Herd of gray seals, Cape Cod National Seashore

The ability to take a day trip to Cape Cod National Seashore is a definite perk of living in the Boston area, and I was excited to go there this week for the first time since I was a little kid. I don't remember all that much from our family vacation there, but I do remember enjoying the trip overall, going whale watching, seeing horseshoe crabs, and eating my first lobster. Well, I suppose it's more accurate to say ordering my first lobster. As the story goes, I was very excited to try lobster on this trip -- most likely since my dad was so excited for it. I do have a memory of sitting in a restaurant, putting on the plastic bib that they give to those who ordered lobster, and then having a whole steamed lobster put on my plate. My family tells me that the look on my face was priceless, and that I ended up not eating it since my 5-year old self couldn't eat something that still had eyes.

So what does my story about not trying lobster have to do with the pictures I've posted for today? Perhaps not too much, it was just a memory I have of Cape Cod from a long time ago -- but I have read that gray seals do occasionally eat lobster!

Long before we moved to the area, I was already looking up information about the wildlife I would be attempting to find and photograph once we arrived. I had read that gray seal populations have been steadily increasing along the coast, and that there are a few breeding sites near Cape Cod and the Islands. Large pinnipeds will always rank highly in my book, and I was excited to take my first trip into Cape Cod National Seashore to try to find them. The conditions weren't great, since it was heavy clouds and strong winds, but seeing a large group of these seals resting together on a sand bar just offshore was a lot of fun! I'm already planning a return trip for a late afternoon low tide to try to get some better photos of these delightful marine mammals in nice light.

View more of my photos of gray seals in Cape Cod National Seashore.

Great egret on a dreary day, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

I chose the day for my first trip to Parker River National Wildlife Refuge last month based on the forecast of a cloudy day. I really enjoy shooting under cloudy skies since it means nice even lighting during the day, and that I can shoot in reasonable light for more than just sunrise and sunset. However, my trip on this day was not the nice high clouds I was hoping for, but instead ground level fog and light rain all day. The birds didn't seem to mind though, and I was able to watch all kinds of waterbirds enjoying the weather. There was a large number of great egrets and snowy egrets in the marsh along the main road -- far more than I've seen on any of my return trips so far.

I enjoyed watching this great egret preen along the edge of a salt pond, and the feeling of the dreary day added a bit to the image I think. It wouldn't have quite the same mood if was under blue skies and direct sunlight, and I might not have been able to capture the same kind of reflection either.

View more photos of great egrets in my Egrets and Herons Gallery.

Submitted to World Bird Wednesday -- Follow the link to check out this week's posts.

Sanderling with prey, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

I took a trip up to the North Shore coast again last Friday, with a return visit to the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge and Sandy Point State Reservation on Plum Island. It was a cold morning, and when I arrived at my car in the dark to start my trip, I couldn't quite believe my eyes when I saw a thick layer of ice across the windshield. Wow, it's been a long time since I've had to scrape off the frost while my car warms up! Fortunately, my wife had the foresight to suggest that we purchase an ice scraper to keep in the car last weekend (fully thinking we wouldn't need it for quite some time), and it was so nice to have it on Friday morning.

As I drove up to the coast, I couldn't help but think to myself, "Where am I?" as I saw a coating of snow on the trees and highway medians. (Of course, that was nothing compared to the crazy Nor'easter that blew through the area on Saturday. Snow in October? Really?!) Then as I was nearing the end of my drive to the beach, I saw a thick bank of marine layer fog hanging just offshore. After watching the sun set behind a fog bank over San Francisco Bay on so many evenings in the past few years, it was a new experience to watch the sun rise above the fog on this coast. It's so interesting to me how the Atlantic and Pacific coasts are so similar in many ways, and yet so different.

I arrived at beach #7 in the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge about 20 minutes after sunrise, and it was a beautiful scene to crest the dunes and see a huge expanse of beach before me. The early morning minus tide exposed so much additional land, as well as some interesting rock formations that I hadn't seen on either of my previous trips here. The shorebirds seemed to be enjoying the additional feeding grounds, and a huge flock of mixed peeps were pouring over the sand and collecting their prey in the beautiful morning light.

In terms of photographing the shorebirds, it really seems like sunset will be a much better time for beaches on the Atlantic coast. I always prefer shooting at sunrise when I can (there's just something to special about seeing the first rays of light kiss the landscape as the sun rises and wipes away the shadows), but it presents a certain problem here. In California, the sun came up over the land, so it was ideal for getting blue water behind the shorebirds on the beach. On the Massachusetts coast though, photographing shorebirds in the morning means putting yourself between the shorebirds and the waves, which is not something you want to take too lightly. Thankfully the waves were rolling in slowly on this morning, but I had to keep a wary eye behind me to make sure there were no unpleasantly wet surprises.

View more photographs of sanderlings

Guiding the herd, Yellowstone National Park

While I'm excited to have some new images to share from Massachusetts, I also still have a lot of photos to share from my trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks, so it will probably be a mix on the blog for a while. In this shot, the dominant male pronghorn that we saw on a daily basis during our trip is rounding up his herd at sunset, presumably to keep them together overnight.  While the buck was not always right with his harem, he was never far away, and it was interesting to watch their interactions. The females clearly responded to his presence, and on more than one occasion, we saw him gently guide the herd to a different location on the prairie.

View more photos of the fastest animal in North America in my Pronghorn Gallery.

Dunlin and shadow, Parker River National Wildlife Refuge

A dunlin stands alone with its shadow away from the rest of the flock at the Parker River National Wildlife Refuge on Plum Island. Finding pleasing compositions within a flock of birds can be challenging, and sometimes the most dramatic are when you can find an isolated subject set against an out of focus flock. I like how this bird gave itself some separation from the rest, and especially since it seems like its only company was its shadow.

View more of my photos of dunlin.