Swallow Spectacle

Connecticut isn't exactly the first place most people think about when they imagine wildlife spectacles significant enough for the pages of National Geographic. After spending ten days surrounded by the untouched beauty and spectacular wild things of the Galapagos Islands, it was going to be hard to find anything our state could offer to match what we had just experienced. Lucky for us, early fall is the perfect time (the only time) to view one of our states own natural wonders - the dance of the swallows! Desperate to keep our wildlife adventure alive (or face immediate and significant withdrawal), we spent an afternoon on the boat, arriving at the mouth of the Connecticut River (where it empties into Long Island Sound) just before dusk - and just in time to see almost 500,000 tree swallows bed down for the evening.

Every fall, during the months of September and October, tree swallows congregate in the lower Connecticut River during their southward migration. In the evening, the birds fly from up to 25 miles away to roost on a island called Goose Island, that is 100% covered with an invasive plant, a large reed called Phragmites australis. At dusk they converge near and over the island. The giant flock of birds create an amazingly graceful "ballet" in the sky and eventually form a massive funnel just after sunset and plunge themselves down into a communal roost in the marsh for the night. It is truly an amazing sight to see. If you have been lucky enough to experience it in person, you know these pictures and video clips don't do it justice, you really must be there to see and hear it yourself.

Left: the backseat crew: me, Summit, mom and dad. Right: old boat on the river

Left: Goose Island (Phragmites and gathering swallows). Right: swarm o' swallows

Left: Dancing the swallow ballet. Right: The final funnel

So thank you swallows, for making our transition back to Connecticut a little easier. It's nice to know we have our own wild things right here in our backyard. We'll see you again next year.

heading home...

We're Back!

We're back from our honeymoon in Ecuador. And, of course, back to reality too. It's been hard coming down from our South American high. Our trip was simply amazing. Too difficult to convey the awesomeness of the Galapagos in words alone, so here are a few pictures and video for you. I have big plans to put together a website with a day-by-day recap (really, do you expect any less, haha) but it will take another week or two. I'll be sure to post about it when I'm done. Also, for those interested, more wedding pictures and project recaps are coming as well. Stay tuned!

Sea kayaking in front of one of our hotels and getting ready to snorkel with sea turtles!

Believe it or not, that's a LITTLE tortoise!

This guy's five times older than me and he weights fives times what I do! Do you see ET in that face?

Galapagos Marine Iguana (he's HUGE) and blue footed boobies. Both only found in the Galapagos.

swimming with a sea turtle

snorkeling with playful sea lions

Just Married!

James and I are currently waiting to get on our plane to Ecuador and to our final honeymoon destination, the Galapagos Islands, but I thought I'd check in to report that everything went so perfectly on Sunday! It was truly a magical day! We can't wait to share all the details with you, but for now I'll leave you with a few pictures from our amazing photographer, Olivia posted on her blog.

Today is the Day!

A few pictures from our practice session and lunch yesterday.