The Cape May beaches in January stretch for mile after empty mile, with nary a beach umbrella or towel or beach chair in sight. For much of the day, we had the strand to ourselves, though a few truly crazy surfers bobbed offshore, clad head to toe in thick neoprene wetsuits.
I read a quote once (which I can't find now, of course) about surf rushing to shore like galloping horses, and that's certainly what the lines of swells reminded me of today, particularly where the wind caught the tops of them. With a bit of imagination, you could almost see heads nodding and manes streaming.
Of course, the day's prime targets were birds. "New" birds. Birds we hadn't seen yet this year. And I, at least, wasn't disappointed. On the stone jetties edging the entrance to Cape May Harbor, busy gangs of Purple Sandpipers and Ruddy Turnstones gleaned among exposed mussel beds. Just offshore, hundreds and hundreds of sea ducks swam and preened and snoozed and courted. But the real gem of the day -- and the reason for the title of this blog post -- was the gorgeous Snowy Owl we found guarding his prey (an unfortunate Black Duck) among the dunes. What a fine finish to the weekend!
Purple Sandpiper
A male Black Scoter does his very best to impress a passing female.
A Long-tailed Duck catches its breath between dives.
One of our long-staying Snowy Owls, after a successful hunt.
Glad you caught up with the Snowy, love the Old Squaw
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