The shortest day

  

  Happy Solstice!  

(Snowman from last weekend in Massachusetts.) 

Of Light and Air

  

We're back from a trip to visit family in Massachusetts, and we felt very lucky to be there during a beautiful Winslow Homer exhibit at the Museum of Fine Arts.

Above, The Blue Boat by Winslow Homer in 1892.

The Of Light and Air: Winslow Homer in Watercolor exhibit runs through 19 January 2026, so if you're in the Boston area and have an interest in Homer's watercolors (as well as a few bonus oil paintings, e.g., The Fog Warning), I recommend trying to get to the MFA!  There are also lots of photos and videos with additional details on the MFA's website (see link above).

On a lark

  

It was a cold and windy day here in Scituate, Massachusetts, but we went for a short walk this afternoon (11 December 2025) and caught up with a small flock of Horned Larks (Eremophila alpestris).

I love how the russet tones in their feathers match the colors in the salt marsh at this time of year (above).

We also saw a few Horned Larks in a rocky area and it was fun to see how well they blended in with the rocks...although check out those beautiful golden head and throat markings!

 

 

 

 

 

One more photo, as I always appreciate when you can see a little more of an animal's behavior — in this case, searching for seeds among some of the upper marsh plants:

 

 

  

Star-spangled back

  

Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata), Scituate Harbor, MA, on 9 December 2025.

Here's the entire bird (below). Note the spangled patterning on the back.  The species name — "stellata" — apparently means "set with stars" and refers to this beautiful design in the loon's non-breeding plumage.  [You can click on the images for larger versions.]

 

 

The White Wolf

  

Another beautiful denizen of the dunes on Cape Cod...a Shoreline Wolf Spider (Arctosa littoralis).  

Such amazing camouflage!

This individual seemed very pale, so we started calling it the "White Wolf."  

Here's a closer, head-on view:

 

 

P.S.  Thanks to Eric for his patience and these great photos!  

Starting the journey

  

Sharing another terrapin photo and a short video clip (below).

In the photo above you can see this hatchling's egg tooth.  If you look closely at the very tip of the snout, you can see a pale sharp point.  The egg tooth helps the hatchling break out of the shell.  Later the egg tooth will fall off.

We also have a short video clip of the turtle as it starts on its journey from the nesting area to the salt marsh.  You'll see the turtle blinking, breathing, looking around, and pushing through the sand.  [If you can't see a video player in the e-mail message, click on the title of the post to go to the NHBH website.]

Good luck, little one!

P.S.  With thanks to Eric for editing the video clip! 

Along the edge of the pond

  

I can't take any credit for this post.  Melissa spotted these wonderful hatchling Eastern Musk Turtles (Sternotherus odoratus) and Eric took some great photos.  I just get to share them with you!

Above, a hatchling swimming over the sandy bottom of a coastal plain pond on Cape Cod.

Next, a closer view under water:

 

 

 

And a close-up where you can observe some important features.  I hadn't seen a musk turtle hatchling before, so I didn't know their facial stripes were more prominent than in adults.  Also note the short pointed snout, the webbed feet, and the yellowish spots along the edges of the marginal scutes.  

 

 

 

Eastern Musk Turtles are small turtles.  The hatchlings we observed today had shell lengths of only about 2.5 cm (1 inch). 

 

It's been years since I've seen this species.  Thanks again to Melissa (and Squashy and Smokey) for sharp eyes and local knowledge and to Eric for the camera skills! 

 

P.S.  For more info about musk turtles, click here.

  

Terrapin station

  

Had some luck on a late afternoon walk on Cape Cod today (22 September 2025).  We crossed paths with a couple of beautiful Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) hatchlings.

I'm running out of time tonight, but I couldn't resist sharing a couple of photos.  These are small turtles, with shell lengths of only ~3 cm long.

 

 

Curious?  You can learn more about these salt marsh turtles here.

 

September star

  

Nice view of a Forbes' Sea Star (Asterias forbesi) in a shallow tidepool in Scituate, Massachusetts, on 20 September 2025.

Eric was able to zoom in for an amazing closeup, too:

 

 

Visible above are short white calcareous spines, the orange madreporite (sometimes called a sieve plate, which is an opening to the water vascular system), and the transparent papulae (finger-like projections involved in gas exchange).  

Thanks for the great photos, Eric!
 

Frosty forms

  

 Frost in Massachusetts on 14 December 2024

Gifts from the north country

  

It was a bit of soggy day here today (10 December 2024), but we spent a little time walking at Duxbury Beach (in Massachusetts) and encountered a flock of ~25-30 Horned Larks (Eremophila alpestris).  

I thought I could hear some Lapland Longspurs (Calcarius lapponicus) mixed in with them as they flew by, so I snapped a few quick photos and then we spent a little more time trying to find them when they landed.  (You can see at least four longspurs in the photo above.)

Conditions were tough for photos (distant and dark), but here's an example of a Horned Lark (first photo below) and a Lapland Longspur (second photo):

 

 

 

 

 

 

And when we were walking back to the car, we noticed some movement on the ground and were glad to see a few Snow Buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis):

 

 

 

It was worth going out in the rain!

 

Homes on the rocks

  

Northern Acorn Barnacles (Semibalanus balanoides), photographed in Scituate, Massachusetts, on 9 December 2024.

Thanks for the great photo, Eric!

Light on the light

 
 

A couple of photos of sunrise over Scituate Harbor, 9 December 2024

 

 

And here's one more, with the light on the light:

 

October morning

  

Yesterday (10 October 2024) Eric and I made a quick trip to Chatham, Massachusetts, and encountered a nice flock of Forster's Terns (Sterna forsteri).  

The terns flew to a sandbar, spent some time roosting and preening, then some individuals took off and started diving on a school of fish in shallow water.  The autumn light was nice and I don't often get to spend much quality time with Forster's Terns, so here are a few photos:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was a relatively large flock of Forster's Terns, ~250 birds.  I didn't get a photo of the entire flock, but here's one that shows the general scene.  [You can click on any of the images for larger versions.] 

 

 

 

And another showing the view to the south:

 

We left feeling grateful for an October morning on Cape Cod.

Northern lights in New England!

  

Northern lights as seen from Walpole, Massachusetts, on 10 October 2024.  Wow!

December sun

  

I went for a short walk in the woods today and came across this small snake sunning among the needles and leaves.  I think it's a Common Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis).  Although it's mid-December, the air temperature reached ~53°F (~12°C) in Walpole, Massachusetts, this afternoon.  Warm enough to do some exploring and to catch some rays!

 

 

 

 

Sea glass?

  

Waves like glass at Duxbury Beach, Massachusetts, on 12 December 2023

Blue moon

  

Close-up of a Shark Eye Moon Snail (Neverita duplicata) at Duxbury Beach, Massachusetts, 12 December 2023.  This one was ~1 cm across.

Watching the rain?

 

Coyote at the edge of a marsh in Scituate, Massachusetts, 11 December 2023

Taking a break

 

 

Carolina Saddlebags (Tramea carolina) photographed in Chatham, Massachusetts on 20 September 2023.