A whole day to play, decent weather--time for something relatively ambitious. A day at the Cape. I started at Long Pasture, a MassAudubon site I'd never visited before.
Herring Gull tries to figure out a quahog, Long Pasture, Barnstable, MA
Then I moved down the coast to Sandy Neck. Lots of storm damage. And scoters.
Black Scoter, Surf Scoter (flying), Sandy Neck, Barnstable, MA
All three scoters, plus lots of long-tailed ducks, horned grebes, red-breasted mergansers.
Horned Lark running around
A pair of birds, a skittish horned lark and a sand-colored savannah sparrow, hung out together at the parking lot.
Savannah Sparrow, Sandy Neck parking lot
Then, after a quick stop at Town Neck (more red-breasted mergansers, all asleep), I moved across the canal, to Scusset Beach.
Jetty at Scusset Beach, Sagamore, MA
More horned larks, scoters, and holy cow, common eider. More than I've ever seen at one time (and I've seen some pretty large groups).
Common Eider, Cape Cod Canal
Mixed in were a few red-breasted mergansers and common loons, offering nice up-close views.
Common Loon, Cape Cod Canal
And then, just as I was turning to leave, the eider (most of them anyway) took off, seemingly bothered by an approaching boat. Video below of them lifting up and streaming away.
Not quite snow geese, but pretty awesome--a great way to end the day.
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