Sunday, September 6, 2026

Day 19.239: Birds at Halibut Point

Here are some birds I photographed on our two trips to Halibut Point State Park (Wednesday morning and Friday afternoon).

These were at the quarry:

Almost the first bird we saw was this green heron

We disturbed it a couple of times as we moved around the quarry, but only ever saw it flying away from us

Sleepy mallards

Great black-backed gulls bathing in the center of the quarry pool were a constant presence

They were joined by ring-billed gulls (and herring gulls) from time to time

Ring-billed gull

Great black-backed gull

Laughing gull

At the coast:

Laughing gull

Common eiders

Double-crested cormorants, American herring gulls and great black-backed gulls

Common eider

Double-crested cormorants

Elsewhere:

Wild turkeys

We saw many flycatchers - most probably eastern phoebes.

Some looking less tidy than others

This one is a least flycatcher

We heard at least one eastern wood pewee nearby, so I can't rule out that some of these were also pewees as they were all silent as far as I noticed

At one point I believe we had at least ten separate flycatchers in this area by the visitor center



We also saw quite a few cedar waxwings around the visitor center

...as well as in other places 

...sometimes in the same pose apparently

Northern mockingbirds

Blue jay

Downy woodpecker

Yellow-rumped warbler

He was very fast-moving and I was pleased to discover that I got a few good shots


House sparrow

Brown thrasher

Eastern towhee

Gray catbird

Red-eyed vireo

Red-eyed vireo - there were two but we only saw them once

House finch


Saturday, September 5, 2026

Day 19.238: Home

We have made it home safely. We stopped on the way for another dose of nature but that can wait for another day. Here are some more random photos from our trip. 

The lovely hotel we stayed in

The bar - after hours

Another angle

A shack in Rockport

A famous shack in Rockport

Friday, September 4, 2026

Day 19.237: Hammond Castle

This morning, we visited Hammond Castle Museum. The “castle” was built in the 1920’s for John Hays Hammond Jr. an eccentric inventor. The museum serves to fulfill his wish that the house become a public museum full of his collection of artifacts and reproductions from around the world and as a museum about his life and work as a prolific inventor known as “the father of remote control”. 

Here are a few pictures:








After lunch in Manchester by the Sea, we returned to spend a little more time at Halibut Point State Park in the afternoon. 

This evening we returned to Gloucester for dinner by the harbor. The town is buzzing with the annual Schooner Festival which made for a lovely evening.