South Shore Birding Adventure 12/28/2022

I decided to go looking for Snowy Owls at Duxbury Beach and then swing by Plympton to see if I could spot any Sandhill Cranes in the fields or Short-eared Owls at Cumberland. I didn't see any Owls at the beach. but did get a chance to see my first Horned larks and a lone Lapland longspur. The highlight, though, was seeing an adult male Harrier, the "gray ghost", kiting along the dunes near the pines. I got some great shots since it was sooo close. The photos are uncropped with my 500 mm lens.

As I headed home, I swung by some fields in Plympton looking for Sandhill Cranes that had been reported there feeding in a plowed cornfield. I lucked out again and almost missed them as I drove by. These are probably the same trio that have been at Burrage Pond and which I heard when birding with Wayne Peterson. Absolutely stunning birds, but a serious concern that they overwinter here rather than down in Florida. A consequence of global warming?

My last stop was at the Cumberland fields in Halifax to see if I could spot any Short- earred owls as the sun went down. I ran into some fellow photographers, and we headed out to the center of the fields to wait for the sun to set. No luck, but it was a great day!