June 21: Solstice
We decided to celebrate the first day of summer by driving up to the town of Monson, which the Appalachian Trail passes through (and which is home to the excellent Spring Mountain BBQ). After lunch we hiked a few miles on the AT, to a small beaver pond and back. As we stood in the bog at pond's edge, dragonflies landing on our arms, we spent several minutes trying to figure out what bird was making a loud peeping sound. Turns out it was these ducklings:
We had flushed their mother and they wanted her back. When she returned, we were able to identify them as goldeneyes.
Goldeneye chicks--
those loud cries for their mother
need no translation.
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