Merry Christmas

Pied Beauty


Glory be to God for dappled things —
For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
For rose-moles in all stipple upon trout that swim;
Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
Landscape plotted and pieced — fold, fallow, and plough;
And all trades, their gear and tackle and trim.
All things counter, original, spare, strange;
Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
Praise him.

 
Gerard Manley Hopkins

Santa's sleigh ride as pulled by seven tiny terns

American Coot

“Coot” 1. A dark-gray water dwelling bird resembling a duck 2. A foolish old man

This funny, quarrelsome, diving water bird that frequents ponds and wetlands is the American Coot. Not actually a duck, the coot is more closely related to a Rail. With a sleek blue-black back (appearing dark at a distance) that coot paddles and dives in freshwater, swimming with its signature head trust motion like a wind-up toy. The Coot is one of the most rewarding discoveries for the beginner birdwatcher because it lends itself to identification even at distance and often without the help of binoculars. Watch for the funny motion of these birds, neck thrusting, head held forward, and squat body. Though often feeding amongst other ducks Coots lack the curvy shape of a duck and, like some species of ducks, feeds by diving under water to catch small fish, crustaceans, or to forage for aquatic plants. Keep an eye on your local wetland and you may turn up one of these foolish old men.

Each winter Snowy owls appear out of the arctic drift like Santa Claus part illusion part myth. Snowy owls are “irruptive” migrations following the booms and shortages of prey. Summer tundra nesters, these diurnal hunters find tiny breaks in our hardwood forests, little postcards of home in the form of airstrips, beach dunes, and frozen saltwater marshes. These pockets of “tundra” are enough and from December to February Snowy owls can be found as far south as long island and coastal New Jersey. In New England locations like Duxbury and Salisbury Beaches, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge, and even Logan Airport are good locations to find “Snowies”. Locating these amazing birds can be tricky. Patience and good spotting scope help. Owls like flat, open country but often hunt from a top a rise like a fence post, hummock, large boulder, or even small duck hunting blind. When the snow comes and ice chunks push up from the river the task gets harder but in the cold, drier, pre-snow months of November and December the only confusion will be gulls and the stray bleach bottles (commonly used as a bailer with local boaters). Seeing one of these massive birds is like seeing a fierce and foreign invader; even while standing on the top floor of the short term airport parking lot Snowies serve as a reminder that wilderness and wildness are not synonymous. 

Fallen Willow Snowy Owl by Robert Bateman

The Snowy Owls have arrived

View Snowy Owls in the Upper US and Canada, 2011-12 in a larger map