Arnold Arboretum

Today I did one of those daytrips that I have been hoping to do all year. I've never been to the Arnold Arboretum in Boston and have always wanted to go. The Arboretum is a 260 acre landscaped piece of land that has thousands of different species of trees and shrubs. By no mean am an expert on dendrology. However I certainly am interested in seeing things I've never seen.

I went to the Arboretum a little later than I wanted. I got out of work fairly early. My plan was to watch a little football then head up. A sudden migraine made for a change of plans. Luckily for me, an hour nap and some migraine medicine, and I was ready to go. I got there about 4:15. I stayed about

two hours. I wanted to be south of the Boston city limits by dark, so I made sure to give myself ample time to get home.

All information that is needed is found on the Arnold Arboretum website. The Arboretum is owned by Harvard University by the way. It was designed by the famous Frederick Law Olmsted, along with many other parks in the Emerald Necklace (the Emerald Necklace is a chain of parks in Boston for the public to enjoy, not to be confused with ZZ Top's Pearl Necklace) The website has directions that were accurate to the tenth of a mile. Parking is on street around the arboretum. On a Sunday afternoon I found a spot about 75 yards from the main gate. Maps of the arboretum with trails can also be found on their website. I printed a copy of a map along with a couple walking tours.

I knew going in that I wouldn't be able to see all of the trees in two hours of daylight. I wasn't going to rush, whatever I could see would be fine with me. The park was specific areas where families of trees are. For instance, all the birch trees are together. Although oaks seemed to be scattered, one area was clustered with some real monsters. Most of the trees have signs on them saying the species, scientific name, and part of the world they originate. The ones that are not labeled have a metal card somewhere around ground level with the same information.

I learned today that my favorite family of trees are the pines. I couldn't get enough of them. I saw a

Dawn Redwood, which is so rare it was believed to be extinct. They are from China. In retrospect, I probably shouldn't have spent so much of my time around the conifers. They will look exactly the same over the winter or any time I choose to go back. The deciduous trees on the other hand will shed their leaves within a month. I didn't think about this until I was walking out.

By far my favorite tree in the arboretum is the Giant Sequoia. The have one that stands about 50 feet tall. This is obviously puny compared to the 300 foot monsters in California. None the less, I was blown away by the tree. I got that feeling of "awe" that I crave. I took a few pics of it, I could have stayed there all day.

I very much enjoyed my time at the arboretum. Although the place is dedicated to the study of trees, many people were doing other activities. People were walking their dogs, bike riding, and roller blading. I can't tell you how many people had a blanket laid out under a shade tree picnicking.

I will certainly go back again. It will probably be this year during the foliage season. I wouldn't want to deal with Boston traffic on a weekday, so it will probably be on a Sunday again. I am sure the place is beautiful in the spring when the lilacs, Magnolia and Tulip trees are blooming. On top of the beauty, I know the Arboretum is a great place to bird in the spring, so I am sure I will find a day to go there again in May. If your looking for a nice place to visit that is easy to walk or bike ride or want to take a picnic, you might want to consider Arnold Arboretum. I'm sure 95 percent of the people there,

Giant Sequoia

just enjoyed the open space and could care less if the tree they were under was a red oak or a white oak.

There are many dirt paths off the main
paved walkways

Got One

As I noted yesterday, the water in southern Rhode Island is kicked up big time thanks to a persistent northeast wind. As I said I would, I went birding in the morning. Instead of taking the long drive to Parker River, I chose the thirty minute shorter route to Trustom Pond. I ran into some of the best birders in Rhode Island and tagged along. Birding was okay, as we didn't see too many birds and nothing out of the ordinary.

It was still early when I left Trustom. I decided to head home via the Narragansett route. I knew the water would be a mess but couldn't help myself. At noon time I was the only person fishing any of the avenues or at Galilee. I was rewarded for my effort. I caught one schoolie, I got it on a float and a bucktail jig fished in the suds. Not a big fish, but a reward none the less.

Rough

The streak of great September fishing ended for me today. It ended for one reason, rough water. I went to Narragansett last evening. The water was rough and many places it was dirty. However, right before dark I hooked two schoolies and a small keeper. 

I went back first thing this morning. I knew the water would be even rougher thanks to persistent winds and an offshore storm. None the less, I felt confident I'd find fish. I snagged some bait last night while fishing. So I thought if there was bait in the rough water, I'd surely find fish.

