Frozen Nantucket

 I convinced Josh to come to Nantucket for a quick three day visit in the hopes of seeing a snowy owl (seen by Spruce during the Christmas Bird count) and the Bald Eagle family in residence at Sesachacha Pond (documented by Janette Vohs).  And it will be the time of the full moon:  The Wolf Moon, also called the Ice Moon.  And the mean temperature from Jan 4-10 has been under freezing, so many bodies of water are frozen.

As we drove from the ferry to Sconset on the Polpis Road,  there was the adult eagle sitting on the ice in the middle of Sesachacha Pond! Objective met...a successful first visit of the New Year.

Sesachacha Pond  is almost completely frozen,  with some areas of open water.   It looks kind of slushy;  I didn't go to try to walk on it.   Later,  I drove to Quidnet and hiked out to the cut.  Some surf scoters were sleeping on the pond edge but  they were outnumbered by dead birds: a  sprawling herring gull  and several  male eiders.   Rafts of thousands of eiders drifted offshore, along with white wing scoters.  I was rewarded by the black-headed gull,  which flew overhead.  It is a relative of the more common Bonaparte's gull.  Birds of the World indicates this European species may now be breeding in NewFoundland.

We drove out to Coskata and to Coatue in search of the snowy owl,  without luck.  But we saw many yellow-rumped warblers,  a flock of about 20 hopping from cedar to cedar.  Views of Great Point Light,  long-tailed ducks and all three scoters...and the sere landscape. A northern harrier hunted. Coskata is also frozen,  with some areas of open water near the harbor.  We are still struggling with the January colds and coughs, so staying in the car was okay.

In the afternoon I hiked Milestone Bog and flushed a couple of meadowlarks by the barns.  I also flushed a great blue heron at Gibbs Pond.  The pond is frozen with a small area of open water.  The Wolf Moon rises, with the golden hours colors lighting up the sea.

Wolf Moon Rises

Tuesday morning I checked out Sesachacha..and the adult bald eagle was sitting at the top of the highest evergreen across the pond surveying the area.  There was also a great blue heron roost in an evergreen;  six huddled up. 

December 2024's mean temperature was 38.6,  with a range of 33.8 to 43.8 degrees.  There was  1.61 inches of  rain.   Temperature was lower than in 2023 and 2022.  In December 2023:  the mean temperature was 42.7  with a range of 38.8 to 46.4. There was .81 inches of rain. In 2022,  the mean temperature was 41.1,  with a range of 17.6 to 45.6.  There was 1.98 inches of rain.

Black-headed Gull

Bald Eagle 

Sunrise January 14

Winter approaching

December 13, 2024

The Cold Moon is December's full moon, and calls to me. The rising sun is almost at its southernmost point; after the Solstice it will rise more and more to the north. The sun rises before the moon sets. The sunrises are easy to get up for at 7 am. The sunrise is full of hope no matter what the weather. 

Windswept Bog is closed to hiking; it is being restored to a natural wetland, so I hike Milestone Bog.  The golden grasses wave and contrast with the burgundy cranberries. My walk is mostly quiet of birdsong , except for the odd Canada goose honk or crow's caw. Flickers jump up at the end of the bog, a red-tailed hawk hunts, a great blue heron huddles in the Lee of Gibbs Pond. Signs of oncoming winter. 

Our Sunday morning birding group of 4 saw a tufted duck on Hummock Pond and 6 palm warblers at Bartlett's Compost heap. That is the most I've seen at anyone time! The way we found the tufted duck was a great collaboration.: I spotted a duck that was different from the scaup, thinking perhaps it was a ring-necked duck. Ginger Andrews instructed me to look for the tuft. Spruce and I looked at the bill and found the black nail at the end. 

I missed seeing the Northern Lapwing and the tundra swan. I haven't been in a mood to hunt the rarities, although I enjoy them when I see them.

The gannets are moving off the coast. The moonrise winks between the clouds.  We miss seeing the actual Cold Moon rise because of the clouds.