LIVE FROM ATLANTIC ROAD WITH HUGE WAVES THREE HOURS BEFORE HIGH TIDE
Tag: Atlantic Road
RARELY SEEN ON LAND TINY AND BEAUTIFUL DOVEKIE FOUND ON LOCAL BEACH -By Kim Smith
A tiny pelagic seabird, the Dovekie, was discovered this morning laying dead in the sand. I think it must have died very recently as it was completely intact. Dovekies are the smallest of the auks (the puffin family) and when on the beach they are in serious trouble because they walk very poorly and have difficulty taking off. Most of us will only ever catch a glimpse of this tiny treasure far away and out to sea and although very dead, it was beautiful to see.
Dovekies (also known as the Little Auck) breed on islands in the high Arctic and move south to the the north Atlantic in the winter. Several weeks ago, one was spotted off the shoreline on Atlantic Road.
Photos of living Dovekies courtesy wikicommonsmedia.
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SNOW STORM BACKSHORE ATLANTIC ROAD HIGH TIDE SURGE AND EXPLODING WAVES -By Kim Smith
Today during the snow storm at 8am at peak high tide, this is what the exploding surf along Atlantic Road looked like. Cold and windy, with big fat wet snowflakes, it was beautiful nonetheless.
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STAR POWER – NANCY MARCIANO IN THE HOOD!
My friend Nancy loves Snowies and especially Hedwig’s story. She drove over from Beverly this morning to see if she could see Hedwig and yes, there she was once again, perched on one of her favorite lookouts, the railing of the Ocean House Hotel at Bass Rocks.
Star to star–Nancy meets Hedwig and she is positively beaming 🙂
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SNOWY OWL AERIAL FIGHT -By Kim Smith
Snowy Owl Aerial Fight
Hedwig arrived at Bass Rocks with the rising sun. Her face was smudged with blood from what I imagine was a satisfying breakfast. Off and on throughout the day, in between naps, she preened and groomed. By the end of afternoon her facial feathers were smooth and white.
After a day of grooming and resting, notice how much cleaner her face is at day’s end.
A horde of crows arrived to harass Hedwig but she held her ground.
Hedwig crouching down while the crows were dive bombing
She jumped from the upper rock down to the lower rock just prior to taking off.
Late in the day, about the time when she would ordinarily take off to hunt, a cell phone person crept out onto the rocks, getting way to close to her. Hedwig was visibly uncomfortable and took off over the water. Suddenly and seeming from out of nowhere, Bubo came flying towards her. An aerial skirmish ensued but with no real contact. The battle appeared to be about establishing territory. Although taking place out over the water in the distance nevertheless, you can see the owl’s facial expressions were incredible; click on the photos to see larger images.
Bubo took over the rocky area near to where had been Hedwig’s perch for the day, while she flew further down the rocks.
She perched on the the rocky beach, when the same cell phone person again got way too close, and caused her to flush a second time.
Perhaps this was just an average day in a Snowy Owl’s life but I was reminded once again that nearly every moment of a wild creature’s life is a struggle to survive.
SNOWY OWL WATCHING TIPS: The following are some helpful tips for watching Snowy Owls.
- Watch from a comfortable distance–comfortable for the bird that is. Nothing makes the Owls more stressed than people getting too close.
- Please keep children from throwing rocks towards the Snowy or anywhere within the vicinity of the Owl.
- Please don’t allow dogs to play near the Snowies.
- There have been reports of Snowies flying into cars. They often fly low when flushed and it is easy to understand why this may happen, especially as the Snowies are drawing so much traffic. Please be on the look out when you are in known Snowy Owl territory.
- Slamming doors, radios blasting, barking dogs, and loud mufflers all stress the Snowies.
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SNOWY OWL BUBO HAS A BOOBOO -By Kim Smith
Although Bubo appears to have an injury surrounding his left eye, it did not seem to affect his ability to see. I sent a photo yesterday to Erinn Whitmore and both she and Jodi Swenson confirmed that he’s probably okay at this point.
This afternoon he flew into Hedwig’s territoy, which had been hers all day, and after an aerial battle took place, he claimed her rock. I don’t know if it’s the light but Bubo’s eye does not look any better today. The crows and seagulls are vicious and unrelenting towards the Snowies, other raptors don’t want them in their territory, and they are battling each other–it’s easy to understand how an eye could become injured. Posting photos tomorrow of the Snowy battle.
