Coastal Interlude

Dabbler series will continue, but an interlude first: a day trip to Cape Ann ...

Bufflehead (Gloucester Harbor)

Harlequin Duck (Granite Pier)

Purple Sandpiper - Ruddy Turnstone (top left)

Purple Sandpiper (Andrew's Point)

Harlequin Duck (Andrew's Point)

Iceland Gull (Niles Pond)

Good Birding!!

Coastal Birding

At Salisbury Beach on Friday afternoon, White-winged Crossbills were busy in the pines ...

Around Cape Ann on Saturday, Iceland Gulls were found in several locations, this one at Lighthouse Point ...

Back at Salisbury Beach, the female Merlin which put on a show for us Friday afternoon, simply watched over her domain on Saturday, and again on Sunday morning ...

A clear highlight of the trip was the Snowy Owl seen Saturday afternoon on a dune at Salisbury Beach ...


The owl, of course, attracted the bird watchers and photographers. Here are just a few of those who gathered to observe the owl atop a dune about thirty yards away ...

A day of good birding. I will have more about the day anon.

Birding Cape Ann

I finally got over to Gloucester, Massachusetts, for a day of winter coastal birding. The highlights of the day were a King Eider (too distant for a good picture, but very recognizable), Thick-billed Murre (way too distant to even try for a picture), and Dovekie (barely popped to the surface before diving again).

Among the unusual wintering gulls, was the Black-headed Gull (in rear near rock). Even though the gull is small in this photo, I liked the other gulls and ducks in the foreground. (Greater Black-backed, Herring, Common Eider, female Red-breasted Merganser). This was near the fishing pier in Gloucester Harbor.


Also in the harbor was a first year Iceland Gull, or as the more precise and obsessive birders like to say, a "Kumlien's" Gull (a subspecies of a difficult to classify light-colored, or light gulls).


On Niles Pond, there were at least four additional Iceland (Kumlien) Gulls among the many Greater Black-backed and Herring Gulls of assorted ages. Also at least two Glaucous Gulls and a Nelson's (Glaucous x Herring. Hockey players kept the roosting gulls at a considerable distance. Glaucous is the large white gull in the center.


Sea ducks are always a significant feature of winter coastal birding, and all of the usual suspects were there, including all three scoters. This White-winged Scoter was quite close ...


... and one of the showiest of all ducks, the Harlequin Duck.


A day of Good Birding.