This dead but largely intact hermit crab washed up in the wrack.

I never knew oaks went to all this trouble to make acorns! Seen at Meigs Point at Hammonasset State Park.

This seagull in front was actually missing his right leg from the shin down. We could only speculate how this little guy became an amputee. I felt bad for him as he was hopping around on his good leg.

An unseasonably warm day in February at Hammonasset State Park

Hammonasset State Park, Madison, Connecticut

...keeps getting thicker

Hammonasset State Park, Madison, Connecticut

Sunsets in the northeast have a completely different character than those of the Bay Area (maybe all of the west coast). Saturation is subdued, light purples and periwinkles predominate.

Hammonasset State Park, Madison, Connecticut

Friends of Hammonasset presents Hammonasset Festival, a celebration of Native American culture and spirit, honoring the environment and her ecology.

www.friendsofhammonasset.org/

P6231043.jpg

The fishing jetty here seems to be floating after a barge passes by! This is yesterday's sunset at Meigs Point at Hammonasset Beach in Hammonasset State Park near Madison, CT. There were many people walking on the beach! I was accompanied by other local photographers as a member of Ye Olde New England Photography Meetup Guild.

Down the hatch, and then on to hunt for more

Just realized I'd forgotten to post these shots from back in April

Not even the weensiest bit of PS. It was one of those moments where I was just sitting on a boulder taking it all in and then I looked over and was like, wow... Are these colors for real or am I living in a paint bucket? The sky, the grass... the long yellowy sunlight of winter...

I'm guessing some kind of snail. There were tons.

Am thinking so, even though no thorns are showing in this photo. Native. Berries are edible but not especially delisious.

Taken at Hammonasset State Park on an outing with my camera club

Hammonasset Beach State Park, Madison, Connecticut, USA. 15 September 2022. © Frank Mantlik

Crop 3

Hammonasset State Park, Madison, Connecticut

www.mantziosphotography.com

Shortly before running into a Flickr friend. Funny thing is that it was 1) unplanned, and 2) neither of us live in the state. Christmas miracle? :o)

Hammonasset State Park, Madison, Connecticut

This Herring Gull caught some nice light in the afternoon sun. See close-up in the next shot.

These escapees have established populations along the Connecticut shoreline.

This sweet couple was enjoying a small patch of open water on the pond at Meig's Point - the female preening and the male just looking happy.

A very foggy morning at Hammonasset, but that didn't stop the birds. Wow, what a day! Picked up 4 life birds, including this guy, and saw lots of others. I should have known it was going to be a good day when the first bird of the day was a glossy ibis in a puddle in the West Beach parking lot across from the pond.

Fish Crow (Corvus ossifragus)

Meig's Point, Hammonasset State Park

Madison CT

5/29/12

LB 2012

14

Hammonasset State Park, Madison, Connecticut

Hammonasset Beach State Park, Madison, Connecticut, USA. 15 September 2022. © Frank Mantlik

Hammonasset State Park, Connecticut

P6231036.jpg

Last week I met up with other members of my camera club to take pictures along a trail at Hammonasset. It was a windy evening but we were fairly sheltered along a short trail at Meig's Point, and we found lots of things to photograph.

Still catching up on my 2013 photos!

Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis) in the parking lot behind the Nature Center at Hammonasset State Park, Madison CT

01/01/13

37

This sweet couple was enjoying a small patch of open water on the pond at Meig's Point - the female preening and the male just looking happy.

www.mantziosphotography.com

Hammonasset Beach State Park, Madison, Connecticut, USA. 15 September 2022. © Frank Mantlik

Long Island Sound from Hammonasset State Park, Madison, CT

Walking near the marsh behind the nature center, this guy burst out from the other side of a shrub. All I had time to do was point and shoot . . . and hope. The shot's a little blurry but these are such neat looking birds, I decided to post it.

Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)

Hammonasset State Park

Madison CT

5/29/12

51

An unseasonably warm day in February at Hammonasset State Park

This pair of Herring Gulls seemed to be engaging in courting behavior