Comparing right eye versus left eye.
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SNOWY OWL FIGHT AND HEDWIG AND BUBO WEEKEND UPDATE -By Kim Smith
Hedwig preparing for take-off.
Reports by several photographers have come in that early Sunday morning Hedwig and Bubo had a tremendous fight. They were going at it talon to talon and the feathers were flying. This is normal behavior amongst Snowy Owls. They are not a mated pair; Hedwig arrived at Bass Rocks weeks earlier than Bubo, and Snowy Owls don’t migrate together. The two were most likely fighting over territory. As a matter of interest, we generally see more males in our region because the female Snowies are stronger and better fliers and they often stake out territory further north, closer to their Arctic home base.
Bubo after the fight.
The two Snowies retreated, spending the remainder of the day on the Atlantic side of Bass Rocks. Bubo was perched out in the open opposite the Inns, while Hedwig stayed tucked under the shelter of a rock outcropping.
At dusk they both flew to their favorite perches to begin a night of hunting. Hedwig was unfortunately being dive-bombed by a single crow and Bubo may have been chased from the area by a bunch of crows. Monday morning, as of this writing, only Hedwig was seen.
SNOWY OWL WATCHING TIPS: The following are some helpful tips for watching Snowy Owls, reposted from yesterday.
- Watch from a comfortable distance–comfortable for the bird that is. Nothing makes the Owls more stressed than people getting too close.
- Please keep children from throwing rocks towards the Snowy or anywhere within the vicinity of the Owl.
- Please don’t allow dogs to play near the Snowies.
- There have been reports of Snowies flying into cars. They often fly low when flushed and it is easy to understand why this may happen, especially as the Snowies are drawing so much traffic. Please be on the look out when you are in known Snowy Owl territory.
- Slamming doors, radios blasting, barking dogs, and loud mufflers all stress the Snowies.
Reader Amy Mcmahon shared the following blog post about observing signs of stress in owls Signs of Stress in Owls.
Many thanks to Amy for sharing!
Hedwig grooming her feet and talons.
Hedwig in flight
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NOT ONE, BUT TWO SNOWY OWLS ON THE BACKSHORE, PERCHED WITHIN METERS OF ONE ANOTHER! -By Kim Smith
Golden Eyes of the Snowy in the Golden Light of Sunset
Snowy Owls once again this January drew crowds along the backshore Saturday and Sunday afternoons. Fans were treated to not one, but two Snowies, and for quite a good amount of time they were perched within meters of one another–the paler owl (most likely a male) sat atop the corner of the Ocean Inn and the owl with heavily barred feather patterning (most likely a female) perched at the top of a phone pole.
With the clear distinction between the owl’s feather patterns I think we could name the Snowies–the female, Hedwig (thank you Michele for the suggestion) and the male, Bubo. The scientific name for the Snowy Owl is Bubo scandiacus and the name Bubo may help us remember that fact.
The photos were taken Saturday and I’ll have time to post Sunday’s tomorrow.
Notice how perfectly Bubo blends amidst the surrounding rocks.
It’s no wonder why the Snowies are drawing such crowds. Most owl species are nocturnal; Snowy Owls are diurnal, which means they hunt during daylight hours. It is logical when you think about the continuous daylight of the Arctic, they must be able to hunt during the day. Snowy Owls wintering in our region hunt during both the day and night, depending on what type of prey they are after.
SNOWY OWL WATCHING ETIQUETTE: The following are some helpful tips for watching Snowy Owls. You will get better photographs and you won’t stress out the Snowies.
- Watch from a comfortable distance–comfortable for the bird that is. Nothing makes the Owls more stressed than people getting too close.
- Please keep children from throwing rocks towards the Snowy or anywhere within the vicinity of the Owl.
- Please don’t allow dogs to play near the Snowies.
- Slamming doors, radios blasting, barking dogs, and loud mufflers all stress the Snowies.
Hedwig and Bubo have an ability to tolerate some human activity nonetheless, we want to help them survive and protect their time here on our shores. When Snowies are perching, it’s not for our enjoyment (although beautiful) but because they are either resting or on the look out for their next meal. After all, if they have a good hunting season and survive the winter, perhaps they will return next year!
Fellow photographer friend Dave shared the above photo. You can see the guy is waaaayyyyy too close to Bubo and has caused him to flush.
