Monthly Archives: January 2022

Northern Harriers are an easily recognizable, medium-sized raptor. They glide low over fields and marshes, swooping back and forth as they look and listen for small mammals. They have a big white patch on the rump that is easily visible and makes a good identifying mark. They breed in Canada into Alaska and in theContinue reading “Northern Harrier”

There are two Snowy Owls being observed near the mouth of the Merrimack River that seem to have set up winter residence in the area. I took these pictures near the main parking lot of a state park. We were looking at one owl that was sitting on the railing of the boardwalk from anContinue reading “Snowy Owls”

It’s been cold and windy so field trips have been limited. It is January in New England after all. But I take advantage of any days I can and will post photos of what I find. The wind was ruffling the feathers on this Gadwall. It was making life hard on we photographers as well.Continue reading “Ducks”

The Bufflehead is a small North American duck that breeds in the Canadian arboreal forests and spends the winter in the US, including here on the coast of Massachusetts. I think it is the “cutest” duck that visits us every winter. It has a compact body, large head and small bill. And pink feet. ThisContinue reading “Buffleheads”

There are several species of birds that practice kleptoparasitism, parasitism by theft. They include Eagles, Corvids (Crows, Ravens, etc.) and, most famously, Gulls. Gulls will grab anything that they can, from anyone or anything they can. Kleptoparasitism is rightly called piracy. And anyone who follows this blog knows that I believe that all good storiesContinue reading “First Pirate Story of 2022”

These are some photos that I took as 2021 was winding down. I’m doing some housekeeping before archiving my 2021 photographs while I wait out some snow and frigid weather. It’s 9F (-13C) today. My camera works at -20F. I don’t. Here are some pictures that caught my eye. One of the birds we lookContinue reading “Some Final 2021 Photos”

And now for the rest of the ducks. I returned to a nearby lake after photographing the Goldeneye in my previous post (https://wordpress.com/read/feeds/106869995/posts/3754995295). There was still a large area of open water but the ducks congregated on one end of the lake. Several species were mingled together. These are Hooded Mergansers (top: male and bottom:Continue reading “More Ducks in the Cold”

They say “Nice weather for ducks” when it rains but ducks seem to be pretty impervious to the cold as well. Several of us went out on a frigid morning in search of a rare duck for this area. It was 23F (-5C), windy and cloudy. But we did find the duck. And lots ofContinue reading “Ducks and the Cold”

I was out again two days after the outing reported in the previous post. It was a foggy misty morning that brightened a bit but remained overcast. Tough conditions for photography but okay for birdwatching. We started on the north end of Plum Island at the mouth of the Merrimack River. The first sighting wasContinue reading “Foggy Morning”