Birding On The Coast

I went birding! Which isn't something I do a lot of, or at least as much as people might expect for calling me the 'bird lady'. To be honest I struggle with the attention part of it. It can also be really disappointing if you don't see what you traveled for. I also stink at identifying specks of birds through binoculars. That Northern Hawk Owl was easy, it was right off the road and a guarantee, as he'd been there for weeks. My advantage today, was my partner Neil, who is one of my roommates and a legit birder. So we took off and went pretty much straight east to the New Hampshire coastline.

Just going to the coast was beautiful. There were a lot of beaches, a lot of mansions, and even surfers!

We also saw some cool birds. Water birds were tough for me (lots of specks bobbing in the waves), and I don't have any photos. But we saw a red-throated loon, red-breasted mergansers, common goldeneyes, buffleheads, scoters, common eiders, and long-tailed ducks. (I'm expecting Danny to be the only one that knows and is excited by all of these.) We also saw a bald eagle as well as gulls, ring billed and black backed.

We saw some small birds like robins, juncos, sparrows and bluebirds. We also spent a considerable amount of time looking for a rare (for this area) spotted towhee. This is a western bird who usually stays west of the Rockies, but was all the way over here! The little guy was pretty cute. This was my best picture which is laughable:

Here's an internet picture so you can appreciate how stunning it is:

We also spotted a merlin, which I've never observed so easily in the wild. 

But I went on this expedition for one bird. The elusive snowy owl. And I saw one! Oh she was gorgeous. And just hanging out on a telephone pole along the coast. I just stared at her for so long while Neil left to look at more water birds. I tried taking some photos with my phone through my binoculars....but mostly I just gaped at her.

I also ate some fresh clam chowder by a beautiful coastline. It was a pretty fantastic and lucky day.