No such luck. I fished eight hours today. I saw a couple albies and had one striper blow up on and miss my Kastmaster XL. I tried five different spots multiple times. Except for one spot, I never saw any bait. Oh well, can't win them all. The bad news is that the offshore storm is probably going to shut down the fishing for the next week. Guess that means I'll be birding

A Float and Albie Deciever

Float/Leader/Albie Deceiver

I caught most of my albies yesterday on a float and fly. Specifically the fly is what's known as an albie deceiver. It is a combination of blue, chartreuse, and white. You can experiment with the colors. For the most part I like using blue for the tail feathers. I like getting some chartreuse somewhere near the front, either the top or the body. I am not an expert on making flies. However, I get no greater satisfaction than catching a false albacore on a fly that I made.

Albies have fantastic eyesight. They are so picky because they can distinguish if something is food in an instant. Since I can make the entire rig from wooden egg, leader and fly, if I catch an albie on it, I feel really good about myself.

Of course, metal works as well. I guess some days the fly will out fish the metal and others it's the other way around. I have not caught enough albies to  really have that happen. Given the choice, I'd much rather start with the float and fly. For those of you that don't know, when I use the term "metal" I am talking about long thin spoons like a Kastmaster XL and Deadly Dick.

If you want to try making your own flies, my friend Dave put on his blog a short video on how to make them. It's quick and easy. The best part is, you can follow along and pause it as you go. That is how I learned to make them. Here is the link;

http://ristripedbass.blogspot.com/2013/08/video-tying-albie-deceiver.html

I hooked so many fish yesterday on this fly,
the hook eventually broke off

Best Day Ever

The fantastic September fishing is getting even better. I probably experienced the best fishing of my life today. I went to the ocean in southern Rhode Island early this morning. I woke up at 5:15 this morning and drove down hoping to catch the early morning bite.

Did I ever! From first light until about noon time false albacore were everywhere. Early in the morning they were breaking all over. They were not in schools. It was more like single fish, however there were so many fish it didn't matter. They were aggressive, as they nearly ripped my rod out of my hands while I was using a float and fly. The guy to my left always seemed to have a fish on and he was using metal.

The hits slowed down about 10 o'clock (so I thought). At that time my friend Dave came down. He noticed fish breaking far to the right and went towards them. Ten minutes later I followed him down to the breaking fish. In the matter of fifteen minutes I caught a huge blue,  a keeper striper, and another albie! The albie was actually caught on a Rebel Jumping Minnow.

After this blitz ended we went back to my original spot where we landed even more albacore. As I

This is how my day started. I got to watch dolphins
off shore. I should have known today
was going to be special

said, about noon things slowed down. We decided to try another spot. Sure enough, within five minutes I caught another albie. Then Dave hooked up. Then me again but I missed it

. At this point Dave's friend Dennis showed up. Nothing else happened at this spot so we tried another. For the first time all day, we failed to see any fish. Dave and Dennis decided they were going one place, but I wanted to try another. So we split up for an hour.

When I hit the shoreline at my next spot, I walked into breaking fish on my left. I ran to them as fast as I could over uneven rocks. I got there just as it was stopping. I managed a hit, but not a hook up. I waited and a few minutes later more albies erupted in front of me. This time I caught one. Nothing else happened, so I went back to meet Dave and Dennis, who at this time were where I started out my day.

And yet again we saw breaking fish. Between us I think we got three albies and two stripers. At this point the sun was dropping behind the trees. The fish seemed to shut off, but man, what an amazing day.

All total I caught/fought somewhere around twenty albies.I had over thirty five hits for a species, you
just hope for a chance to catch. I was actually trying to have them come off at the end of the fight. Assuming if I didn't land them, they would most likely survive the battle. How many did I actually put my hands on? I lost count, but safe to say it was around fifteen. Throw in the three stripers (one keeper) and the big blue and I ended up with a RI hat trick. Dave got seven albies and EIGHT keeper bass. Dennis who got there late, picked up two albies and a bass. Besides myself and my friends, I saw at least fifteen other albies caught today by the very few fishermen that were out.

