Day 19.243: Dramatic exit

As we were about to leave Parker River on Saturday I spotted a bird powering towards us and immediately knew it was worth a second look. Unfortunately, it was hard to get a photograph of it while it flew directly over our heads and by the time it looped around it was at quite a distance. Still the photo was enough to identify it as a peregrine falcon:

I watched it for a while and then, just as my arms were getting tired from holding the camera and I thought it might be time to hit the road, Exile #2 said, “Is it chasing that bird?”

And Indeed it was. 

Not the spectacular front-row experience from a year ago, but still a dramatic end to our trip. 

Day 19.242: Birds at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

We stopped at Plum Island - a short hop up the coast - on our way home from Cape Ann to visit the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge. Here is some of what we saw there:

Osprey

Flycatcher - likely eastern phoebe

Common loon

Northern harrier

Northern harrier

Northern harrier

Lesser yellowlegs

Least sandpiper and semipalmated sandpiper

Mallards

Least sandpiper

Lesser yellowlegs

Take-off!

American black duck and stretching mallard with yellowlegs

Great blue heron

Pied-billed grebe

Yellowlegs

Snowy egret

Snowy egret

Greater yellowlegs

Great egret

Semipalmated sandpipers

Semipalmated plover and least sandpipers

Another norther harrier

Osprey

Semipalmated plovers and white-rumped sandpiper

Semipalmated plovers and white-rumped sandpiper

Semipalmated plovers

After this, we had one further sighting, but that deserves a little post of its own.

Day 19.241: Hammond Castle miscellany

A few more things from our visit to Hammond Castle:

A list of John Hays Hammond Jr.'s music-related patents - not what he's most famous for, but music is a large presence in the "castle"

A remarkable pipe organ including some of his innovations

There are more than 8000 pipes back there

Some musical characters carved in panels up on the balcony

One of only a few claviharps in the world - part of his eclectic collection

He is more famous for his work on remote control. Here is another list of patents (there were at least two other categories with large lists as well)

A remote-control dog that was actually a proof of concept for a guided missile

This massive painting shows a fictional naval battle in which his remote controlled torpedoes won the day

Sitting in a faraday cage with the subject of a series of experiments into whether electrical fields could enhance or suppress ESP.

The rooms in the house are similarly eclectic

Although each one has a cohesive charm

And then there are the pieces used to decorate - acquired from all over the world like these carvings

and this

and this

and this bull

This chap looks like he's holding the building up at significant personal cost

whereas this guy is either wise and thoughtful or just cheesed off

Really - anything goes.

What a fascinating place and a remarkable man who created it.