Monthly Archives: November 2024

My thought as a Northern Harrier flew over me. I would not want those eyes fixed on me.

But wait! This bird is white, not blue. Juvenile Little Blue Herons are all white but their plumage becomes slate-blue as adults. The blue is very similar to the shade of blue on their relatives, the Great Blue Herons. The juveniles are easily mistaken for Snowy Egrets but there are two key marks to lookContinue reading “Snapshot: Little Blue Heron”

A Bald Eagle carrying a fish that he caught or he snatched from one of the Ospreys that were fishing in San Carlos Bay, Florida.

Two male Surf Scoters flying just offshore. Colorful bills and a big white patch on the back of the head make them easy to pick out among other ducks.

This was a Hail Mary shot. A male Bufflehead was flying over a pond with a row of trees and bushes between me and the pond. Just like going for a long touchdown pass in the waning seconds of a football game, I had to try for a lucky photo as the fast moving duckContinue reading “Feathered Action: Bufflehead”

This photo was taken in April when these birds had their mating plumage. They both develop showy plumes for display. The Great Blue Heron has shaggy plumes on the back and neck. The Great Egret has wispier plumes known as aigrettes.

A small flock of Brant resting on rocks exposed at low tide. These small geese winter along our coast. They are smaller and seem less aggressive than their large cousins, Canada Geese. They are known as Brent Geese in Europe.

Our two species of Cormorants share a rock on a sunny morning. The larger bird on the left with the white patch in the throat is a Great Cormorant. They have a worldwide distribution but in North America they are restricted to Greenland and the Canadian Maritimes in the summer and the northeastern US coastContinue reading “Snapshot: Cormorants”

The first Snow Bunting of the season for me. I spotted it on the wall lining a narrow beach at the mouth of the Merrimack River. We sometimes get a large flock spending the winter in the area where this photograph was taken. Hopefully this will be a good season for seeing them. They breedContinue reading “Snapshot: Snow Bunting”

This was taken last winter. We are in a prolonged drought and as of 3 Nov we have not had a frost. Maybe we’ll get some snow by January so I can capture some similar scenes.