My New England trip was very successful. I found seven new birds for my annual list in Rhode Island and Connecticut. Then I joined the Tropical Birding Company's Massachusetts tour and added 28 more birds including one on a brief foray into New Hampshire.
I have now seen 262 species this year and should add dozens more in Hawaii in March.
We made a couple visits to Eastern Point Wildlife Sanctuary. The site has a jetty built in 1905 that extends 2,250 feet into Gloucester Harbor. It was not safe to walk out on it the first time we visited due to ice, high winds, high tide, and waves that were sweeping over the jetty. The purple sandpipers that we saw were not visible with the naked eye. Even with scopes they looked like little blobs,
The next day we were able to walk to the end of the jetty. We looked below us to see this purple sandpiper.
Purple Sandpiper
The jetty
We saw a group of horned larks in a field. They were so well camouflaged that we had some trouble finding them.
Three groups of horned larks
A closer view of the larks
Horned Grebe
It was warmer and less windy this morning. As we stood on the shore we all remarked about how much more comfortable the weather was. I was wearing two hats, five layers on my upper body and four on the lower half. I guess the Scandinavians are right when they say, "There is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing."