Nope, sorry, not the boat (Merrimack, Swift, etc) but the bird. Here on CT's Long Island Sound, I saw my first Osprey of the season this morning while checking out a chubby sleek blonde.* (That's usually a harbinger of spring in my dog eared book of yearly firsts. I didn't see a mate, though it was sitting on one of the provided towers in the marsh.)
Back to the well turned out blonde. A few of them actually (blondes)...now before any one gets their hackles up at my sexist jab - these are seals of one sort or another. A hundred yards off our local beach, a good set of rocks at the proper tide will see a bunch of them all fighting for a good spot, 15 counted this morning, most of them a very light pretty blonde color, plus three more heads in the water.. many of them on their backs, with flippers a flappin'...not sure that has anything to do with attracting equally sleek and rotund males, but it's fun to watch them jostling and shoving each other around. Apparently the good spots on the rocks are hard to come by and highly prized. Sizes - from the chart - 200-650lbs, though I surely have nothing to compare them to. They all look pretty big, sleek, round and fairly contented to be hauled out in the sun. And they get off and on the craggy rock pile very adroitly. It doesn't look possible but they do.
I can get a decent pic with my little point and shoot but I have yet to make a first paddling trip this spring. Tomorrow I'll go back with the spotting scope and the tripod and hope for a good view of the proceedings.
Early spring - Enoying seeing the seals and now have Osprey to watch for, along with soon to leave wintering loons, various ducks, the occasional eagle or three and all the rest of the Atlantic Flyway migratory birds.
*harbor seals are the most common in LI Sound, also we see gray, hooded, harp varieties. The contrast in coat colors and patterns can be striking. We'll see the pups as well. They are a seasonal visitor coming in from the colder ocean waters, usually leaving in late spring, around when the recreational boat traffic also picks up.
Back to the well turned out blonde. A few of them actually (blondes)...now before any one gets their hackles up at my sexist jab - these are seals of one sort or another. A hundred yards off our local beach, a good set of rocks at the proper tide will see a bunch of them all fighting for a good spot, 15 counted this morning, most of them a very light pretty blonde color, plus three more heads in the water.. many of them on their backs, with flippers a flappin'...not sure that has anything to do with attracting equally sleek and rotund males, but it's fun to watch them jostling and shoving each other around. Apparently the good spots on the rocks are hard to come by and highly prized. Sizes - from the chart - 200-650lbs, though I surely have nothing to compare them to. They all look pretty big, sleek, round and fairly contented to be hauled out in the sun. And they get off and on the craggy rock pile very adroitly. It doesn't look possible but they do.
I can get a decent pic with my little point and shoot but I have yet to make a first paddling trip this spring. Tomorrow I'll go back with the spotting scope and the tripod and hope for a good view of the proceedings.
Early spring - Enoying seeing the seals and now have Osprey to watch for, along with soon to leave wintering loons, various ducks, the occasional eagle or three and all the rest of the Atlantic Flyway migratory birds.
*harbor seals are the most common in LI Sound, also we see gray, hooded, harp varieties. The contrast in coat colors and patterns can be striking. We'll see the pups as well. They are a seasonal visitor coming in from the colder ocean waters, usually leaving in late spring, around when the recreational boat traffic also picks up.
