A little bit of birding, a little bit of fishing

 

Stepstone Falls

 I've been out pretty much everyday when my body can handle it. My stamina, or lack of, still requires me to take some rests throughout the day and some days I need to take a day off to recover. I took Monday of from doing anything except a few chores. 

   I try to have a plan for the day the night before, because when I don't I tend to lollygag. However, on my bucketlist is to fish for Walleye at a pond on the RI/CT border. I've never caught one. I do know that they are light sensitive so my best chances of getting them are after dark or cloudy days. So I've been keeping an eye on the weather.

   Tuesday I started out at Stepstone Falls in Arcadia Management Area. The goal was Louisiana Waterthrush. I didn't get it. The water was really high and the area partially flooded. As I was driving away I heard a waterthrush that I recorded but it was a Northern.

 

Cattle Egret

 I drove to Fisherville Audubon Sanctuary next. I had ninety minutes to kill. Again, not much was around but the walk was nice. I left Fisherville to have lunch with a friend that has bulging disks. Something I can relate to. The meal was excellent and I stayed two hours with her and her husband. She told me about a birding trip to New Mexico she went on while he showed me photos of huge stripers.

   Sidenote- If you read my blog from 2010-2018 you'd see that all of my adventures were alone, with my son, Laurie, or fishing with Dave. It was a small list. Since I started birding I have multiple people that are friends (and a new fishing friend). This is actually tough for my son to comprehend because growing up he didn't see me hanging out with anyone else. When he came home to visit and we went birding with a group, he really couldn't wrap his head around it. Both that people seem to enjoy my company and that I enjoy theirs' as well. 

 

Savannah Sparrow

 After lunch I had two more hours to kill before I went striper fishing. So I hit up Great Swamp where the highlight was a Broadwing Hawk calling. While I was there I got a text that a Cattle Egret was at Peckham Farm, five minutes from where I was standing. So I went to Peckham Farm. At first I couldn't find the Cattle Egret, then it flew in landing on a tree. It flew down feeding in the grass. Despite seeing many Cattle Egrets in Florida including some standing on cattle, I believe I got a photo upgrade! I also got a photo upgrade of a Savannah Sparrow.

   I went striper fishing in the Upper Bay catching four from23-26 inches.

   Wednesday was supposed to be the nicest day of the week. So I was surprised to wake up to cloud cover. I looked at the hourly forecast and it said that the clouds would stick around until noon. So I headed back to Arcadia to try for the walleye. On my way down the heavens broke up and the sky was bright blue with puffy white clouds. I decided to bird Roaring Brook instead. I didn't see much. I casted my line in a little pond for a few minutes but nothing took. 

   

From there I decided to try a trout pond in Richmond. When I got there, it was flat calm. I took my kayak off of the roof of my CRV. This was going to be the first kayak trip since I hurt my back and was anxious and worried. Not to mention that RI DEM decided to punish the rest of us because some morons drowned last year so it is now the law to wear a life vest. Although I fully plan to go Civil Disobedience on this law, I chose to wear it today. I was uncomfortable. By the time I launched the wind picked up and was blowing me all over the place. I sucked it up for an hour and a half as my back got sore compounded by the uncomfortable life vest. I didn't catch any fish. I had two hits both on the same cast.

   My luck for the day changed when a stocking truck rolled up as I was dragging my kayak back to the car. They dumped almost a thousand Rainbows in the water. So I put on my waders and started fishing. The fish stacked up against a downed log. I caught sixteen before I left. Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.

 

Yellow Crown Night Heron

 Having an hour to kill before going striper fishing I went to Allen's Cove Marina and saw the adult Yellow Crowned Night Herons. These are a rare species for Rhode Island but a couple show up every year, usually at this cove. While I was there, two ladies pulled up that were going to watch the Ospreys. They didn't know the herons were there. It was a very nice surprise for them. They were very new birders and extremely enthusiastic. I talked to them for fifteen minutes.

  After I left the heron and ladies, I went striper fishing at what can be a very popular spot. My friend Dave and I were the only two out there. I picked up three and he got four. My biggest was twenty seven inches, his about the same. We both dropped a keeper right before dark.

   This post has two points. One, it is my way to keep a journal of what I did. I admit, there isn't a lot of "how to" to this post. But, this is the time of year to be out. Clearly there is a lot to do. The fishing is great for all species, even when a stocking truck doesn't pull up. The birds are out as are the snakes. It is a great time to be outside.