winter birds

December 29, 2001

Adopt these cats at Merrimack River Feline Rescue Society

Today's Bird Sightings
Plum Island
snowy owl (1)
short-eared owl (1)
snow bunting (12)
American crow (5)
Canada goose (277)
herring gull (71)
common eider (150)
great black backed gull (4)
ring-billed gull (12)
dunlin (3)
snow goose (64)
American black duck (2)
mallard (40)
northern harrier (1)
I495 in Haverhill
red tailed hawk (2)

This Year's Bird Sightings
Plum Island Bird List

Today's Reading
The Birds of Heaven: Travels with Cranes by Peter Matthiessen

This Year's Reading
2001 Book List

Even if this entry had no date the presence of snowy owl, short-eared owl, and snow bunting in the bird list gives it away. Yes, we are in winter. It just felt so right and wintry when the first three species I saw this afternoon were winter ones. The salt pannes are frozen, as is the North Pool and a lot of the pool at Hellcat. The open water at Hellcat is full of geese, mostly Canada geese but a few snow geese who are then joined by a flock of about 60 of them who pass noisily directly over my head as they come in for a landing. Their crisp white with black wingtips makes them look wintry too. Considering how unwintry this winter has been so far it's kind of comforting to see all these northern visitors.

A small raft of eiders bobs in the waves off Emerson Rocks. Three shorebirds huddle low on a rock the way purple sandpipers or dunlin do. They're way too pale to be purple sandpipers so I conclude they are dunlin. With the wind blowing my scope around and it not being all that powerful a scope anyway, I'm not going to be able to see the diagnostic eye ring to make them purples. Besides, my gut feel says they are dunlin. Another birder with a better scope arrives and concurs that they are dunlin despite our wishful thinking. He tells me I just missed a peregrine falcon perched on the osprey platform. I tell him about the snowy owl, which he missed because he didn't start looking until after he passed the gatehouse. We wish each other luck.

At the cat shelter I meet one very unhappy new cat. Celia is declawed and afraid of us. She lets me take her picture after a few hisses, and I think she'll settle down when she gets used to being with all these other cats. Ringo rubs against me and purrs for me. He seems to have completely lost his fear of people. He's such a cutie and much happier now that he's finally over that lingering upper respiratory infection. Sandy is supervising from the top of the dryer and seems glad to see me. Even Smokey seems glad to see me today.

My lingering upper respiratory infection (actually sinus infection) seems to be lifting finally and a large dark roast coffee from Fowle's definitely helps.