Longshore Lunch Al Fresco
This little brown rabbit came out of the woods in the afternoon near the Longshore Sailing School to dine in a delicious field of grass and clover, which rabbits do enjoy. Rabbits often avoid being seen in plain sight in open areas for fear of predators such as hawks.
Perhaps this little one was feeling confident as he was enjoying his lunch in the shadow of one of the two Osprey platforms at Longshore, both of which are occupied by a nesting pair. The male is very active, and the second platform further down the exit road also has an active nesting pair. The formidable Osprey presence at Longshore probably discourages hawk activity as Osprey are not eager to share their space wth other raptors.
Photos By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com.
Shellfish On The Menu For Compo Beach Oystercatchers
One of the Oystercatcher pair which has nested at Compo has found a tasty meal in between the rocks at the shoreline of South Beach where they have nested for the last few years.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
For the last several years a pair of Oystercatchers have called South Beach at Compo home where there are not that many natural predators and have nested and attempted to raise their families. Chicks have hatched in years past but it is not well known what their success rate is as to their survival. This pair did hatch chicks this year. Two were spotted a couple of weeks ago, however there was no sign of the babies last week when these photos were taken. This pair for some reason has chosen Compo’s South Beach instead of nesting on one of the islands off of the coast of Connecticut where many of their species can be found.
After sitting quietly in the sand for some time, this bird decided it was time to stroll down to the waterline to search for something to eat. She looks carefully and spots her target, quickly plucking a mollusk of some kind from between the rocks.
AllAboutBirds.org describes these beauties this way, “A boldly patterned shorebird with red-yellow eyes and a vivid red-orange bill, American Oystercatchers survive almost exclusively on shellfish—clams, oysters, and other saltwater molluscs.” and they add, “American Oystercatchers are the only birds in their environment with the ability to open large molluscs such as clams and oysters (except for large gulls that drop clams onto pavement).” They caution, however, “American Oystercatchers don’t always win out in their battles against oysters and clams. Occasionally, a shellfish gets its revenge by clamping down on an oystercatcher’s bill and holding the bird tight.”
Named Oystercatchers in 1731 by English naturalist Mark CatesbyThe Amrican Oystercatcher is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the state of CT erects "fencing" wire and signs warning viewers and beachgoers to keep their distance to encourage successful breeding.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Named Oystercatchers in 1731 by English naturalist Mark CatesbyThe Amrican Oystercatcher is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the state of CT erects "fencing" wire and signs warning viewers and beachgoers to keep their distance to encourage successful breeding.
After enjoying it’s snack it was time to clean those feathers, splashing and spraying water.
Photos and Story By J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Mystery Fly Fisherman Tries His Luck
He probably is not a famous celebrity masked up to conceal his identity in order to enjoy some quiet time fly fishing on Gray’s Creek. More than likely he is trying to keep the bugs out of his mouth, the opposite of what he is hoping for from the creek’s inhabitants. He may be hoping to be one of the lucky anglers who can catch a largemouth or striped bass, or possibly a bluefish, species which have been reported to Fishbrain.com as having been caught.
Photo and caption by J.C. Martin For WestportLocalPress.com Click on an image to enlarge and open gallery.
Make Music Day 2024 Returns Tomorrow, June 21st
To learn more visit any of the links below:
Make Music Day is tomorrow, Friday June 21st and is worldwide one-day event bringing musicians and audiences together in cities and towns the world over. The event began in France in 1982 and has since spread to 120 countries this year with a total of 5,000 concerts and music events taking place one that one day alone.
Connecticut’s sixth annual Make Music Day in 2023 featured more than 400 free musical performances across fourteen regional chapters, brought together by the Connecticut Office of the Arts, to coordinate a diverse day of music-making statewide, open to all.
Story by J.C. Martin
Billboard Magazine’s website says” The celebrations seek to bring out the musician in all of us, regardless of skill level, with outdoor concerts, jam sessions, lessons and music-making of all kinds”.
Visit Billboard.com for more general info on Make Music Day. Local info can be found below.
Although Westport, surprisingly is yet to join in this celebration of music, there are Make Music Day events in several surrounding towns. Neighboring towns include Fairfield, Southport, Norwalk, Ridgefield, New Canaan, Bethel and many others The event provides performances in multiple locations and times in each city and town. Events begin at 9:00AM and continue throughout the day. To find info on the towns and cities in CT which are participating visit MakeMusicDay/Fairfield.org or visit CTvisit.com for complete local listings.
FTC Fairfield has a full slate of performers beginning at 4:30PM
Notably, FTC, the Fairfield Theatre Company which has brought both national and local recording artists to their two venues located in downtown Fairfield for many years will host their concert beginning at 4:30PM and will run until 10:00PM, a welcome time slot considering the current “heat dome” over Fairfield County.
Their website says “Make Music Fairfield is a town-wide music festival with over 110 performances. Click the 'Learn More' button to view the full schedule.” This free event will take place outdoors in The Parking Lot outside The Warehouse. You can bring your own chair if you'd like, We will also have games/activities for adults and kids. Concessions and restrooms will be open inside The Warehouse. In the event of bad weather, the show will be moved inside The Warehouse. Steakinit food truck will be on site and tastings are provided by our sponsors Downeast Cider and Mezcalum
The FTC website offers complete details on their performances at FairfieldTheatre.com including performer schedules and videos.