Eastern Screech Owl and Canvasback Ducks

Eastern Screech Owl-Red Phase

It is Thursday and another day birding with Doug. Our plans today initially was to travel to Plymouth in order hopefully to see and photograph the Canvasback duck that has been seen in Plymouth harbor. I have seen canvasback ducks in the past, but the last time I had photographs one of them was over 30 years ago. However, a plans got changed when last night nice lady, Linda, who had met a week or so ago while I was photographing at Jenney pond in Plymouth and who is a birder, called me and told me a boat a red-faced screech owl at Sagamore Beach. It was at a house that used to live in and was visiting and found that at the end of the driveway and she hoped I could have a chance to go down and see and photograph it. So, rather than starting out in Plymouth we travel down to Sagamore Beach to the location and then a hole in a tree right at the side of the driveway and after me doing a screech owl call, the screech owl appeared in the whole and watched us and I was able to get some nice photographs of it.

Eastern Screech Owl-Red Phase

We then traveled to visit the Cape Cod Canal, with a tide was extremely high and mainly the usual birds were present but no alcids were there. We finally ended up at Plymouth harbor and found the canvasback's out on the water and I was able to take some photographs, not the best because of the distance, but it does show both the male and female canvasback flapping their wings.

Canvasback-male

Canvasback-female

Right now, at home we are preparing for the blizzard that is coming and hopefully we will not lose power, but we have enough food to sustain us until it's all over.