Another year has passed, Spring has arrived and with that the Barn Swallows are back at Mass Audubon Daniel Webster Wildlife Sanctuary (DWWS) for a second year. They are once again nesting in both observation blinds and offering great views and photos.
Other birds of interest that can be seen from either observation blind are Wood Ducks, many Tree Swallows, Williow Flycatcher, Yellow Warblers and two Muskrats just to name a few. However the real highlight (at least for me) has been photographing the Barn Swallows over the past two weeks. While some days are better then others for photographing them you would be hard pressed to depart DWWS and not have a few “keepers” when you return home. To view some of my photos from the past two weeks click on this link or any of the photos.
The other interesting sighting in the past week has been a Long-tailed Weasel that has raised three babies in the East or Morning blind. I first noticed her about a week ago and then this past Sunday morning May 25th while sitting in the blind with two friends (and fellow photographers) the mother Weasel stuck her head out of the hole she has been using and then proceeded to pull one of the babies out of the hole. Shen then dragged it out of the blind and off to a new location. She repeated two more times with her remaining babies. I was able to get some video (not much and not very good) of the first extraction. Click here to see video of Long-tailed Weasel.
Other birds of interested that can be found near the entry building and feeders are several Wild Turkey, a pair of Eastern Bluebirds and in the fields Bobolinks can be seen buzzing about trying to attract a mate. For the next few weeks DWWS would be a good place to visit for some good photos and viewing and for any photographers I would suggest bringing a bean-bag for use in the blinds and some bug spray. While it’s not to bad right now for misquitos it is only going to get worse.
Take care, hope to see you at DWWS and remember please help to protect wildlife and wild places.
Shawn P. Carey
Migration Productions