We’ve had several days with cloudy and stormy weather. Not ideal conditions for photography but I continue to head out anyway. These two photos aren’t the sharpest but I think they capture the conditions on a dark morning with snow flurries in the air. First, a Snow Bunting sits on some gravel in the snow, all puffed up to stay warm. And then we spotted a Snowy Owl through the flurries, roosting in a dead tree across the marsh from us.
A storm lingered offshore for a few days and the ocean was really rough as you can see in this shot. And in the next shot as well as a White-winged Scoter flies through the surf.
Red Crossbills continue to be seen in good numbers. They are rare in this area but there is an irruption this year and they are plentiful. There are a few even rarer White-winged Crossbills mixed in with them. I managed to get these photos of them flitting around the pine trees they flock to in order to pry open cones for the seeds using that cross-over bill. The photos are a bit “soft” because of the lighting conditions but I like them anyway. The greenish yellow birds are female as only the males have a reddish hue. The last shot of a male in the air really highlights that crossed bill.
I have to put up a duck photo for all the duck fans. This is a pair of male Red-breasted Mergansers high over the Merrimack River.
Sometimes the kids just won’t leave home. Here’s a young Herring Gull trying to get the adult to feed him. Mom/Dad isn’t having any of it.
Birds in My Viewfinder 