One of Dave's first fish

Other than bottom fishermen I saw, less than ten guys were fishing today. All four spots we went had sight lines of a half mile. Yet I saw so few guys. I have no idea why. This is shaping up to be the best September I can remember. As for myself I've had days where I caught more fish. I've had days where I caught bigger stripers. But in terms of overall experience (hat trick and I obsess over albies) then I would say today was the best day I have ever had fishing!


How caught-

Albies- about 3/4 on a float and homemade Deciever
one shockingly on a Jumpin Minnow, the rest on a four inch Kastmaster XL
I saw many others caught, mostly on Kastmaster XL

Bluefish-  popper
Stripers- one on float and fly
one on a Jumpin Minnow and the keeper was caught on a popper

Now that's a blue!

Dave fighting another false albacore

Yesterday Albies, Today Big Blues!

the first blue that I caught
at least eight pounds

I am on a surf fishing roll that I haven't been on in years. I've been out four times in the last two weeks before today. In those times times, I've had two really good striper nights, got rained out by a thunderstorm that wouldn't quit, and caught the albies yesterday.

Since all I did was think of albies for the past twenty four hours, it was a no brainer that I was heading back to the ocean after work today. My plan was to check out a few spots on my way to where I caught the albies yesterday. I didn't plan on fishing for more than five minutes at each place. Either I saw action or I was leaving. After all, I felt confident, the albies would be at the same spot today.

At the second place I went to I was standing on a high rock above the water. I looked down into the crystal clear water and saw a huge school of bait ( four inch peanut bunker) After my disbelief I looked up, there was a wall of baitfish that stretched out twenty five feet from the shoreline as far as I could see. I looked down into the water again and saw false albacore swimming right through this wall of bait. This got my heart racing and I started casting.

Within minutes I had a hook up. The fish was strong, but I could feel the tell tale head shakes of a bluefish. Since I haven't seen any blues this year, I brushed it off and thought it was a hard fighting albie. I was waiting the whole fight for it to run in on me like albies do. Then my fish jumped out of the water. It was a ten pound bluefish. Soon after it popped the hook.

I never left the spot. For the next three hours I was fishing into all this bait. I hooked up with several more large bluefish (all over eight pounds,most over 10). I landed seven. Since I had seen he albies and knew they were around, I was targeting them with lures that they would hit. For the most part all my damage was done on a wooden egg/ zoom fluke combo. Although I never caught an albie, I was more than happy to have big bluefish as a "bycatch.

 If I would have used a popper I would have caught blues on almost every cast. I know this because I watched a guy catch one after another on a popper. Usually he had a fish on before it made the third splash. None the less I was content to catch a few blues on my single hooked lure.

At times there was so much bait, I could not fish. No matter how slow I reeled in my fluke or how high I kept it on the surface, it would snag a peanut bunker. Fish were breaking everywhere and I had no chance of catching anything because of all the snagged menhaden.  I moved a couple hundred yards to my right , there was still plenty of bait, but it wasn't so concentrated, I started catching fish again.

There is so much bait in Rhode Island waters right now. Stripers and blues have been around, and now blues have joined the party, this is turning out to be a terrific fall. No one can predict if the bait will be here one day to the next, so who knows, it might be gone tomorrow. That said, if ever there was a fall to make a few trips to the ocean, this might be the one!

ALBIES!

If you read my post yesterday, you know that false albacore are around. They have not been around in big numbers from shore this year and I had not caught one. That is until today. Albies were around in close and out deep today. They were not around in huge numbers. There wasn't any giant schools of them blitzing, but there were enough splashes to keep one interested.

The fish seemed very aggressive today. Albies can be notoriously finicky. Today they were crushing both metal spoons and wooden egg/ fly combo. I landed two myself and saw others caught. I got one on the egg/fly and the other on Kastmaster XL. With calm weather the next few days, the albies should stick around for at least a little while. I guess, this answers the question of what I'll be doing on my day off, Friday.


Thanks again for the phone call!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The clock is ticking

It is getting close to the time of year where my options are starting to become limited. Starting now but by October 7 my outdoor hobbies will be much more limited. Basically for those of us that work 5-6 days a week we have about a month left ( or really 4 weekends) to do summer and early fall hobbies. Since I have been bitching at work I want more hours, I might be doing six days a week, which means I may only have four more daytrips in me for that time period.

