Cold! Temperatures had reached all the way up to 17 F when we left home. There was lots of new, fresh ice along the edge. The wind wasn't too bad, only 10 mph or so, and dying. But, we had every stitch of clothing on we could add, so it wasn't too bad.
The sun was behind a thin layer of clouds.
Huggin and Muggin were watching from on high.
Skye was running around like mad. Here I caught her in mid turn.
The scavengers have all but finished off the dead deer from two weeks ago. No wonder Huggin and Muggin look so well fed.
A small raft of Scaup, with one Bufflhead. I can't really tell if they are Greater or Lesser Scaup.
How far is the beach from home?
ReplyDeleteAbout a half mile. We usually drive down so we can let Skye off the leash longer. Once on the beach, we usually walk about 1.5 miles down, but we can go as far as 2.5 if the tide is low enough.
ReplyDeleteThose aren't scaup, they are ringnecks. There's one hen buffy, ONE drake scaup (third from right), and the rest are ringnecks. It's hard to tell lessers from greaters unless they are in hand and even then it's hard sometimes. Size and how far the white extends on the wings are the telltale. Ringers look very much like bluebills and come into a spread just like one too.
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