We are in Merrimac, MA for a while and enjoyed a wonderful Christmas. This morning, I took the dog and went looking for birds for a few hours on a brisk, but sunny Saturday morning. One of my favorite places to exercise the dog while birding is Cherry Hill Reservoir in West Newbury — although on a Saturday, half the world seems to have dogs cavorting so we passed on that and went looking for a Greater White-fronted Goose which has been reported hanging out with a gaggle of Canada Geese there as well as nearby Artichoke Reservoir.

I spotted geese feeding in a field beside the water and scanned them with no luck and went on to check the rest of the reservoir. Reversing course, I noticed more geese on the water that were not visible during my first look, and sure enough, a GWFG was in the midst of them. Here are some shots that I took as it cruised around.

It was rather easy to see the stranger in the group of CAGO’s.

I decided to drive over to Salisbury State Beach Reservation so that I could let the dog run a bit off leash. While there were dozens of dogs everywhere, the campground was rather empty and perfect for a workout. We then checked the river for Harbor Seals and Common Eider (plenty of both) and I decided to check out the boat ramp area. I saw a grey bump on a log way off but could not distinguish it with my binoculars. But, just in case, I dragged out my scope from the truck cap and set it up in the breeze and sure enough, way off was a juvenile Snowy Owl.

This Snowy is a long ways off and looking away from me – but it’s my first this winter.

I think that it’s the first one this season from Salisbury. In any case, even though  it was looking West most of the time, it was a nice find on a nice Saturday morning.