Snowy Owls have wonderfully expressive faces. Hedwig’s eyes lit up in the setting sun.
Female Hedwig perched in the distance on the far left, male Bubo perched on the corner of the Inn, to the right.
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WE LOVE YOU TOO SNOWY OWL!
For the past several days there has been a remarkably tolerant Snowy Owl feeding and perching on the rocks at Atlantic Road. Perhaps she (or he) is the same Snowy that has been noticed on the backshore over the course of the past month. I write tolerant because this Snowy was perched about fifteen feet from the sidewalk and neither traffic nor birdwatchers seemed to faze her much. As word has gotten out, her fan club has grown, so much so that there was a bit of a traffic jam today. Every several hours I stopped by to check on her whereabouts. At 2:00 today, she had only moved about a foot from where she was at daybreak. By sundown, she had flown up onto the rooftops of an Atlantic Road resident.
Many thanks to Kate for all her text alerts letting me know when the Snowy was on the backshore!
Early morning and the Snowies face and talons were bloodstained, which is a very positive sign that she is feeding well. Snowy Owls wintering over in our region eat rabbits, rodents (lots of rats), songbirds, and ducks. Being good stewards of the Snowies means not applying rat poison around your home or business. There are several methods equally as efficient in killing rats as rat poison. When a bird of prey such as a Peregrine Falcon, Snowy Owl, Red-tailed Hawk, or Bald Eagle ingests a rat that has eaten rat poison, the raptor becomes sick and will usually die.
The Snowy spent the better part of the day mostly dozing, preening, cleaning her talons, and puffing her feathers for warmth. At one point she pushed her face into a snow patch but I couldn’t tell if it was to drink or to wash.
For a moment the Snowy sat bolt upright from a loud bang in the distance, but generally, she was a satiated and sleepy owl.
Snowy Owl Fan Club Traffic Jam
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BACKSHORE BIRDERS
Diana Peck reports that today along the backshore, the birders were finding Buffleheads, Goldeneyes, Red-breasted Mergansers, Common Eiders, Black Ducks & Mallards, and I overheard someone say when stopping to take a photo, Black Scoters.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bdxpo7jFJlg/
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MORE ATLANTIC ROAD DEMOLISHED ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE STORM MAYHEM PHOTOS
Many thanks to Mary Tucker McLoud for sending a copy of the book from which these photos originally appeared. The book is titled Storming Ashore and was published by the Gloucester Daily Times after the October 30th, 1991 no-name storm. The focus of this batch of photos is to show the extensive property damage to homes along the Atlantic side of Cape Ann.
See More Photos Here Continue reading “MORE ATLANTIC ROAD DEMOLISHED ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE STORM MAYHEM PHOTOS”
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ATLANTIC ROAD DEMOLISHED ABSOLUTELY INCREDIBLE STORM PHOTOS
These stunning photos of Atlantic Road utterly demolished by storm damage, taken in 1991, were sent to us by GMG FOB Mary McLoud Tucker. Although she resides in Annapolis, she has deep roots in Gloucester. The photos are from a booklet published by the Gloucester Daily Times. Many, many thanks to Mary for taking the time to send these very graphic images.
Photos by Cristin M. Gisler, Bart A. Piscitello, Gail McCarthy, Sally O’Maley, Jeff Pope. Text by Gail McCarthy
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NEW SHORT FILM: PERFECT WAVE
Set to music by Peter Dayton, “Perfect Wave” is a compilation of clips from the day after blizzard Jonas, filmed along the Back Shore and at Good Harbor Beach. I only needed a few shots of B-roll for several projects but the light was so beautiful I stayed and stayed. Mesmerizing, yet terrifying to imagine being on the sea in a boat, the waves were spectacular from every vantage point along Atlantic Road. As a friend said, it was a photographer’s dream that afternoon. I’d love to make another short to Peter’s fantastic surfing song, set in Gloucester at Good Harbor Beach, but during the summertime.
So many thanks to my friend Peter for allowing use of “Perfect Wave.” I heard the song on his website recently. Boston rockers will surely remember Peter from La Peste. Peter is also a phenomenal painter and you can see some of his images of minimalist surfboard inspired paintings and collaged flower paintings on his website here: Peter Dayton
Peter’s fabric designs for Dior on the New York runway
Good Morning Gloucester 