Already the water temperature is dropping in the ponds and ocean. I'm sure it is still swimable, but I could tell the water temperature has dropped quite a bit in the last few days. I went carp fishing tonight at the same place I went a few nights before. I can tell just by touching the water, it was much cooler today. So one of my favorite things I did this summer is coming to an end: snorkeling. I suppose if I went in the next few days or even couple weeks I could get one more swim in, but with albies around, I'm probably done.

All to soon Franconia Ridge will look like this

I choose to say the first week of October for one reason...New Hampshire. The foliage peaks in the mountains the first week. After the leaves fall, there really is no reason for me to go to NH other than a snowshoe trip. Also, September and early October can have highly variable weather. One year I went to the mountains Oct 2 and there was an inch of nasty wet snow on the ground. The following year, Laurie and I went up and the weather was in the 70's with very comfortable tent sleeping at night. Past that time, camping really isn't practical.

Assuming I don't get to snorkel any more this year, I'm trying to figure out everything I want to do in the next month. If I get two days off in a row, I'll probably go to New Hampshire. Other trips I also want to do include fishing for albies and going up to Parker River National Wildlife Refuge to go birding. I'd put hawk watching at Wachusett Mountain on the list, but truthfully, I probably wouldn't give up the albies or Parker to go there.

The wildcard in trying to come up with a game plan are the albies. If none were around, decision making would be easier. However, even if they are around, there is no guarantee of catching them. Worse, from day to day, there is no guarantee they will show up in a particular spot.

After the first week of October, I can enjoy foliage hikes close to home. I will have the striper migration. Both things I can do after work. I'll probably be striper fishing and going on foliage hikes on my days off also. So I'll have plenty of time to concentrate on those two past times. It just feels like time is running short on my favorite warm weather hobbies as the season changes.
Obviously I am writing this to organize my thoughts and plan my next month. If you had any summer daytrips planned that you never got to, now is the time to squeeze them in. The weather is still nice as is the water temperature, but not for much longer. The clock is ticking.

A great day carping was not even remotely in my plans yesterday

Lately, all I have been thinking about is surf fishing. It is the time of year when I hopefully have a shot at false albacore. There have been stripers in Rhode Island waters for about a month. I have gotten to the ocean a few times. Although this year seems like it is going to be a dud for the albies, it has not stopped me from thinking about them continuously.

Thursday I went to the West Wall in search of albies but none showed up. I decided to go to Narragansett and try for stripers. I had gone Wednesday night and picked up a few on poppers. Unfortunately, when I got to Narragansett, the cold front come through, with it a huge thunderstorm. I waited out the storm for over an hour, but finally I gave up and went home.

Friday morning I woke up thinking about my striped friends. I knew the wind was northeast and could have dirtied the water. I was willing to take that chance, just because I am obsessed with stripers and albies right now. My friend Dave called me and he was going carp fishing half way between home and the ocean. I decided to join him for a while. I planned on leaving around 1-2 o'clock and go to the ocean.  He planned on  doing the same thing as we both packed our carp and saltwater gear.

I met him around 11:30 at the pond. To make a long story short we had absolutely amazing carp fishing. For me, it was the best day of the year. Between us we caught a whopping twenty carp. Of course, he caught more than me, but trust me, it is expected. Fishing was so good, neither of decided to leave. We ended up staying at the pond until after 5 pm. Besides the fish we caught, we had a few others come off during the fight. All the fish were in the teens. Although we didn't have any monsters, they were all decent size fish.

Dave's son who lives in Narragansett went to the ocean. He tried a few spots, many of which were dirty. He did eventually find fish. However, carp fishing has days that are few and far between that are as epic as Friday was. So although I can't stop thinking about surf fishing, we clearly made the correct decision and took advantage of the hungry carp.

Being an Intermediate Birder

When Laurie and I went on the bird walks on the Outer Cape, I knew the most about birds of the six of us on the walk. I was the only one to bring a spotting scope. Although the ranger lead the walk, it was my spotting scope that found a lot of the birds for people to see. After the walk, a couple of the people were asking me how I knew so much about birds.

This sounds very arrogant, I know. But the truth is, except for me, the other six people were just beginner birders. Most of them were on vacation just looking for something to do. They were all quite impressed with seeing a cardinal. Everyone was very nice, and they were really impressed at seeing the Lesser Yellowlegs and Least Sandpipers (so was I, I love shorebirds).

