They seemed a bit on the fence...

We took a nice random drive tonight looking for a reported Barnacle Goose with no luck, but based on reports we sure were close! We ended up seeing 5 turkeys, male and female, roosting 2 feet off the ground on a picket fence. You just never know what your going to see, off to Plum Island tomorrow! Happy New Year!
Bill

New Hampshire Seacoast Birds 3 new ones for me!

 Horned Grebe

I had a chance to do a little birding on my way home from my companies monthly beach cleanup at Jenness Beach. I am happy to say I picked up 3 lifers in less than a half hour!

 Surf Scoter

Last but not certainly not least! The three Images are male ( with the long tail ) and female Long-Tailed Ducks. These ducks used to be called Oldsquaw back in the day, too bad they changed it that is more fun to say...OllllddddSQuwaaaawww. The ducks are beyond beautiful and they are not even in breeding plumage.

I really enjoy seeing a species of bird for the first time, at this rate it is going to start getting a lot harder. I will have to update my New Hampshire bird list to see where I am at.

-Bill

Limited 2012 Calendars Available!!

Get them while they are hot!

Sandhill Cranes pay a visit to Massachusetts!

I spent nearly the entire day Sunday exploring the Massachusetts seacoast looking for birds and other wildlife. The trip didn't let me down! Based on some reports from the Mass Bird List  I decided to head to Rowely first to see if I could locate the Sandhill Cranes that have been reported several times last week.

Just to note, Sandhill Cranes are very rare for this area but very abundant our in our Western states.  Sunday marked the first time I have ever seen this species in person. In the birding world there is a term for this. The very first time you identify a species, this is called a "lifer". I like to make it even more certain that for me a "lifer" includes a photos to document the sighing. Many times I will think I saw one type of bird but it was actually another, as in this past Sunday I was certain that I was photographing a Northern Harrier, only to find out it was a Rough-Legged Hawk, another Lifer for me!

There were 2 Cranes in the farm field when I arrived. They were close to the road so it was pretty easy to get some nice shots without disturbing the birds. From what I can tell, they will stick around a few more days and then continue to migrate.

When birds as rare as these show up it can cause quite a stir in the nature photography world. Want to see what nearly $100,000 in camera gear looks like? You would think Paris Hilton was out there in that muddy field somewhere.

This is what the crane thought of all the attention. I'm pretty sure he felt this was his best side. Notice how he is checking to see if people are watching!