Owl Prowl

I signed up for the MA Audubon Society's Snowy Owl Prowl on Duxbury Beach, and today was the day. Unfortunately, I made a right turn where I should have made a left and ended up getting about halfway across the Powder Point Bridge just as the van was leaving the parking area. This is a problem because without a permit, you can't drive along the beach. I decided to start walking.


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Twice I almost caught up to the van, but twice they pulled away. I kept walking. I ended up walking almost down to the point, close to three miles, when I decided that the shoes I had worn were not made for walking. By that time I had spotted the lone Snowy Owl at Duxbury that day.

Snowy Owls summer in the arctic and are diurnal ground owls. They don't perch in trees, or high above the ground. Rather, they sit on the ground and wait for prey to appear. They also catch fish when the fish are near the water's surface. It was far too windy for fishing this day, the water was all waves and whitecaps, so the Snowy Owl was on the ground. The dunes resemble the summer tundra and provide a good winter location, so Duxbury Beach gets several Snowys each winter. Actually, many are caught at Logan Airport and brought to Duxbury, which is a short distance as the owl flies, but I suppose the hunting is better at the beach. It's a lot quieter!

I didn't get any good photos, I would have needed a tripod and a big lens, but you can clearly make out that it is a Snowy Owl. Along with the omnipresent gulls, there were also many ducks, including a pair of Longtails, several Common Eiders and Goldeneyes, and a loon.