However, if you fast forward to the following Thursday, I went to Charlestown Breachways mudflat. I saw a gull I did not recognize. I got some pictures of it, and posted it on a Facebook bird page. Within seconds, I found out the gull was a young Laughing Gull. The experts could tell right away exactly how old the gull was and the species.

However, the moderator of the Facebook page makes it clear, that only rare birds should be on the page for an ID. How does someone decide what is rare and what is common, I do not know. Obviously a song sparrow is common, but is a seaside sparrow? Chances are if you go to a sand dune you will see a Seaside Sparrow, but could the average beginner or even intermediate tell you what one looked like? Probably not. Well apparently, my young Laughing Gull was considered too common. He deleted my post and pictures within an hour of putting it up. No private message or explanation, it was just gone. My issue with this is, how can someone learn and become an expert, if their questions are being deleted. Seemed a bit bird snobbish to me.

Anyway, that is where I am at in my birding progression. I can look like a real genius to a newbie. On the flipside I still have so much to learn that an expert thinks I'm an amateur.  I'm not terribly worried about where I fit in the birding community. The thing that I just can't believe is; there is SO MUCH to learn. I could read a bird ID book like Petersons Eastern Birds, remember every word, and still not tell you every bird.

I will give you an example that happened to me yesterday. I was again at Charlestown Breachway mudflat. There were barely any birds there. I saw maybe two dozen shorebirds all day. Sometimes there are hundreds. Of the very few shorebirds, I saw what I thought was a large sandpiper. It is the front bird in the left photo at the top. I looked at all the sandpipers in the bird book. You can easily see the grey coloration, the white eyebrow , and black bill. None of the sandpipers fit this description. When it flew, it clearly had black armpits. It was an unmistakable field mark. Again, nothing was said about the black arm pits in the book

It turns out that the bird was a non breeding Black Bellied Plover. A normal Black Bellied Plover is the right picture on the top. The picture is from the Smithsonian Birds of North America. Honestly, I have seen many adult breeding Black Bellied Plovers. I do not need a book to identify them. However, does that bird on the right look anything like the bird on the left? Hell no! I have three different bird ID books. None show a picture of a non breeding Black Bellied. Furthermore, they don't even mention the black armpits. Yet, expert birders knew instantly what this bird was. They also told me the black pits is a tell tale field mark.

If this happened with one species of bird, I can't imagine how many other species look different from one season to the next. I also don't know how many "field marks" are not even shown in my guidebooks. I have so much to learn it is overwhelming.

Thoughts about the Red Sox and ESPN

One of the best unceremoniously getting kicked to the curb! 

This past week a lot has happened in the world of New England sports. Since going to sporting events
is certainly a recreational activity for a lot of people, and I am a sports fan, I thought I'd post my thoughts about it.

Tom Brady

As for the Tom Brady ruling, can you imagine that it got so out of control that it had to be decided in Federal Court. The fact that the loser of the case (double meaning for Goddell) is even going to appeal the decision. Seriously? All he had to say was " I disagree with the judge's ruling but it's time to get past it and play football" That's it, lets move on. To drag a case about PSI into the upcoming season is ridiculous

Don Orsillo

More importantly to me, I am disgusted by the way the Boston Red Sox have treated Don Orsillo.  Orsillo is considered one of the best local broadcasters in the country. He is so good in fact, that Fox uses him during their wildcard coverage. The only reason to watch this lousy team is to see what Don and Jerry are going to talk about.

Orsillo turned down a huge contract with TBS a few years ago. He didn't leave the Red Sox because this was his dream job. Fans love him here. He was voted New England's favorite broadcaster two years in a row. The Sox had the right not to renew his contract. However he is well loved by the fans. The players like him and from everything I read, he is great to work with. Dave O'Brien might be just as good, but why get rid of a fan favorite that is doing a great job.

As things unfolded, their have been leaks from the Sox. The Red Sox asked a fired Don Orsillo to lie and say his leaving was mutual. He would not lie to us, he hasn't for 15 years, he wasn't about to now. How awful is it to fire a guy, then ask him to "take one for the team"

Also, the Sox would not allow any pro Orsillo signs into the stadium after they got back from their road trip. Signs were confiscated at the gates. THEN!they lied about it and said signs were not confiscated. Seriously, do these people have any morals. I am losing all faith in the Red Sox/ NESN ownership.

