Bird Photography Weekly #65

Going to break away from the Rio Grande Valley posts quickly for this week's BPW.

Since returning from our trip, there have been a lot of great bird reports locally, which made it somewhat difficult to decide where to head on what was predicted to be a balmy sunny Saturday. Should we head to Plum Island for Lark Bunting, or maybe to Allen's Pond for a shot at Henslow's Sparrow, or perhaps to Boston's Fenway for a MacGillivray's warbler that had been seen pretty reliably. In the end, we decided to head up to Cape Ann to check out some spots in Gloucester and Rockport. These areas are great in the winter, usually gernering some of the less common/rare gulls, and usually a good number of other birds too. There had been reports for two days of a drake King Eider - which is a bird we usually see here in the winter, and often get good looks with a scope. What was different about this sighting was that people were almost looking down onto the bird from a bridge over a channel near Good Harbor Beach. So we decided to give it a shot. When we arrived, it was low tide, and there was almost no water in the channel at all - and no sign of the bird. So we continued to bird other areas and get lunch to give the tide a chance to rise. When we returned, I managed to spot the bird "a little ways out" but nothing spectacular for looks.
While watching him in the scope, he seemed to be simply drifting on the tide, and soon he was closer...

Then, at one point, he made the decision to make a more concerted effort to head towards the channel where he'd been reported before...


And provided wonderful looks in the afternoon light!
I should note that this is not some barren beach, but rather active with a lot of dog owners who are permitted to let their dogs run free here, as well as a lot of surfers. (Yep - surfing in New England ocean waters in the winter - and you though birders were crazy?!?)

The eider did get to a point, then obviously was having a difficult time deciding if he risked going any further into the channel with all the people and dogs nearby. But it turns out that he was close enough, because he starting diving and came up with a few crabs to nosh on.


After enjoying a early crab dinner, he stretched out, then retreated to some rocks, that were further away from the dogs and surfers, but actually not to far from the small crowd of birders that had gathered to enjoy almost unprecedented looks at this bird in MA.

Finally, he sat down in the warm afternoon light and relaxed while digesting his meal.
Truly a rare and wonderful experience to see this beautiful bird this well.



PS - as always click on the photos to see larger versions!




To see some great bird photos from around the world, check out: