I am so thankful for all of the caring and hard working people who help to monitor and protect wildlife species and natural habitats. This trip touched our hearts deeply.

We have already booked our return trip for next year!

You know by now how much I love the contrast in lighting that can occur at daybreak - the inky darkness of shadows and the brilliance of the first light that pokes through. This particular morning it was extraordinary! When this high contrast occurs I always feel extra energy from the birds or mammals moving through it. Or maybe it is just my excitement. I always feel extra energy in the atmosphere around me in these moments as if we all know how special these rare moments are…

Hope Is The Thing With Feathers - Emily Dickinson

Hope is the thing with feathers

That perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words,

And never stops at all,

….

I will be returning to more LSSI posts - I am working hard on getting them ready for you. In the meantime I want to share this past Monday morning’s very special adventure in Westerly, RI. I arrived Sunday with our sister-in-law and I was out the door at about 4:50 Monday morning. The temperature was in the high 30’s with no wind and it was setting up to be a beautiful sunrise. I walked down the sandy beach road heading due east - the ocean was on my right and the Weekapaug Pond was on my left. I decided to head further down the road than I had last year. Instead of heading to the pond inlets I decided to cut over and walk along the beach.

Overnight Monday we had very intense thunderstorms roll through LSSI along with pounding rain. The forecast showed the temperature dropping like a rock as the storms swept through and the pre-dawn temperature was going to be 31 degrees! We still planned to go out the next morning - bundled up!. David arrived right on time with his bike again - 5:45. After biking for round 40 minutes we arrived at our destination - the Norm’s Pond blind.

Once we set up we shut off our headlamps and looked out through the blind and we saw so many birds roosting we could not believe it! This was going to be like a National Geographic morning - and we knew that the sun was going to rise exactly behind us! Just as it became light enough I started shooting away…. I was in my glory - this was all so amazing.

LSSI - Little St Simons Island in Georgia. Where to begin?? I guess the best place is at the beginning… :).   My brother David and I met the ferry in Brunswick, GA at 4pm on a recent Sunday in March. It is a short 15 min ride along the Hampton River to The Lodge at Little St Simons Island.  It was a gorgeous day— mid-70’s and blue skies.  Instantly we felt like we were a world away.  Before the ferry even began its journey we were watching pelicans dive bombing into the water catching their dinner.  As we traveled down the winding river we could see marsh grasses as far as we could see in the tidal marshes.  We saw a Little Blue Heron fly right by us and Great Egrets flying in the distance— this was already incredible!

This is the last post from the Florida part of my trip and I thought I would concentrate on birds that I found on an early morning beach walk.  I was on the Gulf coast and I walked on the beach so that the sun would rise over my right shoulder.

It is time to come along with me …
Very early on the winds were very calm and I found these sweeties along the way…

Another amazing adventure with sister-in-law Tami also involves Tami’s brother-in-law Bryle. While I was still in Florida visiting , Bryle let Tami and I know that he knew of where a Great Horned Owl nest was! I asked where it was and he said it was at Benderson Park. I had no idea where Benderson was or what kind of a park it was. Well, it was not around the corner but Tami said she was up for taking me and Bryle said he would meet us in order to show us the nesting site - you know how excited I was to have this opportunity. As usual we left very early - it was a very dark, foggy and cloudy morning. I think it took us about 40 minutes to get to the parking area that Bryle said to meet him at. About 2 minutes after we arrived Bryle pulled up coming from the other direction - perfect timing.

This also could be titled - Light, Camera, Action! I just returned from 12 days away - the first 7 days with family in Florida and the last 5 days with my brother David on Little St. Simons Island in Georgia. Over 95% % of the photos that I will share with you over a number of posts would not be possible without my sister-in-law Tami in Florida or my brother David on our Georgia trip - thank you, thank you! And none of these photos would be possible without Brian. Brian works with me via Zoom every other weekend to help me with all sort of things related to my photography and my ability to share with you through these posts - thank you, Brian!

Let’s start with my first morning outing with Tami at the Venice, Florida Rookery.

I am so glad that so many of you enjoyed seeing the Snowy - I have to say I think it is impossible to look at a Snowy and not smile!

I have wanted to do a post of silhouettes for quite some time - I just haven’t had the right timing etc. to create the images that were in my mind. Well…. I was in Islamorada in the Florida Keys not too long ago with my sister and her wife and I had opportunities that were more than I had dreamed of! Each morning in the very early mornings I would head to a dock and watch the world wake up around me - it was truly one stunning morning after another for 6 mornings in a row. I would get up so early that I was on the dock with no hint of dawn - just a sky so filled with stars that I felt I could reach out and touch them. I had no idea what was in store for me but wow it was truly spectacular in so many ways.

We have been graced with not one, but two, Snowy Owls here in Hampshire County this winter! At the very end of December they arrived. They caused a lot of attention because often when they do appear in our area they usually use it as a resting point as they continue on. Not this year. Two of them were consistently seen for approximately 8 weeks and the one that is assumed to be a male left early February. It was likely a male because it was much whiter than the other one which had many dark markings. All of these photos are of what I believe to be a female. A Snowy Owl is stunning and is truly a gift of a lifetime to see in the wild. When they arrived they hung out in the fields at the Northampton airport. Airports are very common areas that Snowy Owls hang out as these owls just love wide and large expanses that remind them of the arctic tundra where they breed.

We were very lucky in WMass compared to so many other parts of New England for the Blizzard of 2026. We had howling winds and we did get snow… but nothing like other parts - and we didn’t lose power. I could not wait for the roads to get cleared and for the winds to die down to get out into the Hilltowns.. On the morning that I did get out it was frigid - with no wind. I knew if there had been wind I just couldn’t do it - it was 10 degrees and the ground was just radiating so much cold because of the huge snow pack. I wanted to go to the Hawley Bog so I got up extra early and had an absolutely stunning ride up through Conway and Ashfield into Hawley. I was hoping that someone had snowshoed into the Bog. I pulled into the parking lot surrounded by enormous snowbanks.

I am so thrilled that the previous Shortie post resonated with so many of you… thank you so much for reaching out to me to let me know - I truly appreciate knowing what touches you! I love that not only was the Shortie special to you - and for some - Plum Island also brought back very special memories. It truly is a beautiful place and our Shortie encounters are something that David and I will never forget. And to Dave W - David says hi back to you!

We really could not believe our first afternoon sightings and kept talking about it - wow! We made plans to be at Parker River the next morning right for opening - the sign said - Open from Sunrise to Sunset. Now you all know that for me I consider that late! We arrived 30 minutes before sunrise and waited behind two delivery trucks for the gate to open.

I asked my brother David if he had any interest in going to Plum Island with me for 3 nights to go birding in the hopes of seeing a Short-eared owl - he immediately said yes! Plum Island is on the North Shore of Massachusetts. We went in mid-January and could not have asked for a better stretch of weather for our outings. We did not need face masks which have been so necessary during this very frigid weather - what a gift.

He picked me up mid-morning on Monday, January 12th - we packed the car to the gills and off we went. Our game plan was to go directly to the Parker River Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island - we arrived around 12:30. Neither of us had ever been - I have been wanting to go for sometime. I had been obsessively tracking both short-eared and snowy owl sightings at Parker River on e-bird for the two weeks before we left.

Christmas Day in Kennebunk was bitterly cold with overcast skies in the early morning hours. I bundled up and drove over to the Wells Reserve just hoping to see the Great Horned Owl again. I knew that was asking a lot after just seeing it on December 23rd but I thought - you just never know. I arrived at the empty parking lot and it was glare ice. I parked as close to fresh snow as I could and put on my ice grippers on the bottom of my boots and off I went - face mask and goggles rounded out my outerwear - it was cold. I decided to head down the main path like the previous time and then my plan was to head right to the area where I had seen the Great Horned Owl roosting in that bittersweet…

The main path is nice and wide with trees and tangles of brush and bittersweet on both sides. For some reason I walked more on the left side of the

The entire six days that I was in Kennebunk I saw one lone loon on the Kennebunk River. I am assuming it was the same one - but who knows. This loon is a Common Loon in his or her full winter plumage… all shades of white and black - very different than their striking summer plumage. A loon is always stunning to see and I was thrilled to see this one meandering up and down the stretch of river that I was on.

The following photos are all from Christmas Eve day. It was a very gray brutally cold day with snow off and on - I didn’t venture far. I decided to try and capture some shots of this majestic bird while it was snowing. I never heard its hauntingly beautiful call but in my mind I could hear it. The section of the river I was on is at a narrow point so I was able to get closer shots than are often possible when loons are out on a lake in their summertime habitat.

I want to let you know how much I appreciate your post comments, emails, texts and calls - and also to apologize - I just can’t keep up in responding. But please know that I am so grateful that you enjoy - coming along with me…

I decided to spend some time along the Kennebunk river during the afternoon looking for water birds. Finally the sun popped out and I saw this gorgeous Common Eider across the river… this photograph makes me cold all over again when I look at it! They are such stunning birds…

Just like last year I am back in Kennebunk for the Christmas holiday week. I arrived on Monday after a very easy drive up here - clear skies and clear sailing. I arrived in the afternoon which gave me time to get settled and organized for the week - needless to say my passion for nature photography requires a lot of equipment! Cameras, tripods, lots and lots of warm clothes, hard drives, laptop, memory cards, camera batteries and on and on. I had planned my first outing to be for Tuesday morning at the Wells Reserve at Laudholm. I spent lots of time there last year and loved it. This post is longer than usual so please settle in - I hope that you enjoy.

Up through the trees ahead of me to the right… I saw a huge white bird perched on top of a dead tree! I honestly thought - I know it isn’t a Snowy Owl - but who is it?? It was hard for me to see through the trees to get a good clean look. Unfortunately I was on a part of the road where I couldn’t just pull over. I knew going forward any further would likely flush the bird and I couldn’t back up… So I went forward as slowly as possible …. and just as I was getting a better view of the bird it flew off and crossed the road out of my view! I then looked ahead and saw

At dawn and dusk birds in huge flocks zip past while fighting the usually very strong winds out on Race Point. . The birds bobbing along on the water often ride very powerful and crashing waves. It is truly an incredible spot to spend time at - I just love it. I little further down the beach I saw hundreds and hundreds of Northern Gannets the closest I have ever seen them off the shore - flying, turning and diving for breakfast. Breathtaking!