Saturday and Sunday were days where you didn’t want to venture outside with temps in the high teens and low 20s and wind chills in the singe digits. Brrr! (Click on blog link for other photos.)
You can see the ice chunks on Cape Cod Bay and along the shores. Rock Harbor also has a lot of ice, but it is still moving so the fishing boats are likely not stuck there as temperatures will go up this week. The last photo is of Boat Meadow Creek that is also full of ice.
It’s the fist time this winter that I’ve seen ice along the shore of Cape Cod Bay and up into the creek. I wonder where all the birds go that frequent these waters for food?
You can always find a bench to sit on at most of the beaches on Cape Cod. I love it the most early in the morning or later in the day when you have the beach to yourself… with just the birds and sound of the water.
I had taken a walk to Boat Meadow Beach to see if there was anything “exciting” to photograph. And there, in one of the little tidal ponds in the salt marsh, were 5 of these birds. I wasn’t sure what they were as they looked more like summer shorebirds than birds I would see in the winter. (Click on blog link to see other photograph.)
I was so surprised when I got home and put my photographs up on the computer and realized that yes, they were Greater Yellowlegs. It wasn’t until one of them walked up by the grass that you could see his bright yellow legs. Wow!
According to my Checklist of Cape Cod Birds, Great Yellowlegs are rare but regular this time of the year and usually hard to find. How cool is that!
The Common Eider is such a beautiful water bird. I love it when I see them swimming around. There are quite a few of them at Boat Meadow Creek and Rock Harbor this winter. (Click on blog link for more photos.)
The first photograph is of an adult male. The 2nd photo is of a male during its first winter. And the last photograph is of a female Common Eider.
Any birders out there, please let me know if this is correct!
Cape Cod daily articles on the wonderful Cape Cod places to hike, experience and photograph. A Cape Cod Outdoor Adventure Series.
