For Mature Audiences Only - Common Atlantic Eider

THE FOLLOWING PROGRAM CONTAINS CONTENT THAT SOME VIEWERS MAY FIND OBJECTIONABLE. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED.

These Common eider hens and chicks are so cute that you'd be tempted to take one home for a pet, like an Easter chick without the pink dye. These are specifically, Common Atlantic eiders because they are on the reflecting pool of the Washington Monument. Now look, be serious. They are on the Atlantic ocean. Every spring, starting in May, we get flotillas of them feeding along the rocky shore line and resting on the rocks. The hens make a mumbling sound which makes us think of old men playing chess in Central Park. The chicks peep-peep-peep like most chicks do. We can even hear them at night because they sit up on the rocks in the dark. Eiders are a big, sea duck. Their soft feathers are of 'eider down' fame, though today most pillows and quilts are stuffed with farm raised ducks and geese. Within barely hours of hatching, the chicks take to the water where they learn to dive immediately. Diving is how they get crustaceans from the bottom and also how they stay safe. When airborne predators show up, the chicks bunch together with the hens and dive. The mumbling and peeping are delightful to hear and we look forward to the chicks first appearances every year. In our neighborhood, we call each other up on first sighting, "The chicks are here!" But from there on out, it gets really ugly.

We also have a pair of gulls residing on our pier. They are a mated pair and like all living things, they must eat too (this is the point where you'll want to get the kids and the faint of heart out of the room). They are very fond of eider chicks. By yesterday, a brood of thirteen eider chicks born a week ago, had dwindled to five as they were picked off by gulls and eagles. Bald eagles like them also, but they aren't as good at snagging them as the gulls are. When the gulls or an eagle cruises around, the hens usher the chicks into a tight bunch. If they are on the rocks, they all take to the water and rush away from the shore so they can dive. The hens stretch their necks in the air, heads raised issuing alarm calls. Two days running I saw the gulls grab chicks. They swooped, grabbed then flew off to flail their prizes on the rocks while the hens screamed. As soon as it's over, everybody goes back to their business like nothing happened. It's a wretched, natural drama that plays out every year and begs the question "Do you have any Grey Poupon?"

The Mill - Red Fox, Flowers, Fungus & More

Where I take the eagle's nest photographs is a lumber mill which dates back to 1801. It's a family operation and has been in the same family since it started. The lumber for the flooring in our house came from this mill. Though still operational today, it's not as busy as it was back in the days of shipbuilding in Bath. The mill is on Winnegance Bay on the Kennebec River in Phippsburg. It sits on a point of land with the bay on the west side and a large, shallow marsh on the east. I have referred to it as 'The Magnificent Acre' in previous writings, though it is well more than a single acre of land. It's private property, but the land owner is an old acquaintance of my husband's and I've come to know him quite well myself through my wildlife photography adventures. I have posted photographs of a Woodchuck, snakes, foxes, flowers and loads of birds ranging from eagles to Pileated woodpeckers, wading birds and warblers, big and small all from this same parcel of land. The abundance of diverse flora and fauna  really is impressive. I am surprised at the numbers of people who go there to buy lumber who never notice a thing as huge and significant as the eagle's nest directly above them. Early one morning, I encountered a man there who had been scouring the woods for mushrooms. He returned to his car, where his Chihuahua was sleeping, with a fistful of Chantrelles or "Chicken Of The Woods," as some call them. He was secretive about his handful of delicacies, furtively looking downward and way, though he eyed the woods from where he had come, as he said "Yes, yes, Chantrells. I know a place up there..........." Reflexively, he cupped his hand over his find. He had not noticed the eagle's nest. There is a warehouse where lumber is stored and some heavy equipment. There's a lot of human activity, but the critters don't seem phased by any of it. The eagle stares down while the fox kits romp around on the log piles and snakes snooze on beds of reeds.  

(I nearly stepped on this Garter snake which was resting on the broken pieces of last year's Cat-O-Nine Tails.)

Canada Geese fly and light on Winnegance Bay and n the march on the east side. I've never seen other kinds of geese with them, but I always look to be sure. One day, I'll see something besides Canadas, I'm sure of it.

There are lots of wildflowers. This is Sweet flag or Bog iris. These flowers are on the very edge of the bay which is heavily salt mixed from the incoming tides. This shows that this type of iris is very salt tolerant.

This fox kit is one of the ones I posted about a month ago, now much larger. I saw its mother leap like a Gazelle over grasses into the brush right after I took this photo of her offspring.