I new that the Francona years were "the glory years". I knew I was watching something special. Francona was the best manager the Sox have ever had. When the Red Sox similarly dismissed Francona I was mad. I knew it was the end of an era. I was so mad I boycotted the Red Sox for all of 2012. I didn't watch one game. I never saw the disaster of Bobby Valentine in a Sox uniform except on Sportscenter. I plan on doing the same thing next year. The way the Red Sox kicked to the curb someone that has been in their family for 15 years is awful. I am ashamed to say I root for this team owned by such low class scumbags!!!

ESPN needs to get over themselves

You may have read that ESPN was suspended Curt Schilling for at least the rest of the year because he made a comparison in a tweet between Muslim terrorists and Nazis. This is one of many incidents where ESPN has suspended its personalities. I have a problem with this and it is getting old.

First off Schill is a hardcore Republican, ESPN knew this when the hired him. He is active in politics and campaigned for W. If they thought he was going to keep his conservative beliefs to himself, they were naive'. Secondly, Curt is in love with his own voice. He likes being the center of attention. He thrives on it. He used to call the radio station WEEI when he was a member of the Red Sox to do impromptu interviews. He can be arrogant and bullheaded. There is no possible way ESPN didn't know this when they hired him.

You know what else Schilling is? He isn't a bullshitter. He tells you how he sees things and lets you agree or not. You may not like what he has to say, but he is going to tell you anyway. In the land of "Bill Belichick cliches" it is/was refreshing to hear an athlete tell you exactly how they feel about something. I am not a hardcore Republican so I agree with about 40% of what "Curt in the Car " has to say. Whether I agree with him or not, he is thoughtful and some of his comments open up discussion.

So I think it is ridiculous that ESPN suspended him about a tweet he made. Why, because his opinion  made the channel look bad? Seriously? I am tired of ESPN doing this. I don't think his tweet was offensive, but even if you do, why shouldn't he be able to speak his mind about terrorists? Or for that matter, any other subject?  Don't these analysts have the right to have an opinion without fear of losing his job? He didn't say anything on the air, and even if he did, why can't ESPN just say  " the views of our analysts do not necessarily coincide with the views of our network"

This has happened to Bill Simmons because of a rant about Roger Goddell. Yes, a two week suspension because he ranted about Goddell, calling him a liar over the leagues domestic abuse policy. Your suspending him over that? Come on ESPN have some balls and stand by your people. By the way Simmons contract was not renewed either.

Tony Kornheiser was suspended in 2010 because he made some inappropriate comments about Hannah Storm. They were sexist, and crossed the line. I won't argue what he said was wrong. However, couldn't he just apologize. He made a mistake, he got on a bad roll and kept going with it. Of any of my examples, Tony most deserved a suspension, but again, he gets paid to have an opinion. It bothers me that these people get paid a lot of money to open their mouth, they just have to make sure they don't open it too far or they will get muzzelled

Two Days in South County RI

Least Sandpiper

I was told on Wednesday afternoon that I would have Thursday and Friday off from work. If I would have known sooner, I would have gone to New Hampshire. I would have packed on Tuesday and left for the Granite State on Wednesday after work. It's just not worth the gas and not enough time to go if I can't spend two nights there.

So that night I put a list together of possible things to do on my days off. I certainly did not want to waste my time off sitting at home wondering what to do. The options I came up with were...

Charlestown Breachway birding in the am and looking for albies in the afternoon

Hike Mount Monadnock

Birding at  Parker River in Newburyport

I won't bore you with the pluses and minuses of each. Suffice to say I chose the first option for Thursday. Depending on the weather and how much fun I had for Friday I'd make up my mind on Thursday night.

Thursday morning at Charlestown Breachway

I put my kayak in at the boat ramp and paddled towards a mud flat at 9 am. I saw three birders on the

Looking into Charlestown Breachway
from the East Beach side

way to my destination. I decided to beach my watercraft and see if they had seen anything. They hadn't seen anything special. The best bird they had on the flats were a few black bellied plovers. I talked to them for a few minutes. They were very nice, it paid off later in the day that I made this connection.

