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These are photos of two of the less common shorebird species that migrate through the Massachusetts coast. The first is the Pectoral Sandpiper. It’s a bit larger than the more common “peeps” like Semipalmated Sandpipers. The size difference is obvious in the photos of a Pectoral flying with the Semipalms. Note the buffy breast andContinue reading “More Shorebirds”

A few of us visited a farm to look for some uncommon migrants. We had no luck with those migrants but it was an interesting side trip. This post has more mammals than birds, a change of pace from my usual entries. We visited the Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm, a National Historic Landmark, in Newbury, Massachusetts. ThereContinue reading “Down on the Farm”

The birds may be quiet inland, but the shorebirds are continuing to migrate through our area in good numbers. Yellowlegs are common, like this Lesser Yellowlegs. Two photos of Yellowlegs in flight. The tail looks like one of those fancy fans when it spreads out for landing. The most interesting migrants are pretty scarce andContinue reading “Lots of Shorebirds”

Bird activity has slowed quite a bit but there are still photo ops every time I go out with my gear. These are some recent sightings. There are some sea ducks beginning to appear off the coast but the real duck action has been on the ponds. This is a male Mallard that is stillContinue reading “Quiet Times”

The heat, humidity and rain have left us, at least for a while. Now I’m looking forward to some early fall outings in New England’s best season. These are some recent photographs that I like and want to share in the meantime. I was trying to get a decent ID photo of a Night HeronContinue reading “Some End of Summer Photos”

A cloudy morning between rainy spells turned out to be a raptor-fest. The salt pannes (water filled depressions in the salt marsh) were full of shorebirds pausing on their migration. There were also a large group of egrets and a few swans and geese. One of our group spotted a young Bald Eagle approaching theContinue reading “Raptor Morning”

Summer continues to be extra wet and extra hot. But the hardcore photographers and birders are out there anyway. The tide was coming in and starting to cover the mud flats near the mouth of the Merrimack River. We hoped to find some interesting shorebirds before the rising water forced them to move. The areaContinue reading “Another Heat Wave”

The mist and drizzle had lifted before we left the beach but the skies remained overcast. You’ll notice there is no blue sky in any pictures in this or the last post. The skies were filled with birds though. This is just a part of the huge flock of Tree Swallows swirling around us. AContinue reading “Between the Storms…Part II”

Friday morning was damp and cloudy but the weather was good enough to get out in the field between tropical storms. The remnants of Hurricane Fred, just a tropical depression, generated tornado warnings, high winds and heavy rain the previous day. And Henri hit us today as a tropical storm. I live on the fringeContinue reading “Between Storms…At the Beach”

These are more photos from last week. This week is turning out to be wet and stormy. We are watching out for a possible hit by Tropical Storm Henri on the weekend as the finale. Last week was really hot and even the birds seemed to slowed a bit by the oppressive heat and humidity.Continue reading “More from a Hot Week”