Eared Grebe & A Coastal Storm

We were under the gun again with a coastal storm. Luckily this one was well out to sea and stayed mostly in the Gulf of Maine. The not-so-common problem with this storm is that it backed in and down off of the Atlantic. Usually they go east instead of west. The "Perfect Storm" did this as well. Anyway, with that in mind, there is no solid way, I believe, to forecast snowfall totals. Over the course of a few days we could have accumulated up to a foot. We ended up with several inches.

Another problem is that the snow came in waves, or bands. At times it was just cloudy and windy, other times it was near white-out conditions. This proved problematic at one point because the roads were wet from receiving light snow all day on Saturday, then when the sun went down and the snow picked up the roads became literal ice rinks. I just made it home in the Matrix, but saw numerous cars and trucks off the road.

My plan for Sunday was to try to take a look at the beaches on the north side of the Cape to see if the tides would be up after hearing a forecast of "some coastal flooding" I was all over it. It's rare that I would have a day off for viewing a storm, so why not go out in it.

A bonus was hearing reports of an eared grebe in Mill Pond, Marstons Mills. This is one of my usual mid-Cape birding stops in the winter as it can produce good water birds with easy access.

Eared grebes are generally a western species of grebe and even more unusual is this one was in fresh water - quite possibly only the 3rd state record in fresh water for the species. Usually they hang in the salt water in winter. It seems that when I am viewing grebes (the more common ones here in salt water is called horned grebe) it is very cold with a stiff breeze in my face, and possibly even some type of precipitation flying about. So to have the opportunity of viewing the species in relative comfort is a plus.

I arrived at Mill Pond sometime around 11:00 or so and instantly saw the bird in the water very close to Rt 149. In truth I probably did not need to leave the comfort of my heated leather seat, but I dragged all my gear along, so I might as well make the effort. Besides, I was wearing 8 layers on top and was far too warm to sit there.

I observed the bird for a short time through binoculars, then as it was moving away I set the scope out and attempted to view it up close. The wind had picked up causing my right eye - my scoping eye - to tear up and become utterly useless. After wiping away the tears and letting the eye get used to the wind I was again fit for scope viewing.

Grebes are an odd sort of diving waterbird, and in the case of the eared, rather small. They are in the family Podicipedidae. Their legs are set far back on their bodies and are used mainly for propulsion through the water. Indeed they spend a majority of their lives in the water and are rarely seen on land, except when nesting.

Here is the grebe in front of the (dreaded) mute swan. The grebe spent a lot of time with it's head drawn down towards it's body so I could not get a good shot of it with the neck extended.

Here is the same image cropped for more close up viewing. If you click on the image you can get a little better view and see good color in the eye. This is what they look like in the winter. In summer breeding plumage, the birds become very dark overall with rufous color on their sides and small, yellow feathers behind the eyes.

While I was there several other small groups of birders showed up and I assisted a couple new to birding with how to distinguish the bird from other similar grebes. I scanned for other birds as well and seeing nothing much else of interest, moved on to the north.

I stopped at a quite, private road off of Rt 149 called Hollidge Hill Lane. This is another good winter spot to check for water birds because there is a large body of fresh water on either side of the road that stays open in the coldest of weather. It was disappointing to find very little on the water, but I did mange to get ruddy duck for my year list.

Here are the three ruddy ducks in winter plumage I saw in Hamblin Pond. I like these little ducks with their pointy-up little tails.
I continued on Rt 149 to Rt 6a in West Barnstable and took a quick right on to Navigation Road. This narrow, dirt road leads to the great marshes behind the great barrier beach called Sandy Neck. Normally these marshes are not under water, but this day they were beyond full. Normally you can continue driving beyond the reeds and in fact there is an old cottage out there to the left that is not visible in the photo. No birding there today.

I was getting ready to leave when I saw that a Town of Barnstable plow was coming down the road. I thought this an odd site, but I suppose it does require plowing. The operator had a difficult time getting turned around and I thought he may be in need of a tow. Even though this truck had dual wheels in the back and a heavy load of wood chips in the bed he still was getting stuck. Eventually he got turned around in the small parking area, and probably just in time as I think the tide was still rising.

Next stop was Sandy Neck to get good views of Cape Cod Bay. It was way too windy to even bother trying to scope the water, and the snow had just started to fly again.

4Runner at Sandy Neck Beach.

Sandy Neck Beach looking east. There is usually a lot more beach....

I wanted to stop in Sandwich to check out the boardwalk knowing that the water had to be high. It was.
Just prior to the boardwalk parking lot are a pair of cottages that sit on the edge of the marsh. As you can see the storm tide was a tad high.

Boardwalk underwater and impassable.

Boardwalk from the opposite side at Town Neck Beach in Sandwich. The debris shows that the tide was higher on the previous high tide.

Next stop was the Cape Cod Canal area. I found a flock of brant in a somewhat sheltered area just inside the Sandwich Marina. Brant are a small goose that spend the winters here in salt water. They are fairly common and I always welcome spending some time viewing them. Adults have a small white 'necklace' of white feathers on their necks. As you can see it was snowing, but the picture does not show how hard it was snowing, or how fast the wind was blowing.

Brant on the grass, Sandwich Marina.


Fishing boats in safe harbor, Sandwich Marina.

Last stop of the day was on the opposite side of the bridge at Scusset Beach State Reservation. I had heard reports of an unusual bird sited here very recently called a king eider among a flock of common eider. Unfortunately the only eider flock I could see was at the end of this very long jetty which marks the Cape Cod Bay end of the Cape Cod Canal. The wind was blowing relentlessly at this point and as I started out on the jetty I noticed that the sea spray from waves crashing against the rocks had completely iced over the top. I had already tripped over a sand-colored rock and fallen so there was no way was I going to risk getting swept in to the canal for an eider. Next time.

I did pick up a few good year birds here including horned lark and Savannah sparrow.

A good day to be on Cape Cod.