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...
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...
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...