and chips. In the Saguatucket River we saw a Musk Turtle. 

Musk Turtle on top

   We also went to East Farm which is in full bloom. There are many species of crabapple trees all with their own flowers. The birds love the trees and seeing Baltimore Orioles is a sure bet.

   

Non-breeding male Scarlet Tanager

Yesterday was my best day birding in Rhode Island in years. I had planned on fishing all day because it was calm but since a couple good birds were reported at Mia, I went there first. Birding was so good, I didn't leave until 1:30 pm. My highlights were Blackburnian Warbler, Black Throated Greens and Blue. I saw both Summer (rare) and Scarlet Tanager. I also got to hang around with some friends I ran into. 

   Later on I went to Great Swamp which was also on fire with birds. I saw an Orchard Oriole, many common species of warblers, Veery and others. All told, I got fifteen species of warbler on the day. If I actually tried to do a warbler big day, I could have gotten a few more. 

  I got out trout fishing this morning and landed thirteen Brook Trout. All were caught on a float and a fly. I was surrounded by a dozen other guys. They weren't catching at all on Powerbait. One guy landed a couple on a spinner.

Despite the awful photo
This trout swam away with 
nothing more than a sore lip

   As spring goes on, I'll try to write more. If you read this, hopefully I can be useful in telling you what baits are working or what birds are around closer to real time. As for myself, I should write more anyway. This is basically my journal. If I go a month without writing, that is a moth worth of memories that I don't post and can only look back on in my head.

East Farm photos below