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