Waiting for the next storm, and a pretty cool goose

The next in the seemingly endless progression of storms to roll up the East Coast this winter is set to hit us tonite and tomorrow.    This one looks like (for those of us in So. MD) a mix of sleet and snow, with 4-6" likely.  If you've ever had the horrifying experience of being on the road with the locals in a snow situation - it isn't much fun.  Many of them fail to realize that it takes longer to stop your moving vehicle in the snow than it does on dry ground. They must have missed that day in Science Class.

So - might as well make a short post.

I've been chasing the sea ducks that winter here from their summer haunts in the Arctic.  I never paid much attention to them before, but they are really cool birds.  And not very easy to get good photos of.  A recent sensation in our area - among the bird watchers - has been the sighting of a Ross' Goose among a flock of about 2,000 Canadas.  Now, a Ross' Goose in and of itself isn't really noteworthy, but it IS when it is in MD.  They normally migrate south to California and Nevada, not east of the Mississippi. AND certainly not as far east as Maryland.  So - the birders have been out in force, looking for this goose as well as hoping to see one of the Snowy Owls that have been sighted throughout the winter here  (I've blanked on the Snowy so far)

I got lucky over the weekend and found the Ross.  On Saturday I couldn't get a picture but I did get some on Sunday.  According to what one of the online birder folks tells me, this is the fist substantiated Ross Goose sighting for Calvert Co in MD.  So, from a Birders perspective - it's pretty cool

 Here's a few others from over the weekend.

Be safe in the snow and ice.

                                                     Bonaparte gull

                                                  Male Bufflehead in flight

                                                                         Canvasbacks

                                                     Female Red Breasted Merganser