March 1, 2012

Beachsleepers...

Who doesn't love the beach?  The birds are great, the tides are predicted, and there is a heightened sense of finding wondrous treasures at any moment.


And who doesn't love owls?  Owls are awesome to see anytime and anywhere.  But sleeping owls?  Those seem to be extra adorable, and sleeping owls on the beach are even better.  I was birding a beach on Block Island about 15 miles off the coast of Rhode Island when I had one of those moments of uncanny sixth sense birders randomly get.  I just had to look at that little hole up on the bluff behind me...


Low and behold, there was a slumbering lifer in there!  This sleeping Barn Owl was clearly in the hands of Morpheus as I spied on him from 50 feet below...


Previous to this encounter the only BANO I had seen was this headless one that washed up on a different beach...


Speaking of dead things on the beach...on a different day birding Block Island, I was trying to get Scoobs to pose for a picture but she wouldn't stop making this face (which for you non-doggers means "stupid human, there's sumpin' not right here")...

 

Nuala was clearly trying to tell me something along the lines of "quit counting gannets and look where I'm looking".  Just compare the set of her ears and eyes in the photos above to these normal shots of her contemplating the Atlantic...  


Well, I eventually did look where she was looking, and feeling foolish, saw this GIANT male Gray Seal (Halichoerus grypus) on the beach about thirty feet away.  Thankfully Scoobs knows better than to take on those rocks and we have the whole Jedi-leashless-dog thing going on.  I think it's funny that the Gray Seal's scientific name basically means "hook-nosed sea pig".  I also think 'grypus' would make a good name for a dog...

 
I watched our friend through my binos over the course of an hour, at which point in my biological opinion I figured him for dead.  The thing was massive, and right there - this is what my dog was trying to tell me.  Duh.

Talk about sea monsters, the males average 800 lbs, grow to 10 ft, and can live up to 30 years.  This fellow had to be pretty close to that and was not just huge but obviously old.  He was gray faced and haggard, scarred from previous undersea battles that frighten me to even contemplate.  I watched to see if he was breathing, staring at the parallel nostrils on this roman-nosed rarity, gawking at the sheer bulk of him.  

I remembered coming across this Atlantic White-sided Dolphin a few months earlier, but that beachsleeper was clearly dead...


And while the whole dolphin scene was kinda ooky, I admit it was fun to watch Fish Crows steal the eyeball...


I continued birding while Scoobs laid at the base of the scope, the seemingly lifeless beast of a sea mammal on the beach to our west.  Before heading out, I wanted one more picture of this behemoth creature and took a few steps closer...I was pretty convinced he was a goner and I'd be getting a closer forensic inspection, but life as a wildlife biologist is always full of unexpected, humbling lessons...

 
It suddenly snorted and inhaled deeply, the sounds of an ancient life returning from the deep.  It's rheumy-cataract eyes slid open and my heart stopped.  Only in the presence of a wild mountain lion have I been so scared (but that's another story...).  I scrambled back to the trail and packed up my gear pretty quick, making sure Scoobs was headed up the trail as the seal slowly woke up and then heaved his mass across the rocks and into the waves.  He stopped when he got into the water and looked back at us with those milky old-man eyes.  Is was as though he were a bit confused to see us, and I hope he was napping deeply and hadn't hauled out on this secluded beach to expire...either way, I felt bad that I disturbed him.   

It's incredible the things you see and learn on beaches.  There are usually some interesting ducks and shorebirds to skulk and if you're really into it, loads of gulls to sift through and ID.  The sound of the ocean lulls me into a state of peace and somehow re-balances my perspective on life... 


Now if I could only catch a glimpse of my nemesis bird, the Snowy Owl, on a beach like everyone else seems to have done this winter...

9 comments:

  1. Awesome post Lauren! You encapsulated the allure and magic of an ocean shoreline with great skill and eloquence. It's a gateway between two worlds, a liminal space where not only earth and water, but life and death exchange.

    That Seal looks mighty comfy on those rocks. I guess that's another advantage of having a blubber body suit. Congrats on the Barn Owl. That's a beautiful bird and one I have yet to see.

    Thanks for posting Lauren, twas' a pleasure to read.

    I'd like to hear about this Mountain Lion

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    1. Well said, and so true! And thank you for the kind words!

      I'll have to get a post going at some point that includes that Mtn. Lion tale...

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  2. Hi Lauren

    First of all; a very interesting post today, I really enjoyed the content and your dry humorous writing.

    Next: What a find - a Barn Owl at the Beach! Do you know (well you won't, how could you) that I was once at a falconers display and a Barn Owl was present. The falconer who was giving the talk claimed that Barn Owls used to be know as Sand Owls, hence the white and brown plumage and they resided solely at the beach! I've never read this or heard it from any other source so I have been sceptical, but your sighting adds credence to the myth, perhaps?

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    1. Interesting! I've also heard that they love beaches, but this was a first for me too. 'Sand Owl' seems like a good name, they do have a smooth and sandy look to them. I would love to see one out and about on the beach, that would make for a great photo!

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  3. Excellent post! Looks like a day of excitement! The Barn Owl alone would have made my day!

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  4. Wow a Barn Owl! On the beach! So cool... Great stories in this post- love the dolphin eyeball being carried off by crows. Dog sense can be pretty awesome sometimes- I can't tell you how many times my dogs have alerted me to something I was totally missing (for example, four coyotes staring at us through a fence twenty feet away while I looked up at a Bald Eagle). I agree about the mountain lion story- need to hear it. Ever read the Animal Dialogues? The section with the mountain lion story still haunts (and fascinates) me.

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    1. Too funny! Silly humans, we're always looking at birds, good thing we can rely on our trusty canine companions to watch out for us! I actually just recently bought the Animal Dialogues, I might just have to move it to the top of the 'to read' stack now...perhaps it will inspire me to post about that mtn. lion...

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  5. I am enjoying my scroll through your blog. Once a resident of Maine, with family still living there (and yes, one's a birder and one's a botanist), I often take the opportunity to bird around the state. I spend most of my summer seaside and see many things, but never has there been an owl in the hole I'm peering into!! And I look into them all!! Have a great weekend. Thanks for a lovely blog.

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    1. Thanks for coming by and perusing my blog KaHolly! I appreciate your kind words and hope you have a great weekend too! Funny that your family here are naturalist types, Maine truly is a special place.

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