Day after Christmas

Fishing boat leaving Rye Harbor

Saturday morning, the kids and I woke up at oh-dark-o'clock to travel up to Rye, New Hampshire.  Hopefully to photograph the snowy owl that has been present at Rye Harbor state Park.  When we arrived there were a number of cars in the parking lot with a lot of people looking for the snowy owl, however, no one had sighted the snowy owl.  We struck a conversation up with one fella who said that it looked like the snowy owl had not been present for a week.  Oh well, that is photographing the nature.

The large moon was slowly setting and I got a picture of it by a large conifer.

Setting Moon

The sun was rising and I got a silhouette of the Quadricentennial Monument, looking out to the isles of shoals.  The monument celebrates the 400 anniversary of Capt. John Smith reaching and naming the Isles of shoals after himself and the area that we know as New England.  "John Smith’s map and widely read book “A Description of New England” detailed the region’s teeming fishing banks, abundant game, clean rivers, vast forests and native people. The book had a major influence in the subsequent wave of English migration to these shores. The map guided the Pilgrims to Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1620 and led John Winthrop to the Charles River and the founding of Boston in 1630."  

Silhouette of the 1614 Monument

With no snowy owl, we decided first to stop at Rye Harbor, which at times can be very good for photographing loons and seabirds as they fish near the docks.  Again, we were shut out.  On on the road again to Salisbury State Park, where at the boat launch ramp.  We met a number of photographers that I knew.  And again, everybody stated everything was quiet.

We ended up at Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, the major sighting were a large number of ducks in the pannes, a song sparrow,  a Mockingbird and a  Harrier, gliding over the grasslands looking for prey.  Prior however to reaching Parker River, at the pink house on the plum island Parkway.  We photographed a hawk on the chimney.

Hawk on a Chimney

Northern Harrier Over the Marsh

Black Ducks

It was a comfortable, sunny day, and again, it was enjoyable just being out.

Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

Gadwal in the Pannes

On Tuesday morning, the family and I left early to beat the traffic through Boston on the way to visit Parker River National Wildlife Refuge.  Because of the breeding season for terns and piping plovers all the beach accesses in the refuge, were closed to traffic.  Not until we reached Sandy Point State Reservation were we able to walk out onto the beach.  We very slowly drove up the road from the entrance, stopping and photographing different birds, as we visualize them.  We walked the number of the trails enjoying the sights and the weather.  Mostly what we saw were the breeding birds.  Meeting a number of birders, they all remarked on the lack of migrants compared to a few days ago.  Apparently apparently the migrants continued on their northward journey.

Easton Kingbird

Bobolink

Willet.  On the Top of a Tree

At Sandy Point, we saw a few shorebirds, including black-bellied plover, dunlin, and my first of the year piping plover.  There was an adult great black-backed gull feeding on a crab, the interesting part, the crab was still alive.

Piping Plover Feeding

Black-Bellied Plover

Great black-backed Gull With a Crab

We met a birder at Bill's Forward Blind, who told us about some other locations in the area that we did not know about, since we are mainly southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island people.  After leaving Parker River, we end up traveling down Rough Meadows Massachusetts Audubon Sanctuary in Raleigh Massachusetts, which we explored for only a short time.  The reason was it was the middle of the day, there was a bright sun and we were hungry.  Looking at the sign of the sanctuary trails, there were a number of different ones to walk, plus if we go down the road further we end up on the backside of Parker River.

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