I spotted this muskrat in a tributary to the Hudson River on Sunday. He was making several trips back and forth across the stream, cutting down some plants on one bank and swimming back to the other side with his bundle of green. There, he would disappear into a hole in the bank.

Here’s a Web page with a whole bunch of muskrat-related links.

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Today, I managed to set up my spotting scope in time to see an adult and one of the young fly away from the nest. The immature eagle was as big as his mom or dad and seemed to just step off the nest before unfurling its wings. I waited about 20 minutes but no one came back to the nest. Here’s a prior post on the eagles, with links to other information and the original story.

Young bald eagles apparently spend 4 to 12 weeks with their parents after they learn to fly, learning then how to hunt.

Looking through the scope, I noticed some climbing gear clipped to a branch below the nest. In an e-mail today, I asked Peter Nye, head of the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s endangered species unit, if they had visited the nest this year. He said no and that, as part of their standard operating procedure, they leave the gear in place for future climbs up to the nest. The DEC has known about the nest since 2006, when the parents raised one young. They raised three last year.

Any youngster who brings 100 or more used plastic bags to a recycling table near the park’s entrance will receive a Fun Card good for three free rides and a round of miniature golf (redeemable any day this season). The offer is good from noon to 5 p.m. at Playland Park in Rye.

Plastic bags must be clean and dry. Accepted bags include grocery and produce bags, newspaper bags, dry cleaning film, and packaging for toilet paper and paper towels.

Once collected, the bags will be passed on to recyclers to be made into products such as outdoor decks and fencing, according to county officials, who noted that 7,000 pounds of bags have been collected since the items were adde to the county’s list of collectibles in the spring. About 20 percent of those has come from kids and schools.

The article is in the most recent issue of the state Department of Environmental Conservation’s magazine, The Conservationist. After the jump, I’ve pasted a story I did last year about giant hogweed.

Back then, it was growing in a few spots along Croton Falls Road in Mahopac (see photo). I haven’t driven that way lately, so I don’t know if it’s been eradicated from those spots. I do think I’ve recently spotted it in a few other places, though, such as along the Taconic State Parkway just over the Putnam line in Dutchess County and along the Palisades Parkway in Rockland County.

Here’s another blog post from last year on the plant.

That seems to have done the trick. Last year, I’m ashamed to admit, I was using a store-bought mix for hummingbird nectar. This year, with the homemade version, it’s almost non-stop hummingbirds at the feeder. Spend five minutes on the front porch and you’re almost guaranteed to see one.

We seem to have at least three ruby-throated hummingbirds in the neighborhood. I’ve seen two females (or immature males) together at the feeder. Other times, I’ve seen a male by himself.

Here’s more information on the tiny birds. And a thank you to Zoe Ann Hinds for her tip.

Here are a few more of his stunning shots, and if you’d like to see even more, including photos of owls, hummingbirds and other wildlife, check out his Web site here.

All photos here were shot by Steve Sachs. Click on the photos to make them larger:

These babies are preparing to take their first flights:

Clair, mother of former Brewster Fire Chief Ken Clair, said she went out on the deck early that morning to hang her laundry on her clothesline.

“I heard rustling under the deck. He comes out and looks right at me. I yelled and I dropped the (clothes) basket,” Clair recalled.

She lives on the north side of Route 6, just outside of the Brewster village limits. The bear, she said, ambled away in the direction of the woods and an old railroad line. She wondered if it was the same bruin that was struck by a car earlier this month in town.

There’s been a lot of bear news lately. Don’t forget the Peekskill bear (seen in TJN photographer Stuart Bayer’s (no relation) photo). Here’s Stuart’s video of that bear being tranquilized.