You are coming, aren't you?

Northern Mockingbird

Check out Cape Ann Birding Weekend!

Friday-Sunday, February 5-7, 2010

Wolf Moon over Gloucester

While I was driving home from work the sun was setting on a cold and blustery day. By the time I got home, the show was just about over, but when I looked to the north-east, there was the Wolf Moon rising in the remnants of the sunset. Dot of Dot's Daily Photo Blog brought to our attention that this is the Wolf Moon.



I decided to take this shot to show you what what going on. Notice that the moon is a little jagged around the edges. This is due to the turbulence in the air. The wind sock was straight out and notice the two pennants. These are over the USCG station and signify that there is a gale warning of 34 - 47 knots forecasted for the area.

Cooper's Hawk in my back yard.

A couple of days ago, I had a Cooper's Hawk in the front yard. Yesterday morning, I had one in the back yard.

I got up early to get to work a little early and while pulling out, I spied a Cooper's Hawk. Since I was ahead of schedule, I had time to go back for my camera, grab a few shots and get to work on time.

Check out Cape Ann Birding Weekend!

Friday-Sunday, February 5-7, 2010





News Flash! Steve B talks about Birding Cape Ann on GoodMorningGloucester.Org!

Forgotten Photo Friday, Great Black-backed Gull

This forgotten photo was shot with a 3Mpx Cannon Point and Shoot right after we first arrived in Gloucester.



You are coming to Gloucester, aren't you? Bring your camera and lots of memory sticks.

Check out Cape Ann Birding Weekend!





News Flash! Steve B talks about Birding Cape Ann on GoodMorningGloucester.Org!

Eastern Point as the sun goes down

My brother and sister-in-law came over for a visit and we went to see the Cape Ann lighthouses. I held off for Eastern Point for last because it looked like a good sunset was on tap. When we got there, I said, "The show starts in 15 minutes." The sun was still well over the horizon and they doubted me.

Here are two shots that we took. The first is mine.



The second one is my brother's.



Great colors! He took about 130 shots of our six light houses. Did I deliver the goods or what?

Aren’t you just itching?

Aren't you just itching to come out to Cape Ann to do some birding?







Realizing that a lot of people come out to Gloucester to bird, I created a new tag Birding Cape Ann. All of my bird photos that were taken on Cape Ann are now accessible by clicking this tag.

Coming up on February 5th is the Cape Ann Birding Weekend. Click the logo for details.

Straightsmouth Island

Today, we have radar, charts, GPS, radios and lights. Just looking at this island in the light fog makes me wonder what it was like sailing in wooden ships at night. There are islands, rocks and shoals. Thankfully, wrecks are very rare these days.

Purple Sandpiper in Snow

Yah little buddy, keep that nose warm.

Snow Bunting

These Snow Buntings were shot up at Andrews Point in Rockport, MA.

Good Harbor Sunrise

It is so easy to get up and catch the sunrise on the east side of town.

Forgotten Photo Friday, Blue Eyes

Last July I had the opportunity to visit a Brant's Cormorant nesting colony. They have the bluest eyes. You can see other photos from this shoot on my earlier post.

Annisquam Light as sunset

Annisquam light is at the mouth of the Annisquam river which is an estuary that flows through Cape Ann, cutting off Gloucester and Rockport from the rest of the world.

The mouth of the Annisquam opens to Ipswich Bay. A canal was cut to through Gloucester so that the Annisquam could be used by boats to navigate through Cape Ann rather than around it. This light overlooks Ipswich Bay and has views of Plum Island and New Hampshire.



A Coast Guard family lives in this house. Since I knew that no one was home when I was shooting, I took this picture. But normally, I would not invade their privacy.

I'm not digging the lates Picasa version that was forced on us. It seems to export photos with lower highlights. Shame they have to mess with a good thing.

The Dunlin in the Snow

We are at the very north end of the Dunlin’s winter range on the Atlantic coast. This Dunlin is getting by on the Dogbar Breakwater with the Purple Sandpipers.

Snow Goose Bat-turn

B and I took a drive up to Newburyport, MA to try a new restaurant. On the way back, just before we reached Essex, we drove by a golf course with some Canada Geese. Driven about 40 miles per hour, (in a 50 mph zone) I was focused on the person in front of me. I mentioned the Canada Geese. Then B said, "Yah, and there was a white farm goose in there, too"

White farm goose????? BAT-TURN!!!!!

I did a Bat-turn and pulled out the camera. (Screw American Express, it's the camera that I never leave home without.) Before we knew it, there were three other cars pulled over. It just goes to show, there are a lot of birders out on the road.



Um, you have some salad in your teeth.



B isn't a birder, but she knows when there is something out of the ordinary, like yesterday's Cooper's Hawk that I posted. Good bird, B, good bird.

I know that many of my friends a little further west have Snow Geese by the hundreds and thousands, but here on Cape Ann, there are not very common. Last March I got nice shots of a Snow Goose at Lanes Cove that you may want to check out.

Cooper's Hawk in my front yard.

Living as far east as one can on the east coast, my front yard is rather damp and not a habitat normally frequented by hawks. So it was much to my surprise when Becky called to me from the kitchen to have a look at a bird, it turned out to be a Cooper's Hawk.

Forgotten Photo Friday, Sailing into the sunset

This weather vane sits atop a restaurant in Newburyport, Massachusetts. The setting sun reflects off of a summer thunderstorm, illuminating the sky. I took this photo in the summer of 2008 as the sun was setting an a storm was building in the east.

Chasing the light

I was up in Rockport on the east side of Cape Ann when I noticed the refractive colors forming in these clouds. This was an indication that I needed to get to the west side of the cape as quickly as possible.



No picture is worth getting into an accident for or if you get a ticket, you're not going to get your shot. So I efficiently made my way back to Gloucester, watching the colors develop. This was shot from Solomons Landing.



When I arrived, the colors were unbelievable as they reflected off of the bottom of the clouds. Shot through the USCG station property, two herring boats head out to sea.



By the time I made it over to the Man at the Wheel, the show was almost over.



I originally wanted to call my blog "Chasing the Light" but someone had already used it and shut it down. Sometimes that is what I feel like I'm doing...chasing the light.

All boats rise with the tide.

Here in Gloucester, we have a saying, "All boats rise with the tide" meaning when one does better, we all do better.