Snowy Owl at Duxbury Beach

Things didn't go quite according to plan this morning, but it all worked out for the best.  The roads were wet, my windshield was repeatedly in need of washing, and the sun was shining right on the windshield, so I missed my exit for my intended destination of Hull and Nantasket Beach.  When I saw that I was already at the Duxbury Beach exit, I took it and decided to either walk here, or get out the GPS while stopped.  In the end, the walk won out.

There was a looming dark cloud moving quickly towards the coast, so I thought I should take advantage of the sun while it lasted and get out there!  As it turned out, the light was beautiful because of the clouds, and eventually it blew through and the sun survived to shine all day.

The weather was a bit more promising looking behind me.

I met a very nice woman named Erica while walking on the beach.  She was collecting beach glass and explained to me that it was easier to see on overcast days than in the bright sun.  She picked up two beautiful, large green pieces while we were chatting, and I located a small round light blue piece!  Fun! I can see how this could become a tempting pass time!

I worried about missing a Snowy Owl sighting while focusing so much attention on the ground, though.  Soon after I voiced my concern, I thought I saw the shape of an owl on the dune.  What a great destination this turned out to be!

Snow on the dunes

I took the dirt road back in hopes of seeing the owl again as it had flown off in that direction.  These two beautiful sparrows were flitting along the fence line as I went through the path through the dunes.

American Tree Sparrows

I did get another view of the owl, high on an old telegraph pole.  Love it!