I birded around Ninigret Pond for some time. Besides the plovers, I saw a Whimbrel, which is a pretty big shorebird with a down turned beak. Finally I beached my kayak on the biggest mudflat, which wasn't that big because the tide was rising rapidly. Again, I had the usual assortment of common shorebirds. Then I spotted a large sandpiper I did not recognize. To make things worse, it was backlit against the sun. I had no idea what it was. However, my three new amigos were walking towards me. I called them over and they looked at it. One of them was carrying a scope. He identified the bird as a Buff Breasted Sandpiper. Score! this was a lifebird for me. While we were all together, he found in his scope an American Golden Plover, this was only the second time I have ever seen one. It was another terrific find. THEN, the spotted Western Sandpipers, another lifebird. I had two lifebirds, the plover and black terns ( I found on my own) in a matter of fifteen minutes.

Finally the tide rose and it was getting late. I kayaked back to my car and went to Trustom Pond. A Black Guillemot had been seen there for two days. I had never seen one. Still haven't. I spent two fruitless hours that I could have been fishing looking for it. I saw the usual yard birds. By far the best bird I saw was a female American Redstart that sat on a tree limb looking right at me. She was a sight. I left about 2 pm.

Fishing Thursday afternoon

It was so late I didn't go to the West Wall. I knew a trip there would cost me an hour. Well worth it if

School of large menhaden

fish were around, but I didn't want to gamble with the 60 minutes. So I headed up to Narragansett. While I was searching in vain for that bird, my friend Dave was scouting fishing spots. He saw breaking fish at a couple places. I met him at one of the avenues that he saw  fish. When I got there, no fish had been close enough to shore to catch.

 While we were sitting on the rocks a large pod of bait got close to shore on our left. Soon after fish started ripping through the school.I took a chance  the fish would still be there if I made my way over. So I climbed over bowling ball sized rocks to the fish. The fish would only pop up for a minute and then they'd be gone. If you were lucky, you'd be able to make one cast into them..  I ended up catching four stripers around 25 inches with two others on. I didn't see any albacore.This does not go down as the best fishing day ever. Never the less, I was pleased to end such a great day with some fish.

Friday-

I woke up Friday to a chilly morning. It was overcast, so that took hiking Monadnock off the table. I considered going to a waterfall in Rhode Island I just found out about (Step Stone Falls) but since we haven't had any rain in a month I doubt it would have more than a trickle. I thought about going to Plum Island, but what I really wanted to do was catch more stripers. So that's what I tried to do. The chilly morning came with a northeast wind. Thursday the air and water was dead calm. I knew that the northeast would churn up the water. This can light up fishing. Not today! I tried all over Narragansett without any luck. I hit all the avenues and Point Judith and never saw a fish or even bait.  I went back to some spots a couple of times. Basically, I fished hard for six hours into a giant, sterile, fishing pool.

At 5:30 I decided to go fish a quiet backwater spot. This spot can produce snapper blues, schoolies, and hickory shad. I would have taken any of the three. Anything to say I caught a fish. It turned out

My Salvation
Hickory Shad

the hickory shad wanted to play. The spot was loaded with them. Hickory Shad are usually pretty easy to catch. If they are around they can be caught on every cast. Today they were very fussy. They were breaking all over but I had a hard time catching them. While the sun was still high I had a lot of follows and swipes but not many hits.

As the sun went down they became more aggressive. I started getting hits on every cast. Usually multiple hits on each cast yet I wasn't catching many. I kid you not I had three hundred hits. I don't know if they were banging my three inch Zoom fluke or biting the tail. To make things worse ( keep in mind I was very happy to be on fish, just confused that I wasn't catching them) many of the fish I was hooking came off. I kept track, I hooked up with 28 shad and landed a total of ten. I'm not complaining, catching ten shad salvaged a bad day fishing. I'm just saying I landed one fish for every thirty hits. I love hickory shad, so I stayed at the backwater spot until dark.

So clearly Thursday was the better day. Birding was awesome and the fishing was really good, Friday ended up being okay. By the time I got to the ocean there wasn't a cloud in the sky, so by the chart, I should have hiked Monadnock. I had to follow my heart though. I wanted to catch more stripers. I would have thought "what if" all day if I didn't try.

One of my least favorite birds, the cormorant
I couldn't pass up this picture though